Miscellaneous video clips - Petersfield on tour

[Petersfield]

I have a small stills camera - about 25 years old - which has a video option. As you can imagine, the resolution's not great compared to modern tech but I like playing about with it - if for no other reason than it helps me think about what I should go for when I get a proper video camera. I have a plasticard infill for a flat wagon which I've shown in the 'Projects' section.

Today, some clips from a running session on a line visited earlier:

Roundhouse Karen and Russell with trains.

https://youtu.be/uyVUjOqQSi0

https://youtu.be/nWCpHqXimtk

https://youtu.be/LHxGGpqtjO8

And from a week or two ago, a gravity slate train:

https://youtu.be/0XrLIpy2u-8

[Petersfield]

Two more clips from a recent visit. This is a 45mm gauge line in a preservation setting with a strong FR influence.

2025_07_03_2063_Garratt.jpg (898.2 KiB) Viewed 34128 times

I'm afraid there's some sound interference from wind and seagulls...





I'm also pleased to report that one of my 'daft' ideas turned out not to be quite so daft after all! Those members who have worked as volunteers on steam railways may know about the use of 'scotches' (no, not the ones served in the buffet car after hours!) to chock wheels. In the absence of working handbrakes, I wanted something to stop my stock rolling away. A fellow 16mm Association member was kind enough to 3D print some for me and these were tried when I visited this line. After a bit of a run on the main loop I decamped to the branchline and trundled a short rake up and down. The lower loop is on a gradient and when the loco's uncoupled, the carriages succumb to gravity. One scotch under the toastrack wheel stopped all that.

scotch in use -general.jpg (393.89 KiB) Viewed 34128 times

scotch in use - closer.jpg (344.83 KiB) Viewed 34128 times

You can see the open bug box/transverse manrider on the right with taut couplings showing how the train wants to run away to the right. (Yes, it would have been best practice to chock the downhill vehicle but given the nature of bug boxes, it was a lot easier to reach in and chock the toastrack)! The scotch was holding the whole train on the gradient and saved having to derail an axle or put a pebble on the track to hold it.

QED...

[ge_rik]

I'm also pleased to report that one of my 'daft' ideas turned out not to be quite so daft after all! Those members who have worked as volunteers on steam railways may know about the use of 'scotches' (no, not the ones served in the buffet car after hours!) to chock wheels. In the absence of working handbrakes, I wanted something to stop my stock rolling away. A fellow 16mm Association member was kind enough to 3D print some for me and these were tried when I visited this line. After a bit of a run on the main loop I decamped to the branchline and trundled a short rake up and down. The lower loop is on a gradient and when the loco's uncoupled, the carriages succumb to gravity. One scotch under the toastrack wheel stopped all that.
scotch in use -general.jpg
scotch in use - closer.jpg
You can see the open bug box/transverse manrider on the right with taut couplings showing how the train wants to run away to the right. (Yes, it would have been best practice to chock the downhill vehicle but given the nature of bug boxes, it was a lot easier to reach in and chock the toastrack)! The scotch was holding the whole train on the gradient and saved having to derail an axle or put a pebble on the track to hold it.
QED...

Great idea. I'll have to make myself a few. I use twigs for the same purpose.

Rik

[Scrat]

I have some standard gauge chocks for 5" gauge.
They are printed PLA and even stop an ovvupied driving truck going at walking pace without breaking.

[Petersfield]

Thanks Rik & Scrat. Heather's posted the downloadable files in the 3D section, hope you all find them as useful as I have.

Yes, for a simple carved piece of timber, they can stop quite a bit of a coach! As in a 'full-fat' mark one.

[Petersfield]

Evening all,

I must confess I haven't made much progress on sorting the editing function of my films out as per the Projects thread. But - I was able to do some filming today at Pecorama - they hosted a meeting for the East Devon Group of the 16mm Association. The weather was definitely appropriate for the run-up to Halloween, truly of the 'dark and stormy night' variety. It was a bit of a problem lighting the steamers up and everyone with passenger carriages decided to take them off their services before there was a sad and expensive accident. (It's an elevated line and not much to stop a derailed or blown over vehicle from falling several feet). My Pickering was rocking like a sailing ship caught in a back eddy and I had visions of it coming off and taking the loco and rest of the train with it... Others' four/six wheel Brandbrights and Timpdons were swaying like crazy too.

In between visitors, I did some filming with the camera truck, driver eye views and one 'The General' style chase film. As there's no visitors in shot, I present the sequences:





(This was meant to be a complete clockwise circuit but a loop point was changed without me realising it, so we got switched into a siding)!











(We end with a [minor] train crash! The point needs to be taken at dead slow and the camera truck derailed. Shades of Monty Python films)!

I will revisit the footage of the other line and try and edit out the bits some didn't want published but meanwhile, I hope these clips are of interest. The footage is not of the best - it's [very] old technology and I'm still finding my way in this sort of filming but I hope you will be kind enough to overlook that.