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the Dorking Garden Railway


Andrew
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1 hour ago, ba14eagle said:

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. 

That's what I'm looking for... 😂👍

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That's it!

"Mind-your-own-business or baby’s tears, Soleirolia soleirolii (syn. Helxine soleirolii) is a creeping perennial with tiny rounded leaves. Despite looking pretty in cracks in paving, it re-grows from the smallest stem sections and can soon get out of control. It is especially difficult to control in the lawn."

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We have a weed over here that fits that,very small rounded leafs with a small yellow flower I had it bad in my back yard , took aged to get under control , every time it rains the weed comes up again so I do a weed protol and pull them out, will take a pic tomorrow, hope the weed plant has flowers in the garden. The problem is even those little flowers have thousands of little seeds why they spread so quickly.

Tony from cool down under.

 

 

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21 hours ago, Andrew said:

That's it!

"Mind-your-own-business or baby’s tears, Soleirolia soleirolii (syn. Helxine soleirolii) is a creeping perennial with tiny rounded leaves. Despite looking pretty in cracks in paving, it re-grows from the smallest stem sections and can soon get out of control. It is especially difficult to control in the lawn."

It's called "Bubikopf" in Germany and I can buy it here easily. 

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Going Great Western

Visiting locomotives and rolling stock aren't exactly unusual on the DGR, but today was a bit of a first with some visiting signals.  More specifically, some beautifully finished lower quadrant Ratio signals arrived (helpfully tailored to the DGR track plan), along with Julian's ever growing stock of realistically grubby GW-origin rolling stock.  So we planted the signals and ran some trains.

First out of the box is Resolven Grange, seen here just about to pull away from the Foxdale Bank distant:

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and here she is on a parcels train passing some fine signals somewhere west of Shrewsbury (note the bucket on the tender footplate)

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Edited by Andrew
added detail
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Then

The Grange paused with some coaches in the headshunt, admiring the signal controlling access to the main line...

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...as King William IV ran past with an express to Paddington from the west Midlands and the Principality beyond:

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and later the King showed up again on another of those parcels trains:

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  • 2 weeks later...

That's Entertainment

Today the DGR was delighted to welcome Hal and Joe to see the trains.  As neither has reached their third birthday yet, it was an excuse to run some older, less delicate stock, so I dug out the battered Tri-ang BR green Class 37 no. D6830 and some Tri-ang Mk I coaches (very passable models for their day) - which seemed to keep the visitors happy. 

Afterwards, as everything was up and running, I decided to exercise the BR Standard 4MT and relax while watching it trundle past with a coal train.

First the 37. Someone seems to have taken a bite out of its bodywork:

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Then the Class 4, here running onto Sycamore Curve:

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I noticed this year that the mind-your-own-business has managed to cross the line and is now growing on both sides of the track:

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Looks as if the fireman is taking a well-earned breather...

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Edited by Andrew
straightening a photo
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Summer comes soonest in the South

This week David H. brought ten very handsome locomotives from his large Southern collection to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine in Dorking.  First up was a double headed ensemble of King Arthurs, with Sir Meliagrance piloting Pendragon:

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After running successfully for some time, we noticed that Sir Meliagrance had nevertheless sustained an earlier injury.  Visible in this next photo is the dislodged off-side slidebar assembly.  So he is now in the shops for care and attention.

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Number 30915 Schools class "Brighton" ran well, seen here running off the Northern Viaduct with a very light load.  But she then shed a traction tyre, so also had to be removed from service for later attention.

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Deciding a beauty contest can be hard, but Dugald Drummond's T9s, nicknamed "Greyhounds", will always be strong contenders:

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The last photo shows an Adams Radial tank as the train engine with an M7 as pilot, passing Northdown Sidings:

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Edited by Andrew
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  • 1 month later...

