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Monday, July 28, 2008

Progress Report 14 - The line is extended

A few days of decent weather has allowed me to extend the railway towards Beeston Castle station (see plan - How will the line be developed?). A few weeks ago, I attacked the laurel hedge down the side of the garden to create space for the extension.

15 fence posts (4" square x 7') and 25m of 6" fence rails we purchased for the base of the extension which will be embedded in the hedge. For the past year, I have been buying up lengths of rail and pointwork on eBay in preparation for this extension.

This view is taken from the existing line looking down towards the extension. On the right is the swing bridge in its parked position. This swings across to the wall on the left, the entrance to Bulkeley Station. The extension will pass behind the row of leylandii on the right, then emerge to skirt the edge of the lawn. It will be carried on posts approximately two feet above ground level.

This view is taken from the site of Beeston Market Station looking back towards the existing line. Bulkeley Station is on the rockery at the back of the picture. The copper mine will be where the hedge juts out into the lawn in the middle distance. As can be seen, the laurel hedge has been severely 'trimmed' to accommodate the extension. It seems to have recovered; several new shoots are sprouting from the exposed stems.

The foundations have also been laid for Beeston Castle. A couple of paving slabs were laid on their side and embedded in concrete in preparation for piling up Beeston crag. It's been useful to have somewhere to put the soil which has been dug out for the posts supporting the Beeston Market extension. The plan is that Beeston crag and a 'representative' model of Beeston station will fill this corner of the garden. Beeston Castle station will be positioned on the curve beneath.

In addition, as can be seen from other postings, I have been adding decoder chips to my limited fleet of locomotives. I have also purchased some tipper wagon kits from Peter Binnie (Binnie Engineering) to carry the copper ore from the mine to the interchange sidings at Beeston Castle station. These delightful kits are beautifully designed and very cost effective (less than £10.00 each).

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