Playing Trains

Well isn't that what this is supposed to be all about?

Having prepared the track for a visit on Sunday, today turned up a great chance to just play and take some pictures:


Here's Jesty leading the train. In the foreground is the edge of the scorched lawn.

















Jesty again here running next to the path in "tramway" mode (no skirts or cowcatchers though). This is all the stock I possess until the next coach is completed and the loco managed it very well indeed, even at a slow pace there was no lack of pulling power.




Finally, by way of experiment, here is a short runby video if you click here. It's only about 6Mb and being on an "elderly" 2 year old camera, there is no sound!

Your comments are always welcome - if you don't want to leave a public one, email me on john.sharp@zen.co.uk

Moving on

As recently touted - my next project will be a 27' Bristol Carriage Works Open 3rd Bogie Coach.

This picture shows one ply side ready cut out on top of the Railway Bylines magazine with a picture of the vehicle concerned at the top of the left hand page. I'm working on using an overlay of coffee stirers for the matchwood sides.






This is the underframe - just stripwood glued and pinned with panel pins.



















Meanwhile the bogie brake continues to progress - here is the truss rod, turnbuckle and brake gear detail - all made from rod, tube and strip.












Here is the stove and chimney installed in the corner of the guard's compartment - Marcel is going to have it all snug in there soon.

The strange angle makes it look huge - its not!

Running the brake tonight leads me to think my track may be a little too tightly curved - or too kinked - near the house - I'll be looking hard at this as soon as possible.












Another view of the stove, here you can see the cut out where a cone of incence can be placed to give a smoke effect.

The good news is that the 28p allen key from Squires has fixed Jesty's crank problem and we're back in steam!

Inspirational vistas

Dudley Hubbard has put up a gallery of his garden railway photos - he's a great photographer and his garden railway is a delight, I especially like the use of waterways and rock - very inspirational.

See it all here Dudley Hubbard's garden railway photographs and then go to
www.dudleys-photos.co.uk for the rest of his galleries.

Smoking Brake

Well it was smoking honest! Completely invisible in the picture, but the newly installed pot-bellied stove really does emit smoke fromt the chimney visible above the guard's compartment.

Been working on the underframe detail today, and got LED's coming for the lamps....

Meantime the next project will be a 27' bogie open third from the same inspirational source, this one based on a 1890-odd design Bristol Carriage Works vehicle.

More soon.

Grey wagons on the line

Here's the bogie brake in Halford's undercoat grey basking in today's sunshine.

I'm quite pleased with the way it's turning out. The roof has had a dusting of black to darken the grey quite a bit. The grab rails are now all fitted and the guard's door opens using a half inch length of thin guitar string pushed through the frame and into the door at the top and bottom. The guard's compartment detailing is in production as are the lamps (which will work).



A further look at the smaller wagons that are nearing completion.







And finally for today, here's Molly "Waiting for a Train"

Wagon cloning

Just a bit of a look at some blatant cloning - having been very impressed with Perfect World's tiny open wagon and van, I have knocked together a couple of copies out of lolly sticks and so on - not quite as detailed but half the price.

At the back of the worktop, some strange characters lurk near another wagon project....


Progress report:

I've been busy today with fitting door knobs, invisible hinges, and handrails onto the bogie brake, and a tiny bit of progress on the cattle creep out in the garden.

The brake is looking good in grey, and guard "Marcel" now has ears and a scarf, and his own wooden stool!

Poor "Jesty" remains sidelined pending the arrival of a 0.9 mm allen key so I can re-attach the errant crank to the rear axle.

The wagons above are now grey with black underframes and everything is now lead weighted.