Foreign Visitors to the DGR

Geoff and Josh braved the intense sun in Dorking yesterday and, as usual, brought a welcome eclectic mix of rolling stock new to this railway.  First up, the Germans:

 

Here's a handsome NordWestBahn diesel unit from Niedersachsen:

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and here, braving the Northern Viaduct (and somehow coasting on the gradient with its pan down) is a Piko model of a Talent emu in DB Regio livery (If only I had the patience to install overhead line equipment like Thomas!):

large.20190724_121448.jpg.d5c91951ec299f3f7166a01fb909bd8d.jpg

 

 

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Just after the turn of the Millennium

Virgin Voyager Class 220 units revolutionised Cross Country services with their useful connections centred on Birmingham New Street, elongated routes and regular interval timings.  Not rocket science, but it made an impact, as did the comfortable and good-looking units themselves.  This is the Bachmann version:

 

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Here's a Brighton to Manchester service (or is it the other way round?) on the North Downs Line quite near Dorking:

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4 hours ago, Andrew said:

  First up, the Germans:

 

Here's a handsome NordWestBahn diesel unit from Niedersachsen:

large.20190724_181917.jpg.3d206404e46cb6ffd4745f792e811a0b.jpg

 

and here, braving the Northern Viaduct (and somehow coasting on the gradient with its pan down) is a Piko model of a Talent emu in DB Regio livery (If only I had the patience to install overhead line equipment like Thomas!):

large.20190724_121448.jpg.d5c91951ec299f3f7166a01fb909bd8d.jpg

 

 

I just install the catenary poles but not the wire. 

And without wire, you can also use cheap poles made from plastic or buy used ones. 

Real wire in 1:76 or 1:87 would be so fine that you can't see it from one metre or three feet distance. 

And without wire on straight track you can use the correct distances for poles, which are three feet (900mm) for German railways or 750mm for German HSL. No way to make that with functional wire. 

 

And the background in our garden railways is mostly dark (as is it with railways in 1:1 normally) and not so bright as indoor what makes wires more invisible...

Also only poles make no problems with track cleaning. 

 

Edited by ThomasI
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  • 2 weeks later...

With a little help from my friends

While I was getting the railway ready for today's running session, the guardian robin popped up to see what was happening:

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Shortly afterwards, a less common visitor turned up:

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Eventually I got on with running trains.  It was a freight day, and things started with the Black 5, initially heading for Throstlebeck Sidings with a few vans:

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and here seen leaving Throstlebeck with more wagons added:

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Two engines were seen at Throstlebeck today, the Black 5 and a Standard Class 4MT (well, there's a surprise!):

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The 4MT headed off with that coal train...

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...round Sycamore Curve...

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Then passing Foxdale Carr Hall:

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After which it just remained for the Black 5 to haul a very similar train across Foxdale Bank and on homewards:

large.20190804_153620.jpg.cd117a06f2693c58110e11c505754b48.jpg

 

 

 

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Mr Toad rides again, on a largely green day

 

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Actually, I think he got tired of waiting for the train...

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Anyway, in the afternoon David P. came round with a great selection of engines needing to stretch their legs in the fresh air.  First a BR Standard 2-6-2T:

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The unique Duke was certainly in fine form:

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The Southern was represented by Battle of Britain class number 34077 "603 Squadron" and by an S15.  Somehow the S15 didn't get its picture taken, although it did look good; maybe next time.

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Edited by Andrew
wrong photos needed to be removed
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  • 3 weeks later...

Period Drama

 

Yesterday I had a splendid day trip to Belle Époque France. Walking down to the station of the provincial town, the atmosphere was busy with all sorts of people hustling, bustling and waiting for trains:

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There was plenty happening on the railway too:

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The engines were a mixture of État and Paris-Orléans (the near 4-6-0 showing hints of British design influence):

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Outside the station, an Etat tank engine shunted coaches for the afternoon’s PO trains:

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A brakeman was relaxing in the hutch of a fourgon at the head of a train, waiting for the engine to arrive:

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From the footbridge, I noticed someone had removed the roof of the travelling post office so the activity inside was fully visible:

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Fortunately the fin de siècle goings on inside that voiture-lits weren’t equally exposed, but then it was time for our departure:

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and we were soon running out into the sunny countryside:

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At one point we passed a goods train, hauled by an 0-6-0T whose looks hinted at a Hapsburg heritage:

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The new bogie coaches gave a much better ride than the ancient 4-wheelers at the back of the train

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The end of the day came all too soon.

