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the Dorking Garden Railway


Andrew
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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi Andrew,  like the two pics of the N class steamies,  it is the same here not good, today it rained of and on all day, should of mowed yesterday, wasn't feeling to crash hot,  rain tomorrow fingers crossed early morning, bad for Sunday and Monday, I have got a  battery mower Ryobi, doesn't like wet grass.

 

Happy Easter Andrew

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

The Central Wales Line

Here are some photos from summer in the 1950s.  First, a Black 5 heads a Shrewsbury to Swansea (Victoria) train:

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Compare the well-established vegetation in this shot with that in the video taken five years earlier (with the same rake of coaches):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aos1UxK8-sU

 

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Then the Swansea train is seen passing Foxdale Manor...

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Elsewhere on the Central Wales Line we find the Black 5 with ECS on Sycamore Curve in the headshunt while a southbound freight rattles past behind a Standard Class 4:

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And then the goods train heads off across Foxdale Bank...

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...before the photographer catches it again, this time on the Northern Viaduct:

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Edited by Andrew
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  • 2 weeks later...

We now move to the Newcastle to Carlisle route. 

The first few pictures show a 9F arriving light engine at Throstlebeck Sidings and then paused to await its turn of duty, while a local passenger train passes on the main line:

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The following photos show the Black 5 hauled local train on Bamboo Curtain Straight, then the Northern Viaduct, Foxdale Bank and finally onto Sycamore Curve.

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Sharp eyes will spot the snail.  These and bigger ones can cause derailments...

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Well, it is meant to be a garden railway...

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The timber trackbed is looking a bit the worse for wear:

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  • 3 weeks later...

The West Highland Line

Today's pictures try to evoke this sinuous route from Glasgow to the Western Isles.

 

Early one morning a Black 5 in charge of a heavy train, including a portion from London with sleeping cars for Fort William, runs through the Glasgow suburbs.

Heavy train with sleepers for Fort William

 

Here the train is getting out into the hills...

Black 5 with sleepers for Fort William

 

 

Later, the same loco works back from Fort William with a parcels train:

West Highland Line: parcels to Glasgow

 

West Highland Line: Black 5 with parcels train

 

And on a summer evening we catch the return working of the London sleepers passing McGonagall Junction:

Glasgow bound sleeeper at McGonagall Jn.

 

...before heading off towards Glasgow and the south:

West Highland Line: sleeper to Glasgow

 

Edited by Andrew
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Hi Andrew, wow that is some train, how many coaches and the loco is she a direct drive to the drive wheels to pull that many.

When those Your village 00  scale layout was going in the news agents, the coaches, I am thinking of replacing the bogies with Bachman bogies, no name on the coaches, as you guessed made in China, the coaches have never run well, , they are part of my maroon set like yours making up 11, I need to buy sleepers now to make up a 16 car train.

I use my duel powered Flying Scott to take charge of my 11 car set, can't wait to see how she will handle my 2 percent grade spiral and 25 foot ramp at the other end climbing 7 inches.

Tony from cloudy down under, winter only days away.

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

A pleasant afternoon in middle England

Yesterday was a good day for running trains, dry but not sunny.  Had to deal with plenty of bird poo before trains could run, and there were lots of insects risking their lives by trespassing on the railway, as well as several of those snails.  The scene was 1950s Stanier territory, which allows for a lot of locations (although the regional prefix of the first passenger coach is "Sc").

 

A Jubilee romps across Foxdale Bank with her passenger train...

image.png.64209769a71659ea6ee579e8e87b8427.png

 

...before setting out across the Northern Viaduct...

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...and passing a goods train waiting at Throstlebeck Sidings:

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The Black 5 takes its train out onto the main line...

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...and heads round Sycamore Curve, where the occupants of Sycamore Cottage enjoy a great view of passing trains...

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...after which the train's slow progress across Foxdale Bank gives the crew plenty of time to enjoy the lush summer vegetation.  No danger of starting lineside fires here:

image.png.77b831e11a17bc4a598927f52bf75a55.png

 

 

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Southern electrics in the Home Counties

 

For a change, this week's visitors were a multitude of emus and Class 73s, adding unusual colour to the layout.

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The striking Network SouthEast livery always looked good against a background of high summer greenery:

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These 4TC sets ran on the Waterloo-Weymouth services and were hauled by a 4REP unit or a diesel or electro-diesel loco (or, very occasionally, two):

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These 4CEP units (also Class 411) ran on services to Portsmouth:

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One Class 73 ran in Pullman livery from 1992 onwards.   Here is "The Royal Alex" heading an excursion train of Pullman stock:

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Class 73 in Pullman style

 

Class 73 in Pullman style

 

After so  much activity, a bit of track maintenance is always a good idea:

Track maintenance vehicles on a scheduled visit

 

 

Edited by Andrew
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  • 2 weeks later...

Royal Visit

Yesterday the DGR was honoured to host the inaugural run of Julian's newly acquired King William IV, which is certainly a majestic piece of machinery.

This picture shows the detail treatment even includes differential painting on the handrail.

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In the twilight of their careers the Kings were allocated to secondary duties, such as this milk train seen in the West Midlands:

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Whereas we all know that such powerful engines and their crews were happiest in the 1950s or earlier,

dealing with 'proper' trains like this West Country express:

DSC03840.thumb.JPG.31dd7a23f16ae4b31c68e828b7254356.JPG

 

After being flush with royalty, it's only fitting to feature another class with regal connections, the Jubilees. 

Here is 45611 "Hong Kong" taking a passenger train towards Sycamore Curve:

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And later with a parcels train in dappled sunshine, loping across Foxdale Bank:

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Finally seen passing that much-photographed spot, the Foxdale Bank signal:

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Definitely not the DGR

Two days ago I was fortunate once again to visit Philip's superb 0 gauge railway in Winchester.  The session was devoted to running late C19th to early C20th American trains, mostly scratch built coaches and wagons and heavily modified proprietary locos.  The railway creates a great atmosphere of big coal-fired railroading, centered around and beyond Chicago, just a decade or two after Huckleberry Finn.  Enjoy the pictures, as I enjoyed the day.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Three new DGR videos

Joshua Barker has produced three excellent videos featuring different locos and shot in Dorking last summer.  I've added links here, but they (and more) are also on his Cozmictracks website:   https://www.youtube.com/user/Cozmictracks.  This more than makes up for my own failure to compile any videos recently.

These feature:

my West Country engine "Ottery St. Mary":

https://youtu.be/Yqpy4UmrWSg

20170615_170746a.jpg.e1a0b59caa974ca50c6168a4ca331b65.jpg

 
a visiting Class 67 in DB Schenker "maple leaf" livery on a charter relief train:
https://youtu.be/lIzxE5Ku4T8
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and Josh's DCC sound-fitted "Tornado" with a train of Pullman cars:
20170615_165911a.jpg.d5ace24d2ebe5b4ca6094e6bb5dc7495.jpg
 
Edited by Andrew
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  • 4 weeks later...

Coal trains on the Central Wales Line

We've had quite a few visitors to the DGR recently given all the fine weather, so there's a bit of catching up to be done with the photographs.

For starters, here is a selection of coal train pictures taken at various locations on the Central Wales line.

 

A Black 5 trundles along Bamboo Curtain Straight:

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9F on Foxdale Bank, a rare sight on the Central Wales route:

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Black 5 rounds Sycamore Curve:

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8F on Foxdale Bank:

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Black 5 on Foxdale Bank:

20180712_123612.jpg.1582a44cef3dd2cac14a7a67f1c41132.jpg

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