The summer period is usually when I run the railway most often, but the weather through July this year has been awful - the few days of sunshine have been interspersed with many days of showers or heavy rain - not the sort of weather which is conducive to running trains outdoors. I did, however, manage to film the last two episodes of my Year-Long Videos and have uploaded them to YouTube.
I have spent some time in the workshop and in that time I have completely revamped the cardboard Hunslet loco described in my last progress report. I have also started the rationalisation of my goods rolling stock largely because I was running short of storage space. I have now almost finished constructing the rake of Glyn Valley coaches, just two more on the workbench awaiting assembly.
Rolling stock
Hughie Hunslet v2
Although the cardboard loco which I constructed from a Rail-Road kit looked reasonable with its lined livery, I was disappointed with how susceptible the loco was to damage. Even minimal handling led to scuffs which exposed the white edges of the card. Whilst these could be touched-up periodically, my concern was that the loco would quickly become tatty.
I had already 3D printed some enhancements to the loco and so it seemed feasible to print a few more. In the end the vast majority of the loco was 3D printed.
I had hoped to retain the body of the cardboard loco but the only way to extract the lead flashing weights was to dismantle the loco completely. By then, it was in no fit state to be reconstructed and so it was despatched to the bin.
Because the new bodywork was based on scale drawings of the original three foot gauge Hughie loco, there was a lot less room inside for the weights and so I had to be quite creative in positioning the them.
I'm pleased with the appearance and, to some extent, the performance of the new loco and anticipate that it will feature quite prominently and frequently in future running sessions and videos.
After a couple of running sessions, I remembered why I had put this motor block on the shelf - the worm wheels had worn down. I have now purchased replacement work wheels and am awaiting delivery of a new motor complete with worm gears. Once these have been replaced, I am hoping the loco will enter service fully.
GVT coaches
The GVT coaching stock has now expanded to five - two of each style of coach (1896 Third, 1902 Third) plus the Director's Saloon described in the previous Progress Report.
They have featured in one running session so far and I aim to try and include them in more, when/if the weather improves.
Two more Third class coaches are presently on the workbench awaiting final assembly and should be available for when running sessions start again in the Spring.
Rationalising stock
Because I am aiming to replace some of my early goods stock with more realistic 3D printed models, I have started culling stock which I no longer need and for which I have insufficient storage space. These were sold through eBay and the funds accrued used to purchase a couple of soundcards and some geared motors for future loco builds.
In addition, I have sold off the GVT coaches which I had accidentally constructed to 16mm scale - forgetting that I am now aiming to focus on 15mm scale in all my future builds.
Operation
Running sessions
As indicated above, the adverse weather has precluded opportunities to run trains - until a spell of relatively fine weather in September when - at last - I could get out into the garden and complete a full running session (which took very nearly three days to complete).
Part 1
Year Long Videos
I also managed to complete the final two episodes (July and August) of the Year Long videos - Down and back Up the line.
These sessions required a fair amount of planning to ensure continuity was maintained from one shot to another. Needless to say, there are a couple of continuity gaffes which the eagle-eyed among you will no doubt spot. I won't say what they are as I'd be interested to see if anyone else notices them. Of course, you may see other errors which I've missed. However, this was an interesting project which I enjoyed putting together - even the March filming of the Up train which was carried out in a blizzard.
ONE MILLION VISITORS
If you look at the counter at the bottom of the list on the right of the window you will see that the blog has just passed one million hits. In fact, it will be well over a million as I didn't start logging hits for the first six years of the railway's existence.
The railway has come a long way since I laid my first piece of track in 2005
To mark this milestone. I will shortly be creating a post showing significant stages of the railway's development and summarising them in my annual video charting the history of the railway.
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