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Edited by Andrew
adding more pics
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Size isn't everything

I wasn't sure I'd heard correctly, but it turned out the engine Robert was going to bring round yesterday with some visiting wagons was "a real Little Barford", as built by Andrew Barclay in 1939 for the power station of that name:

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She certainly is a lovely Little Barford, caught here hauling empty wagons down to the exchange sidings for further shunting:

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large.20190829_154134a.jpg.c1b1cd3edfdb83deb9f9626a3d337f66.jpg

 

...where, at the main line connection, a real big b****rd was waiting for the wagons to be attached to its train.

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The 8F with its train of coal trucks then headed off round Sycamore Curve towards the next port of call:

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Meanwhile, rather more than a century earlier, Mr Stephenson had been very busy after his triumph at Rainhill, and duly provided motive power for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway:

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Here's a rare photograph of the "Rocket" with what might be a bit of the infamous Chat Moss clearly visible (ooohh!):

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Back in GWR territory, this Pannier tank was seen in a timewarp with part of its train being a newish BR standard coach:

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Someone had been busy getting an impossible gleam on that safety valve cover:

large.20190829_174351a.jpg.209c70f296c38e9fca4591230bc06f4a.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...

Yesterday I had an enjoyable morning at the annual American flavoured exhibition of the Seaboard Southern group who are based in Crawley.  Ian Lampkin's excellent Fort Myres layout is a very effective depiction of railroads in Florida, as in this photo with two local residents thinking about lunch.

 

20190921_102255.thumb.jpg.83fe88bc3886677edf0fc4deb5181f1a.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Dorking Garden Railway 7th Anniversary Celebrations

The commemorative operating session took place yesterday, one day early because of wet weather forecasts (which proved accurate).

Looking back at the early photos on this thread, after seven years the vegetation has advanced impressively and some of the timber track base is starting to deteriorate.  More importantly, the timber decking on which Bamboo Curtain Straight is founded has been discovered to be substantially rotting, being around 13 years old, and will have to be replaced.  The hope is that that part of the railway can be underpinned so that it becomes free standing, with the decking then being swept away and replaced by something more permanent.  We'll have to see.

At this point I'd like to say a big Thank You on behalf of all the users and viewers of this site to our webmaster and proprietor Mick for his commitment, work and  expense in maintaining such a splendid resource for us over so many years.  We are really grateful, and the site has been a pioneer in advancing 00 and HO scale modelling outdoors.

Back at the DGR, yesterday was business as usual.

First out of the box was a Black 5 with a stopping train.  The new platelayers' hut needs a bit more weathering.  And the platelayers need to deal with all that vegetation in the four-foot -- this isn't Network Rail!

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Now autumn is definitely approaching and it won't be long before Sycamore Curve is covered with leaves...

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Then the Jubilee arrived and is seen here tackling Foxdale Bank with a mixed rake of pre- and post-nationalisation coaches:

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At the end of the day, the Jubilee heads towards home:

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Meanwhile, over in Beijing the anniversary celebrations continue, although there may be confusion about the number of years involved (or perhaps they know more about the Fat Controller than they're admitting):

937997179_Chinarailcelebration5d901ee1c6d0bcf88588887e.jpeg.8cb329ec57433d7639cb6ab8321f929c.jpeg

 

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22 hours ago, Andrew said:

...At this point I'd like to say a big Thank You on behalf of all the users and viewers of this site to our webmaster and proprietor Mick for his commitment, work and  expense in maintaining such a splendid resource for us over so many years.  We are really grateful, and the site has been a pioneer in advancing 00 and HO scale modelling outdoors.

Thank you for that Andrew. It gives me a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction to see some of our 'pioneering' layouts continuing after all this time and it's good to see how our layouts have developed together. Long may we all continue.

I'd just keep that vegetation in the 4 foot under control rather than clearing it completely.

Sorry to hear that some of your timber decking is nearing it's end. Seven years or thereabouts appears to be par for the course with timber as that's what I managed with mine. Still, now you get all the fun of starting over again!

EDIT! You just made me realise that 2019 is actually the 10th anniversary of the forum! Starting out as the forum on my Selby Garden Railway website in July 2009, we transferred to OO Garden Railway in October 2011 so yes, we're 10 years old!

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