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the Dorking Garden Railway


Andrew
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CIWL Orientation

Moving on from the Hornby Thomas (R9287), we now come to models by Liliput and Pocher which arrived as a gift from Philip when I went to last Saturday's ever-excellent O Gauge American and Continental Exhibition at Winchester. 

Here are a few photos probably taken at the Landy carriage sidings outside Paris in the interwar years.  The Wagons Lits rolling stock is being serviced before being attached to various international expresses to run across Europe as through coaches, or indeed as complete trains  in various versions of the Orient Express.

First, a couple of dining cars.  The photo was taken around the time the varnished teak was giving way to the later blue livery.

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Here's a sleeping car in teak.  All ready for intrigue!

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Diner and sleeper, both in teak:

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This end shot of a dining car shows the space-saving storage lockers provided each side of the corridor connection:

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Edited by Andrew
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  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Winter Sunshine

Seeing today's bright weather, the Fat Controller suggested Thomas should show off his new brake pipes and front coupling by posing for some photos with recently-arrived Annie and Clarabel.  Even the troublesome trucks were happy to join in the fun.

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Edited by Andrew
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Catching the Winter Sunshine

We've had quite a few uncharacteristically sunny February days recently, but this was the first opportunity to dust off the railway, polish up the track and get something running.

These photos feature the DGR's stalwart BR Standard Class 4MT, first caught here crossing Foxdale Bank:

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Then here whistling a greeting to the Throstlebeck Sidings signalman

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And finally a bit of late afternoon glint (shame the offside front steps are missing, but such things tend to happen on garden railways):

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In between the still photography I was shooting video and trying to introduce smoke effects -- but that's another story.

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16 hours ago, Andrew said:

...We've had quite a few uncharacteristically sunny February days recently.....

It's been a fabulous month so far - certainly the mildest February since I began keeping records back in 2012. Unfortunately, unlike yourself, I have yet to take advantage and get anything running but it's always nice to see our garden railways wakening up after the winter, or in this case during it. Still plenty of time for a cold snap though.

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A dishy Duchess

An attractive duchess arrived to stay with us recently, courtesy of friend Colin who couldn't see his way to continuing his relationship with her.  So it seemed only polite to give her an opportunity to pose in the afternoon sun.

Unfortunately that's all she'll be able to do on the Dorking Garden Railway unless I can find a 2-rail chassis for her or get her converted (do Scalespeed do such operations, I wonder).  Anyway, she appeared to be enjoying today's outing:

 

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While she's quite a looker, as with many of us, close-up photos do reveal a few blemishes, not least the rust around the tender handrails:

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Rust isn't always a bad thing - in fact some of us even strive to replicate it in places! She does however appear to have seen better days but still looks quite capable and certainly not out of place at the head of the rake.

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No running recently, but just to keep things alive here's an old photo from six years ago when the ivy ground cover was less dense than now...

 

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Edited by Andrew
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I've just been over in Norway, Mick, doing quite a bit of railway mileage.  Some spectacular rides, including the branch to Flam which has a maximum gradient of 1 in 18 - running on adhesion, not rack.  Elsewhere, I caught a glimpse of a Class 66 in a continental blue livery of some sort.

But at Myrdal in particular there was rather a lot of weather around:

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Goods Vibrations

To celebrate fine weather I decided to have a freight train day.  Recently I've been buying up secondhand 16 ton mineral wagons wherever possible, which has produced a nicely differentiated (and battered) rake.  A few more wouldn't go amiss though.  So it was out with the 8F and the 9F and plenty of wagons to shoot.

First, the 9F on a coal train:

Crossing the Northern Viaduct

Crossing the Northern Viaduct

 

Running along Foxdale Bank

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On Sycamore Curve

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Sycamore Curve again

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Passing Throstlebeck Sidings signalbox

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and running along Bamboo Curtain Straight

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Then came the 8F on a pick-up goods train:

First running past Throstlebeck Signalbox anticlockwise

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Then on Foxdale Bank

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And finally both trains at Throstlebeck

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Not Forgotten

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My great uncle Ralph Lloyd passed away in Ontario this week.

He seems to have had a long, full and happy life.  This included a large HO layout in his basement.  When he was 65 he started to lose his eyesight, so changed to G scale modelling, and he gave me a demonstration of the current layout in his basement in December 2017.

The staff of the Dorking Garden Railway honour his departure.

 

 

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Thomas,

Unfortunately I don't know what it is.  I saw it in a friend's garden some years ago.  It was growing in a dry and sunny spot, but I brought some home and, surprisingly, it has flourished in this mostly shady area too.  It may be some kind of thyme.  Sorry I can't help.

Andrew

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4 hours ago, Andrew said:

Thomas,

Unfortunately I don't know what it is.  I saw it in a friend's garden some years ago.  It was growing in a dry and sunny spot, but I brought some home and, surprisingly, it has flourished in this mostly shady area too.  It may be some kind of thyme.  Sorry I can't help.

Andrew

OK, I have also thyme in my garden and there are similarities maybe it's a different kind of thyme. 

Can you make me a closer picture of it, I've a friend in the botanical garden. Maybe he can tell me... 

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17 hours ago, ThomasI said:

OK, I have also thyme in my garden and there are similarities maybe it's a different kind of thyme. 

Can you make me a closer picture of it, I've a friend in the botanical garden. Maybe he can tell me... 

It could a succulent - sorry don't know the name - or what I know as "mind your business" - a carpeting plant with tiny little leaves, which spreads like wildfire. 

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