Garden Railway Forum

Thank you Rik and Andrew for your information, it's been another very educational read and great seeing those photos. It's why a now have a love for railways from the vintage years of industry.
I think I may have said it before, without the railways it would have been a lot slower in it's advancement in technology.

Hi Rod,

You are so right there. Railways really were (and to a point still are) world changing.

Rik,

How could I forget the Ashover! My closest line by a country mile growing up in Mansfield. My newsagent when I first started work remembered going over there as a youngsterand riding on the trains when the chance arose - and that was long after the passenger service ended! I've always tended to think of it as a quarry railway but it was more than that in reality, even if quarry traffic was it's lifeblood. It did have a more 'industrial feel' though, unlike the L&M, L&B, W&L, V of R, WHR, Southwold and Campbelltown & Machrihanish and to a degree the Festiniog which always had a bit of a 'railway feel' to them to me. (that list just kept growing - I hadn't realised the re were quite so many).

I do believe that the fledgling MRT acquired an Ashover turnout but I believe it was lost in either an official scrap drive or one sponsored by thieves! The same fate befell some Burton & Ashby track. If I remember correctly the Golden Valley Light Railway, based at the MRT, now have the remaining Ashover carriage. When I was young quite a lot of the Ashover trackbed was still evident. The section alongside the mainline still is if you know where to look. We had a flooding incident down there a few years ago, it was partly mitigated by a low bank between the stream and the top of the Network Rail cutting, my colleagues didn't believe me when I told them it was a railway embankment - out came old Ordnance Survey maps again to prove the point!

All the best,

Andrew

Fascinating stuff, Andrew. The Ravenglass & Eskdale also has an interesting history, starting life as a three foot gauge railway serving the quarries at Boot before it was retained by Bassett Lowke as an experiment to test the feasibility of 15" minimum gauge railways.

There is a plaque on the fire station at Southwold which is on the site of therailway station claiming that the Southwold was the only three foot narrow gauge railway in England. As much as I love the Southwold it irritates me. What about the Ravenglass and Eskdale and the Rye and Camber I mutter whenever I see it! One day I might get around to constructing one of the delightful little Rye and Camber Bagnalls. .
Rik

My latest offering


Rik

Always great to see your working line Rik. More please if you will.

Another great video, thanks for sharing

Wow!

Yes, keep them coming..

So when you shunt the sawn wood loads, are they removable? That goes for most of the rest of the loads, do they come out, or do they not return during a standard operation session

The tippers going from full to empty is inspired! They are the kind of small truck that I'd knock off trying to take out a removable load. Which is what I'm going to do

I'm trying to imagine similar movements on my modest railway, but still fishing for inspiration.

sjrixon wrote: Sat May 02, 2020 8:35 am So when you shunt the sawn wood loads, are they removable? That goes for most of the rest of the loads, do they come out, or do they not return during a standard operation session

The vast majority of loads are removable - eg the timber, the coal, the sand, and miscellaneous loads in the open wagons. The chains holding the logs in place just dangle. Hopefully that's not too obvious.

The exceptions are the ore skips because, as shown in the video, I have a rake of empties and an rake of full wagons which I interchange. Some of the other loads don't need to be removable. For example, the milk churns and the beer barrels - as empty barrels and churns look the same. Also, it's handy having some tarp covered opens as they could be empty or full beneath the tarp - though I imagine in reality they would fold the tarp to send the wagon back.

Rik

Keep them coming I have a big teapot to drink.

Thanks Rik, and no they are not obvious.

I've work to do and loads to find

My latest. Probably of minority interest only, but I enjoyed shooting it. Trying to figure out the best camera positions was trickier than working out the shunting logistics.



Rik

Thanks Rik,

Another fine video enjoyed with the morning cuppa.

One question is there any detail on the type of couplers you use on your blog?

Brilliant again Rik...

Love your utility belt....

I find it more interesting watching than just watching a procession of looping trains. There is something relaxing in watching real shunting in the sun despite the often long periods of not moving. I would have preferred if it all was 1:1 time but accept possibly not everyone’s cuppa. For myself: keep ‘em coming, much appreciated.

Andy

The combo of normal and 9x speed worked well. I'll have to remember that.
Anyhow, very enjoyable, but I do envy your attention to detail with your program and marshalling the wagons correctly. A bit too complicated for me - but you do it so well!

GAP wrote: Sun May 10, 2020 10:27 pm
One question is there any detail on the type of couplers you use on your blog?

Not as yet, Graeme. I'll PM you.

Rik

Loved that, many thanks.. Feel free to do more like it.

You Impressed with a camera shot that had 3 moving locos in, very clever.

My latest. Inspired by one of Greg's recent videos



Rik

Most enjoyable Rik, one of your best videos in my opinion.