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Worsley Dale Garden Railway


mick
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I've made an attempt to repair the viaducts today with limited success. I'm going to have to think of either another method for the parapet walls entirely or cut a lot of new pieces and start over because there have just been too many repair jobs now and it's not looking good.

Low Shott viaduct has turned out better than it's larger sibling. It's a bit of a wavy line and I'm left with a 1cm gap to fill in but at least it's better than it was.

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On the other hand Stack Gill viaduct is now an assortment of smaller pieces and not only have the pigeons destroyed large parts of it, it appears they've even made off with some of the pieces! It will have to wait until I can bring myself to start cutting again by which time I am sure the adhesive will have dried in the tube and I'll be unable to squeeze anymore out.

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I'll have to come up with a better plan.

 

 

Edited by mick
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58 minutes ago, Clay Mills Junction said:

A bit of disrepair isn't unrealistic for BR days. Is there a TSR in place?

Replacement Bus Service operating from the nearest bus stops. Tickets will be accepted on all services.

 

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4 hours ago, Clay Mills Junction said:

A bit of disrepair isn't unrealistic for BR days. Is there a TSR in place?

I've always said that Garden Railway maintenance is realistic - it's just like looking after the real thing at times.

I've not done anything else to it since the photos. I feel I need to look for a better method of adding the walls along the top. Given time I'm sure something will pop into my head but right now there's nothing at all in there.

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Leaving the viaducts alone for the time being, I decided instead to clean the tracks round Worsley Dale (tick), trim back some encroaching vegetation (tick), vacuum along the viaduct tops (tick), clear away the cobwebs from inside the tunnels (tick), check all the points were still operating correctly (tick) and run a short train (tock...!!) Yes, there was nothing, the handset wouldn't connect to the router. But hold on a moment, it might help if I plug the router in (tick).  That's right, it's been a long time since I did anything on Worsley Dale.

However, that wasn't quite the end of my problems as even with the router plugged in the handset still wouldn't connect to the router. I tried connecting using the app on my phone and luckily that worked so I removed the batteries from the handset, replaced them and it finally connected.

37425 'CHARLIE BOWER' was chosen to haul the first train, a short 3 coach set and it completed the circuit without a single hitch and that was without running the CMX track cleaner and IPA solution round. In fact the CMX is up in the attic and I never bothered bringing it down.

I had a good hour or two running the train round and filming short clips but it was very dull and the light wasn't the best.

I haven't done anything along Buttlebank, the stretch along the bottom of the garden, for a long time now. This is where I began adding a rock face to form a cutting. It really should be near the top of my to do (to complete) list as it creates a nice backdrop for the trains. You'll motice the unfinished sections in the distance.

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Here's another couple of photos of 37425 approaching Watch House Tunnel

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Edited by mick
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It was such a glorious morning that I decided I would try another running session today because I was disappointed with some of the results I obtained on video yesterday.

Opening my stock boxes to select some wagons for the session I was amazed by just how many there are that I have yet to get round to weathering and to be honest, in my opinion the ones that aren't weathered look well out of place. I was going to run some Heljan Cargowaggons but the bright silver and blue livery really does need toning down so instead it was a few vans along with 2 brightly coloured BBA's which I don't think I have run outdoors yet. I'll certainly be toning these down shortly but I wanted to see how they performed, though first of all I had to fit some Kadee couplings - number 20s in this case.

However before the wagons got a run out I began with the push-pull set hauled by 47715 'Haymarket'. The coaches were already out in the shed so it was just a case of choosing the loco and although the coaches are in pristine condition, the loco is certainly not.

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I'm pleased to be able to say that it runs perfectly in either direction, something I was a bit concerned about though I needn't have worried. I had half-expected the coaches being pushed off the track but they've behaved impeccably.

The only other loco working today was 37025 which began the day hauling the 3 coach passenger set,seen yesterday, to which I added a couple of TTA wagons on the rear. Later in the day it took charge of the vans and the pair of BBA wagons which is how it's been captured in the photos below.

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One other point worthy of note is that my two spring points are still working perfectly, 37025 having just passed over the set furthest from the shed. They certainly make operating the layout much easier.

I've published a couple of videos from today so I'll post links to them here shortly if you haven't already seen them.

 

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  • 2 months later...

Happy New Year to everyone!

I almost had something running on Worsley Dale today and yes, we are talking about the 1st January. Hasn't it been mild?

I began by cleaning the tracks inside the shed after firstly turning on the track power to ensure there were no problems, after all, it's been a while since it was last in operation. I made my way round out of the shed and over the small viaduct towards the tunnel with the Garryflex rubber only to come up against piles of bird poop all over the tracks, much of it still soft and extremely messy. I wasn't about to run the Garryflex through that lot and so it was out with detergent and an old toothbrush in an effort to clean it all away. In the end it needed a good dousing of water by which time the trackbed was soaked making it almost impossible to vacuum away the debris that I had expected to have to clear in the first place. And so I gave up the idea of running anything for today - I wouldn't want to run any locos through it until I've had chance to clean it all properly.

We have a 'resident' female blackbird who greets me almost every morning as I put out some food. It seems to have taken residence beneath a small shrub alongside the track and stays there throughout the day. It doesn't appear to fly off all that often and I've rarely seen her flying in - she's just always there. The drawback is the piles of poop she deposits.

