1/32 Launceston Road

[Simon]

All change behind the sheds. This was going to involve fencing but owing to political pressures on a number of fronts it has morphed into a hedge creation project

With much assistance from my friend Dickie, the hedge behind the sheds has been dug out in preparation for laying a new one. The old hedge was way too tall, parts of it had died, and it was leaning right across to the railway from the boundary in places. Here's the worksite this morning, the string marks the boundary around and along which the new hedge (Lonicera Nitida) will be planted and the timbers are to retain the neighbouring garden, which is quite a lot higher.



The timbers are retained by angle iron uprights driven into the ground, which are secured to the timber near their tops by coach screws. Behind the timbers I have put quite a lot of broken stone so that soil in the higher garden won't cover all the timber, which I have also creosoted on both sides. Tomorrow we will drag the soil across to fill in the remaining gap behind the timbers as well as covering the top of the timber "wall".



All this to stop the new hedge getting pushed into our garden (again).

Unfortunately, in taking out the hedge the track has been pulled off the base and out of its ballasting for about a yard, with one rail joint coming adrift. This is a pain but in fact is where I think I'm going to add a point as part of a cunning plan for some secure on track storage, so I will put it back temporarily with no ballast and just being pinned for the moment. The damaged section shows in the picture as the darker section between the rails just in front of the two bricks in the middle distance.

Not now though, I'm completely banjaxed!

Simon

 

[vonmarshall]

Simon

I have spent the last 5-10 commutes sat on my train reading this wonderful journey.

Your work is an inspiration, as a gardener, an engineer and a modeller. You have a nice writing style too. Awesome stuff and most enjoyable.

I have a pipe-dream myself to build a single line loop, firmly embedded into the garden, to represent the Paignton to Kingswear line in the 30's, and I have taken a lot of ideas from your journey so far.

The only issue I have is that between yourself and Dikitriki, I have the urge to start to sell my O gauge collection and move into G1.

Please keep the photos and videos coming (I would love to see the Castle again!).

 

[Simon]

Thank you for your very kind comments, it certainly is a journey and who knows what its destination will end up being

In the meantime, Chris and Dennis Lepper came over yesterday to test out their own locomotives. Although Chris's approach isn't exactly what I'm aiming for, he has created some very beautiful locomotives and all completely from scratch. At the grand age of 85 he is cheerfully continuing and the current project is a Stirling O class seen unpainted in the below pictures, with another locomotive being planned as we speak. Dennis does all the painting and has also built the matching wagons.

It is all so wonderfully "Southern" too



And some of the home stock, the road van is the second wagon that I ever built and the roof is gently "going its own way".



A great pleasure to see Chris and Dennis again and I'm happy to report that everything ran perfectly too.

Simon

 

[Simon]

Halleluja!

Failed 6th March 2017, placed back into traffic 15.31 hrs 28th August 2017 - it's great to have it back



Beeeeeeeeeeeeee - BAAAAARP!

Still in need of a new windscreen wiper though

 

[D6356]

lovely pictures and I bet you are happy to have D6319 back - Swindon did have some for months so a realistic period OOS. lovely afternoon/ evening sun as well. Engineers happy with empty flats on the back to Riverside yard.

 

[Simon]

I'm definitely happy to see it back, other members of the family weren't quite so bothered



Happy days….

 

[Steve Cook]

Good old Dusty - dictionary definition of 'apathy' right there

 

[Captain Kernow]

Good old Dusty - dictionary definition of 'apathy' right there

Just try the same thing with 4mm stuff!

 

[Simon]

Dave Easto came over today and after the rain cleared we ran some trains. We ran his switcher and scratch built wagons and D6319 was turned out for a passenger train, the first it has hauled since it failed on the 6th March



There was a fair bit of lineside clearance required, the hut is currently somewhat overgrown and luxuriant moss is appearing in the four foot near the down end of the loop.



Windscreen wiper still to be made, although when clearing undergrowth I did find the Slaters set screw that came off Dennis's P Class and resulted in a Titfield style loss of driving wheel Having been out there since mid July it is slightly rusty….

Simon

 

[AndyB]

Simon,
I'm sure you've mentioned it somewhere, and I'm sure that someone else has asked more recently - but I can't find the answer to the question of how you bond your track to the concrete base.
I found a reference to 'epoxy' - is this still what you use, and if so, what sort is it?
A fellow G3 member (not on WT) is having problems bonding Cliff Barker track to his concrete base - the lack of bond being with the concrete, not the sleepers.
Thanks,
Andy

 

[Simon]

I have latterly being laying it "spot fixing" it with epoxy, the five minute stuff you can buy in sensibly sized bottles from Eileen's et al.

I do this in order to set up correct (hopefully) alignment, level and "top" of the rails, lots of examples of how this doesn't always work back up the thread.

What is really fixing the track though is not the epoxy, but the Ballast that I then add. This is put on dry, shaped, wetted and then flooded with SBR.

I cannot recommend this method highly enough, it makes for a phenomenally robust and permanent formation and looks great, it also helps keeping the track clean as detritus can't get stuck between the sleepers.

Simon

 

[Simon]

In this morning's beautiful sunshine and ahead of hopefully running some trains tomorrow, I have been out the line doing some vegetation clearance.

New brake van near the bridge before the gang got out and started work



Same brake van and shopped coach in the station.



Hopefully tomorrow will be nice.

Simon

 

[Heather Kay]

The shine on the side of the coach looks just so.

 

[Simon]

It got a bit gloomier later, hence my fiddling in the shed, but I also cleared the goods yard in the morning and so laid out the turnouts and track to remind myself of the plan. The aluminium in the centre is destined to become the station platforms, sometime in this life I hope

 

[Simon]

Warning, incoming pictorial overload…..
Bee - Baaarp!

 

[oldravendale]

Just lovely, Simon.

Better get that weedkilling train out, though.....

Brian

 

[Ressaldar]

Better get that weedkilling train out, though.....

Brian

or at least get them to scale

cheers

Mike

 

[Dog Star]

The hut - just sublime.

Maybe a piece of broken glass left in the frame.

 

[Simon]

Another item of stock for the freight roster….



Simon

 

[Simon]

Somewhat late, the first trains of the year were run today when Dave Easto came over. He has a new camera, lots to get used to but he took a rather fetching video of the longest BR freight yet run on the system.

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A few pictures too, still D6319 Groundhog day on the loco front I'm afraid, at least it hasn't conked out, yet....




Actually, there was something newish...



Simon