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mick

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mick last won the day on July 12 2023

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  1. Yes the years come and go ever more quickly these days it seems but at least you've managed to get outdoors and get something done, unlike some of us! The weather's been okay so hopefully you've been able to get some running in. Shame about the warped decking board but it's to be expected after a while. Personally I would avoid such materials in the future as much as I could although for anything above ground level there are few alternatives in a similar price band.
  2. That looks really, really nice Mark. You've made a smashing job with the ballasting. It all looks like a proper railway. The realistic sleeper spacing looks much better which reminds me of the time I adapted some of my Peco track by cutting through the sleeper webs. I never got round to ballasting it properly and in the end I got fed up with the sleepers moving about and it was all replaced with standard Peco when I renewed the track base. I note that you glue the track down and wondered if you've experienced any problems with the 'no more nails' type adhesive to date? I've used it and similar exterior products extensively outdoors and always find that it's fine for a while but over time it starts to become soft and pliable and the joined parts begin falling apart. I would imagine at track level it's going to be prone to damp conditions but perhaps the SBR will hold everything together?
  3. Thanks Andrew but I've got quite a bit of work to do to get certain parts of the layout back in order. There's nothing major and nothing that would prevent me running trains but I must do something with the viaduct walls before they appear on film again. I wish I knew what was damaging them - might have to install a camera to find the culprit(s)!
  4. Well you said it was coming so I'm pleased to hear that renovation has commenced. I'm sure once the hard work is out of the way (and don't forget you can enjoy that too) it will all have been worthwhile and give you (and us) many more years of interest and enjoyment.
  5. I've still not had a running session this year and nor have I made a start on repairing the damage to the viaduct parapet walls caused by the pigeons. In fact the viaduct walls have sustained further damage since my last post and it's even affected the sections I had cemented in place which makes me think that there's something else causing the damage too - cats perhaps? Yesterday I removed a large 'miniature' conifer from the edge of the track that I had allowed to get out of hand until it was just too large and overhanging the track itself. It also blocked part of the layout from view so in a way it was another reason to remove it. I can now see a good portion of the curve towards the tunnel. I need to plant something else here now behind the stonework that I can keep trimmed and in check and that doesn't entirely block the view as it could be a good spot for video and photographs if I ever get it up and running again!
  6. Apologies for not updating this more frequently but I'll just give a quick update. We still have chicks in the nest though they should be ready for fledging any day now - I was expecting it to be today but it seems they're not quite ready to take that next step. Things haven't gone smoothly and we only have 5 remaining chicks out of the original 11. I can't be certain of the reasons why but I checked one morning to discover that 6 of the chicks had all died overnight and it wasn't a cold night. Checking back on the video I noticed that the 'mum' had spent almost the entire night covering the chicks to the rear of the nest, leaving ones near the front exposed. It was the ones at the rear that perished. I questioned whether it was simply accidental and they had overheated or perhaps even intentional and a way of 'thinning' them out. I guess I'll never know. The subsequent video showed the mum tearing the dead chicks apart and removing them bit by bit from the nest, and occasionally eating them - somewhat gruesome. There's also an attempt to remove a whole dead chick from the nest via the small entrance hole on the front of the nestbox but it wasn't able to manage it and so I removed that one along with one other that I could get to myself in the hope of keeping the nest clean. It's certainly opened our eyes to nature and what goes on out of sight. Of the 5 remaining chicks, 3 of them are somewhat bigger, and closer to being ready to fledge, than the other 2. This was them this morning and you can see the diference in size with the little one in the centre. All seem perfectly fine and are feeding well.
  7. I've used strips of old rags soaked in a cement mix and laid over a chicken wire framework. It's lightweight, pretty strong and weather resistant. I'm sure there'll be more suitable methods but it's been okay for my purposes.
  8. It is possible to replace the springs Ken, though it is a bit fiddly to do. You'll need a steady hand and some decent glasses!
  9. I'm pleased to hear that you've considered access to the track, especially alongside the fence at the rear, but do bear in mind that it may well be something you have to do before each and every running session in order to clean the track. Other than ensuring track is laid as level as possible, access to all areas of it would probably come a close second in order of importance. Large radius curves would be up there too in my opinion. Bridge, raised section, pond and waterfall are certainly going to help make a fascinating layout.
  10. Well she sure knew exactly what she was doing and just before 7:20am this morning there was the first chick emerging from it's shell. Within a few minutes there was another, and another, and by the time we had been out walking with George and returned home there were 7 or 8 chicks on view. Exactly how many have now hatched I'm not entirely sure. It does appear that beneath the mass of little bare bodies there are probably 2 eggs remaining. I'll have to see if I can get a better view at some point.
  11. Hi Robin and welcome to the forum. Are you intending the railway to be OO gauge? The primary consideration with OO gauge is to ensure that whatever you decide to use for the track base is ideally perfectly level. You will probably get away with uneven track for a while but you'll very quickly become tired of constant derailments. Looking at the photos, if you are intending to locate the railway round the perimeter of the pond, running on top of the slabs, then you are going to have very sharp curves in the corners. I'm also not sure how you would access the rear section running alongside the fence for track laying or indeed for access in case of any derailments. I suppose I've been fortunate in that the 2 layouts I've built outdoors have both been done from a blank canvas, an open space without any restrictions. I'm not sure if you have any alternative space for a layout? Building around the perimeter of the pond looks like it could potentially be problematic though I suppose any type of outdoor layout is going to require a good deal of work. It all depends on what lengths you are prepared to go to.
  12. Hi John It's good to hear from you again though it sounds like you've been on quite some journey since your initial post. I'm sorry to hear that things haven't worked out as you had intended but I certainly admire you and your wife for attempting to start a new life, especially in another country. I'm sure that at a certain point in our lives we all entertain similar ideas though perhaps only a very few are brave enough to take the plunge. My particular interest would have been to have a narrowboat and just cruise the rivers and canals but after watching YouTube videos of those who have already done so I'm not so sure anymore! I think it's far better to have the security of your own home with all its conveniences and just go walking along the towpaths. Anyway, I hope your circumstances improve quickly and you are able to find a home that's suitable for you both. Looking forward to hearing that the railway is a goer!
  13. It's understandable I suppose but it's a pity that the main focus with any type of media is almost always on the locomotive rather than the stock following behind. There are several occasions that I've come across where it would be great to be able to identify individual items of stock. I know nothing about 4-wheel Freightliner chassis but it sounds probable to me. Most of my containerised loads are on 4 wheel PFA wagons.
  14. Last week we decided at short notice to book a few days away in Gargrave so we could revisit our walks along the Leeds & Liverpool canal. Fortunately we picked a decent week weatherwise and had an enjoyable time, though there was no sign of the Barn Owls we discovered last year. I think vacation-wise that will be it for a while now as I really want to get some things done at home. Next month will be George's first birthday and I've not really mentioned him that much recently so I'll include a recent photo taken a couple of days ago while we were out on a walk along the river Dearne. The river bank was covered in Dandelions so I just waited for him to settle among them.
  15. Things have moved on somewhat in the Bluetit box since my last post and we now have a clutch of 11 eggs As this is the first time we've actually experienced this at first hand I'm not really sure what we should expect but it does appear as if the female has started incubating the eggs. There have been no new eggs for 3 days and she has started sitting on them for long periods but she also disappears on a morning for up to three hours at a time, occasionally popping back briefly to check on everything. She'll return to the nest mid-afternoon and stay there until the following morning but I expected her to spend more time on the nest and her morning routine comes as something of a surprise. It's fascinating to see and learn.
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