1/32 Gauge 1. Hollywater line.

paulc

Western Thunderer
Hi Keith , i have just read your whole Hollywater experience, well done . Its great to see a layout taking shape and being outdoors and gauge1 is even better .
A suggestion from someone who has had an outdoor layout albeit only O gauge and used Hardie board for the top. A coat of PVA/water mixed roughly 50/50 slapped on each year for the top and neat pva for the edge to seal it up seemed to work pretty well . I am in Australia but i don't the Hardie board will be any different from here to there .
Cheers Paul
 

Keith Phillips

Western Thunderer
Thanks for your advice Paul, that does seem to be a sound suggestion. I expect once the ballast has all been applied, the glue holding it together will take care of the top and that just leaves the sides to take care of :thumbs:.

I have not been doing much on the line lately as I still cannot get the SBR glue for the ballast. I have also been working and the weather is a little too much for me at present. I am no hot house flower. I have made a couple of coal loads up for the mineral wagons using the foam packing from the boxes some of the wagons arrived in and some coal from the shed. I have also weathered up the RTR 7 plank wagons from Accucraft which, apart from the brake rigging, look much better.

Late evening running sessions have been a lovely way to unwind after a day on the old 1:1 stuff. :cool:

Cheers,

Keith

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Keith Phillips

Western Thunderer
It has been a while since I last wrote about the garden railway. I have been running on the line and there have been a couple of gtg's and things are going well. Those that run live steam have appreciated that the circuit is level and the super elevation on the corners has kept everything on the track. I'm sure that the gauge widening on the corners has also helped the running of some quite lengthy trains of 11 to 13 coaches.

I have got myself a new addition to the locomotive roster, a Finescale Brass Hall. Lovely to sit out in the garden and watch the trains go by and have two running.

The sunny days have been a real boon to my health and wellbeing, an unexpected benefit of the garden railway. I have had a bit of time off from work dealing with PTSD following a fatality and working on the Hollywater line and running trains was such a help.

I have managed to get a lot of the ballast laying done with the dry weather. I have perfected the method and the results look promising. Firstly I apply the ballast and level and tamp with a 1 inch brush. Once I am happy with the effect I wet with a garden sprayer using water and washing up liquid for the old surface tension thing and to make sure that it penetrates to the baseboards. Next the neat SBR is dribbled along the track and a good dose is given to ensure it soaks right in. You can see the capillary action working and the SBR spreading out. Finally I give it a light spray with the water mix again and leave it to set. I have discovered that where I live it takes about three days to cure so I have to protect it overnight and if rain turns up.

The results are very secure and I am pleased with the visual effect. As it weathers in it will dull down a bit and lose the blue sheen.

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Cheers,

Keith
 

Keith Phillips

Western Thunderer
Hi Bill,

The platforms are off cuts of Hardibakker Cement boards that the baseboards are made from. They do the trick for now but the plan is to replace them in time with Foamex ones. Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Keith
 

Keith Phillips

Western Thunderer
Things have been a little quiet on the Hollywater Railway as one of the staff has been struck down by Covid-19. Fortunately, a visit to the hospital was not required but the effects are lingering on and cannot be shifted.

The Company has invested in a Waiting Shelter for the Down platform. It's a Woodbury Models structure and is just the job to add an extra dimension to the scene. Painting will commence as soon as the weather improves.

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On the whole, the railway has come through another winter without too much degradation. The boards are holding up well and the 4 x 2 timbers are still looking tidy and solid. Some of the ballast has been pecked away by the birds but this is very minor damage and to be expected.
I did have a point tie-bar come adrift from the blades but I managed to take the soldering iron outside on a dry warm day and carried out a repair which seems to have held. No other problems have been identified by the P-Way dept. so far.

The hedging that was planted a while back has been doing well and has now reached baseboard height in one or two places. I will prune it back a bit when the weather gets warmer to encourage it to thicken up, but so far so good.

The Company have also placed an order for a new locomotive. Live steam and should be right at home on a secondary route such as the Hollywater line. The first part arrived in the works during the week. Very exciting :D

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All the best,

Keith
 

Dave Bowden

Western Thunderer
Hi Keith
Sorry to hear about your woes hope it gets better soon.
I take it the new loco is a Barrett Eng. one! I don’t think Aster/Accucraft do a 53xx kit.

ATB
Dave
 

Keith Phillips

Western Thunderer
Hi Dave,

The mogul is being produced by Accucraft and is based on the 61xx that they released a few years ago. It is acknowledged as a good runner so with any luck the mogul will be an engine that I can learn to drive at home and enjoy for years to come. It is to be gas fired with the tank in a water bath in the tender. Delivery of the pre production model to the UK is due soon. I hope to have my own engine in the summer.

Hope you are finding time to get out on your railway.

ATB,

Keith
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
Nice pictures for putting the rest of us in the mood for gardening and railways. I have the full set and more of the GWR cutlery. I asked the company if they had dishes for me cornflakes! GWR diners must never have had Kelloggs.
 

Dave Bowden

Western Thunderer
Nice pictures for putting the rest of us in the mood for gardening and railways. I have the full set and more of the GWR cutlery. I asked the company if they had dishes for me cornflakes! GWR diners must never have had Kelloggs.
Thanks Larry
I had mowed the grass on the inside of the Railway this week for the first time this year, so it does look good at the moment.
Dave
 
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