The Railway in the Valley of the Mill

[philipy]

Words fail me Trevor. That is beyond amazing and says huge volumes about the quality of your tracklaying to get all that lot down safely. Well done indeed.

[Trevor Thompson]

Words fail me Trevor. That is beyond amazing and says huge volumes about the quality of your tracklaying to get all that lot down safely. Well done indeed.

There were a few issues which I edited out! The train started off with the powered wagon in the middle. It runs more reliably with it at the front. You can spot where it got moved!

However lets not nit pick - it really was pleasing to see it go most of the way without a hiccup. The one I didn't video was even better of course.

Trevor

[Trevor Thompson]

Another video from the weekend. This time showing Phil's Welshpool and Llanfair train.

Link to the video: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/0ctekkij ... j2i92&dl=0

And finally a test run for my recently built Bowsided coaches:

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IMG_5173.jpeg (3.02 MiB) Viewed 9922 times

They also ran the full length of the track faultlessly - but the loco did suffer from wheelspin starting that train from the stations. They will form two sets when I have built a second brakevan. Coaches 15, 16 and some 4 wheelers in one set, and 17, 18 and more 4 wheelers in the other set.

Trevor

[ge_rik]

A really good run which showcases your line beautifully.

Just out of curiosity. The loco has a quite distinctive chuff. Slightly uneven over the four beats. Is that typical of 16mm live steam locos? I'm showing my ignorance here. I don't have a great deal of experience or knowledge of live steam, but this is the first time I've noticed it.

Rik

[Trevor Thompson]

A really good run which showcases your line beautifully.

Just out of curiosity. The loco has a quite distinctive chuff. Slightly uneven over the four beats. Is that typical of 16mm live steam locos? I'm showing my ignorance here. I don't have a great deal of experience or knowledge of live steam, but this is the first time I've noticed it.

Rik

No I don't think that is normal, it has to be to do with the valve timing on this particular model. It is an Acucraft Earl. I don't really have much experience of commercial live steam locomotives as all mine are hand built. Phil has a number of other locos - so he might be able to actually answer your question.

Trevor

[gilfachphil]

A really good run which showcases your line beautifully.

Just out of curiosity. The loco has a quite distinctive chuff. Slightly uneven over the four beats. Is that typical of 16mm live steam locos? I'm showing my ignorance here. I don't have a great deal of experience or knowledge of live steam, but this is the first time I've noticed it.

Rik

Sorry Rik,

I’m unable to answer your question about the unevenness of the chuff. I can tell you that the locomotive has a Summerlands Chuffer fitted.

Speed of travel was a bit erratic. It was the first time I had driven the engine with a load on Trevor’s line and to improve I need to get more practice in order to learn the variations of the gradients and curves. My own railway is level throughout and in my layout thread there are videos of the various live steam engines I have at work which may allow some comparison of chuffs,

Phil

[ge_rik]

Thanks Phil
As I said, I don't really know a lot about live steam. I found the chuff on this loco quite distinctive and appealing. Just wondered if it was a feature of this type of loco.

I'm experimenting with soundcards for my battery steam outline locos at the moment and was wondering about trying to replicate this sort of chuff. Conventional cards default to regular four beat chuffs.

Rik

[gilfachphil]

Rik,

I know very little about live steam and did not intend to become an owner of any such locomotives!

I blame Trevor for getting me moving along that path. He was with me when I bought the beautiful Pickering coaches at the national show two years ago and said that I would need an Earl or Countess to pull them. The Earl is my fourth purchase since then and I find driving any of the four very satisfying, even just going round and round my garden loop. There is something much more involving with this type of locomotive than anything driven by an electric motor.

Huge thanks to Trevor for giving me the impetus to start the journey,

Phil
PS the electronic whistle, which when I told members present at the last group meeting about raised sneers, when heard in action seems to receive a much more favourable response

[tommygander1941]

Thanks Phil
As I said, I don't really know a lot about live steam. I found the chuff on this loco quite distinctive and appealing. Just wondered if it was a feature of this type of loco.

I'm experimenting with soundcards for my battery steam outline locos at the moment and was wondering about trying to replicate this sort of chuff. Conventional cards default to regular four beat chuffs.