Tomorrow I am busy for part of the day and I doubt there'll be any further progress so I'm hoping the weather remains relatively dry at least for a few more days. It would be nice to get a January runnning session in at some point.

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While updating my weather station reords just now, it's dawned on me that this year will be the 10th anniversary since the start of Worlsey Dale, the first sod being turned way back on 21 July 2012 (according to my forum posts) - and its STILL not finished!

I'll have to make an extra special effort this year to get things running to mark this special occasion but I can't promise that the layout will be finished by then.

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I was just out cleaning the pond filter and noticed the moss growing on part of my viaduct again so thought I'd post a few photos. Wouldn't it be great to be able to grow this exactly where you want it? 

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It only seems to thrive on the short 8-arch section of Stack Gill viaduct, just before the girder bridges, where there's shade for the majority of the day and where, at this time of the year, it tends to be fairly damp. The remaining 16 arches of the viaduct have very little moss growth but they are more in the open.

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7 minutes ago, mick said:

I was just out cleaning the pond filter and noticed the moss growing on part of my viaduct again so thought I'd post a few photos. Wouldn't it be great to be able to grow this exactly where you want it?

I've often thought that when I've noticed some around my garden. It would make a great scenic material for an indoor layout but it would need to be waterproof and regularly dampened so it's unlikely to happen!

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1 hour ago, Riddles said:

I've often thought that when I've noticed some around my garden. It would make a great scenic material for an indoor layout but it would need to be waterproof and regularly dampened so it's unlikely to happen!

It would be great if we could nurture it indoors wouldn't it but at least it's useful, and extremely welcomed, on the outdoor railway. I was wondering if I could entice it to grow on other sections of the layout? We've been there with the 'yoghurt' (and 'urine') theories previously but I think it's a case of it will just find the most suitable spot for itself in good time.

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On 03/01/2022 at 18:31, ba14eagle said:

Happy new year all. Re Moss - I wish I could get it to grow anywhere! Ive tried numerous times, using the mentioned theories, but just cant get it to grow. Even the parts of the garden which are shady and damp, dont attract it.

Happy New Year Iain.

Yes it seems it only grows where the conditions are suitable. Shade, moisture and acidic soil are stated requirements but there's no soil at all on my viaduct where it appears to be thriving. 

"...Sometimes all it needs to grow thicker and more lush is a little fertilizer, a little more acid, or a little more moisture. A one to one solution of water and buttermilk will help with acid and nutrients, as will powdered milk."

Read more at Gardening Know How: Moss Gardens – Tips For Growing Moss In Your Garden https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/moss/growing-moss-gardens.htm

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Continuing on from my efforts on 1st January, today I actually managed to clean the entire layout from front of shed all the way round to the rear although I did have to go back over some of the previous sections where our resident Blackbird has left me further small deposits.

The layout itself is still very wet but I did allow 26024 out with the CMX cleaner. I wouldn't have wanted to risk putting anything else out but 37403 'Isle of Mull', an older model with Lima origins, had been left sitting out in the shed so I let it have a turn too. It isn't a loco that I tend to use as it's not the best runner, tending to slow down and then speed up at will, so usually it just sits in the loco shed. Perhaps one day I'll take a look at it and see if there's anything I can do to improve its performance.

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The sprung points both continue to work although for some reason the ones nearest the front of the shed had become detached from the section of track next to it and required the fishplates sliding back into place with the aid of some pliers.

Maybe it's just because everything is so wet and messy but in places some sections of track feel a bit uneven. I'll learn more once I'm able to put some trains out there.

Having been barely touched for over a year the borders edging the track base are in need of attention. Some plants appear to have died off, some I have removed, while most of the timber log roll edging has rotted away. I remember it all looked so nice when it was first done but it seems I'm going to have to start over again.

It's nice to be able to do something outdoors in early January but it's not the best time of year and it certainly doesn't showcase a garden railway, especially when it's sodden. We appear to be forecast some settled weather for a good few days so maybe it will begin to dry out so I can risk a train or two before it all comes to an end.

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6 hours ago, mick said:

37403 'Isle of Mull', an older model with Lima origins,

It certainly looks much better around the front windows than a standard Lima model. Has it had etched windscreen surrounds fitted?

Good to know the sprung points have survived well.

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10 hours ago, Riddles said:

It certainly looks much better around the front windows than a standard Lima model. Has it had etched windscreen surrounds fitted?....

My mistake Dave as my 37403 is actually a standard ViTrains model which I always assumed was in some way connected to the old Lima models. Searching online it seems unclear whether these were newly tooled but if you notice the difference immediately then that would point to it being new tooling.

Perhaps my assumed connection to Lima was due to the ViTrains chassis being used as replacements for the Lima models? I could well be wrong on that one too!

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ViTrains certainly did have a connection as the company was set up by former employees of Lima  after the takeover by Hornby. I heard that they had always wished to improve the quality of Lima's British range to the better standard of its European models but the importers were holding them to low prices.

ViTrains saw the market for improved replacement mechanisms for old Lima 37s (and possibly 47s) and provided them.

Edited by Riddles
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