Hi everyone. Firstly, I'm sorry that the Garden Railway may become a bit of a 'blog regular' with the recent fantastic weather but, hey, that's what I've been doing! Today, with the particularly beautiful spring weather, I couldn't resist getting the trains out again for another few runs. With the track checked and all of the buildings laid out, the locomotive's were prepared and readied for their running. The first train ran at 12:45pm and the last ran at just gone 5pm. It was a lovely few hours in the garden with alot of 00 gauge action. I've just included a few pictures for your enjoyment, I hope you find them interesting. The trains which ran today were compiled of both short and longer freight trains as well as various passenger outings. Passenger rakes included GWR, LNER and of course BR, running alongside our LMS stock. First picture: Hornby Class 0F "Smokey Joe", one of the most famous of the Hornby range, hauls a long freight along the line through Grantham. The open back cab would be nice on a day like today no doubt!...
As well as our own stock, the railway also hosted a visitor today; LNER A4 Pacific "Mallard". This Tender-driven Hornby model is owned by a family member, and found its way onto my railway after some careful negotiations! I do have my own "Mallard" model, except mine is in LNER Gartar Blue, whereas the visitor wears BR Blue with no skirts...
Not the usual A4 task but, hey, the job needed doing! The A4 blasts up Ashford Bank on the steep incline towards the Turntable Junction. The loco is hauling a lengthy freight train made up of various private-owner wagons. The workmen are still at work on the Junction area following a recent drainage problem... 
Up at Sutherland, the sun was warming up the platform nicely. Meanwhile, trains were in regular action, with stopping passenger trains picking up and setting down passengers at leisure. In between the passenger runs, the freight train operations were nothing short of intensive. Austerity No68075 barks up the Sutherland Bank with another freight for Ashford Jnc...
Sutherland-regular; GWR 0-6-2 56xx; No6600 strides through Ashford Jnc, under the gantry, with the GWR Rake, which also included the Pullman 'Devon Belle' Observation Car...
A scene not spotted before at Sutherland; an LNER A4 wearing BR Blue, descends into the platform with our 4-car LNER Teak Rake. The spotters were all out for this one...
Another unspotted scene; well, for some time at least; my LNER B12 4-6-0 No8578. This delightful Hornby 4-6-0 was one of the railway's pioneer loco's. She hauled the very first passenger train on June 1st 2005, when the line was only a short oval. Since then, more and more loco's have joined the fleet and so, unfortunately, the B12 has been given less and less work over the years. However, today, 2 years or so since she last turned a wheel, I decided to give her a trip out. Strong as ever, she ran perfectly. So, who knows, we may see more of her in the future! The loco, wearing the name "Prince Palatine", climbs into Ashford with a slow, long freight...
Later on, the trademark shot is seen, outside the "Dew Drop Inn" at Sutherland. "Prince Palatine" prepares to undertake her first passenger train in nearly 2 years...
Down at Ashford, the highlight of the day; two A4's together (unfortunately both "Mallard"!)...
Mind you, the above images do show the differences between the 'BR A4' and the original A4. Which is better? In my opinion, both have their own right. "Sir Nigel Gresley" has always looked fantastic as the BR Blue version. However, for me, though she even wore BR Green, "Mallard"s colour should always be Gartar Blue; to remind us of the day when she travelled at 126mph and became the 'Fastest Steam Locomotive in the World'. Anyhow, as the day wore on, we even needed to move the loco's back towards the shed so that they could be collected. One such movement is seen below. What an unusual combination, as Pannier No5775 is piloted by Battle of Britain Pacific "Winston Churchill"!...
Below, you will see two short video clips which I have included for your interest; 'just to give an idea' as it were. Firstly, the BR Blue "Mallard" makes an appearance on the Ashford straight. Secondly, the GWR 0-6-2 chugs through Sutherland on the Great Western rake... Thank you all for reading and I hope you have enjoyed this rather mundane post. We had a lovely afternoon today in the garden watching the trains go by. The family, as always, seemed to enjoy it very much. Mind you, we did have the weather! Evening All...
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