Rik

It does sound slightly out of time, which I'm sure could be possible on sound cards but then again I'm not entirely sure. One thing I need to get better with for my own locos is making sure the diesels don't get quieter after a while, as generally at shows they don't sound as loud.

[Trevor Thompson]

A big day today!

After working on a 16mm scale model of K1, from the original plans for the loco, for the last 15 years I have finally got it to run on the track.

Not perfect, the simpling valve is stuck on "simple expansion", and the coal I have will no longer burn. So it was using far more steam than it normally would, and running on charcoal is no substitute for decent coal - but it travels under its own steam at last.

So a photo:

K1 8Aug26.jpeg (2.99 MiB) Viewed 6546 times

and a link to a short video of it running on the lower section of the line:



I know the cab roof isn't on properly, and the left hand cab side is removed for access to the firebox, and it will need repainting when I have finished working on it.

A few improvements to make before its next outing, but I am getting there!


Trevor

[philipy]

Well done Trevor, looks very impressive even if not completely finished. Should be amazing with good train behind.

[gilfachphil]

Well done Trevor, perseverance pays off in the end, great to see it running,

Phil

[Peter Butler]

I remember the full size loco standing forlorn on a siding at Tyseley Railway Museum, Birmingham, 25+ years ago and thinking it would probably end its life there. How pleased I was to hear it had been saved as it is such a wonderful and beautiful example.
Your version looks just right and I know it will soon be running perfectly on the Valley of the Mill Line. Great job Trevor.

[SimonWood]

Fantastic! So pleased to see it running.

[nlc1072]

That looks brilliant!

[Trevor Thompson]

I remember the full size loco standing forlorn on a siding at Tyseley Railway Museum, Birmingham, 25+ years ago and thinking it would probably end its life there. How pleased I was to hear it had been saved as it is such a wonderful and beautiful example.
Your version looks just right and I know it will soon be running perfectly on the Valley of the Mill Line. Great job Trevor.

I remember bringing it to the first railway meeting I attended - which was at your railway - and it stood there at the end of your siding - unfinished but cosmetically complete! How long ago was that - 10 years ago?

Trevor

[Lonsdaler]

Well done for persevering Trevor and the loco looks excellent, despite the misplaced roof and paint dings. I find running gas fired stressful enough - I just know I couldn't do coal fired.

[Trevor Thompson]

I have started yet another project! (to add to all the other things I have yet to finish)

Dinah has been complaining for a while that it is difficult to get into the garden when trains are running, and David inadvertently gave me the idea behind this.

So I had been wondering how I might make the bridge easily openable. What about an automatically opening Bascule Bridge?

Daft idea - overly complex - it just needs a hinge. I know! It isn't even model of a real bridge.

Anyway I have designed it and started to build it.

So the design:

Screenshot 2026-09-11 at 12.50.47.png (773.94 KiB) Viewed 514 times

Autocad Fusion has a built in gear generator - which made it easy to design this bridge - and I have explored how to make assemblies which actually move as they should. That sounds like a gimmick but is actually quite useful. I can see that the rack and pinion motion actually works as an assembly before actually building anything.

So an animation of it actually opening:



While much of the existing bridge will be reused I will have to make a few more alloy parts. All of the gears and racks should work as printed components which will bolt to the aluminium:

IMG_5328.jpeg (1.86 MiB) Viewed 514 times

Here are the first components, the segments of large gears printed in two parts, upon which the bridge rests. They will be bolted to aluminium plates.

Trevor

[SimonWood]

Daft idea - overly complex

The best sort!

While much of the existing bridge will be reused I will have to make a few more alloy parts. All of the gears and racks should work as printed components which will bolt to the aluminium

Glad you can result the existing bridge which is very nice - but it will be really convenient to be able to lift it to pass.

[Peter Butler]

Nice idea Trevor. My first thought was of the Bascule rail bridge crossing the Towy in Carmarthen. Although built for standard gauge, it still carries the Carmarthen-Pembroke Dock trains several times daily. No longer in working order it was built to allow sea going ships to dock in Carmarthen quay, which was first established by the Romans.
An AI search has confirmed many Bascules were built for industrial, military or regional lines, crossing rivers, docks or canals, so you have prototypes to fall back on.