Garden Railway Forum

Thanks for the update Zak. The line is really looking established in its surroundings now. There are some really lovely shots there. It's only just dawned on me that the absence of trains makes no difference to the photos. The DVLR looks every bit as much a railway without them as it does with. THAT is the mark of success as far as I'm concerned, well done on such a great result!

Andrew

ge_rik wrote: Sun Apr 16, 2017 8:19 am Really like that shot up-line from Aldeburgh - not just the railway snaking off into the distance but the road up the hill as well.
Rik

Absolutely. That picture captures so much atmosphere.

Thank you for the kind words - its been very much trial and error over the years! The truth is that I rarely get a chance to run a train these days - I generally get everything looking back to normal, take some photos then its the end of the day and that's that!

So, already aware I have enough on my plate I fancied a little something else to have a go at. I am looking at developing the quarry stock a little further. The DVLR stock is all medium sized 16mm stock, I quite like the idea of a few extra small locos and wagons.
As longstanding forumites are aware the DVLR's quarrying industry is coprolite - a real Suffolk industry from a bygone age. Phosphate nodules are dug up from the local crumbly rock (Red Crag), washed and sieved then transported to a fertilizer plant whereupon they are dissolved in Sulphuric acid to make superphosphate - a cheaper alternative to imported guarno...
The shallow trenches often had rails layed to them, the excavated sand being dumped into the wooden tippers from barrows on planks.
http://www.shillington-history.org.uk/P ... 0-%201.jpg
A closer look at the barrow - do any 16mm suppliers do these or will I be having to scratch build them?
http://www.orwellpastandpresent.org.uk/ ... iggers.jpg
Of course the holy grail of the coprolite quarry tramways was this:
http://www.bernardoconnor.org.uk/Coprol ... age001.jpg
(One day I'll build one!)
Anyway, some tippers, some soil, a Peter Jones loco and a small stick of wood later...

Check out eBay for 16mm barrows Zach, I believe I have seen laser cut kits for sale which were under £10.

Great railway! It really gets overgrown with scale plants.. I think you know the binnies? They are also a cheap alternative and IP engineering has good working loco's for a small budget fitting with these quarry lines. But they require some time to build though..