Saturday 7 March 2015

00 Gauge In The Garden...

Hi all. This week the garden railway has had one or two runs. The 00 gauge tracks have been rumbling to the wheels of various locomotives and carriage sets, as well as the odd freight working. Earlier in the week I was finishing off the wiring to the track, with 4 power points now completed. The addition of the fourth power point has made trains run smoothly over the tracks once again, and the wiring for features such as the turntable is next on my list. Ripping out all of the old wiring has certainly made it easier to reroute the new wires, and has tidied up the flowerbeds somewhat too. Here, one of the shunters used for moving stock around the shed fiddle yard is out & about on a P-Way train working...
With the track now operating smoothly, locomotives can have a good run once again. Certain locomotives in the fleet haven't even been tested yet since their arrival, due to the track being out of use. One of these examples is my mint condition Mainline Railways Collett Goods 0-6-0. This was a gift a year or so ago and had yet to take to the rails until this week...
The Collett got on well with some freight wagons and was even spotted on a short passenger train. I do like the old Mainline Railways stuff: it wasn't as detailed but it was certainly durable and powerful. Another previous non-runner was the LMS Patriot "E C Trench". This Hornby 4-6-0 arrived a good year ago and had had yet to take to the tracks. Later in the week, it is seen below hauling a train of LMS coaches along the straight towards the turntable junction...
The Patriot completed its test runs during a running session held this afternoon. Below, another Mainline Railways engine: my 53XX GW Mogul: is seen climbing the bank with Great Western stock...
Last but not least is another shot from Friday. This is my much-loved and reliable Hornby Battle of Britain Class Pacific No34051 "Winston Churchill". This engine has been in the collection for a good few years now and always ran well. They make for a heavy and durable model in 00 gauge...
So there we have it, the garden railway has returned! I am hoping that the 00 gauge metals of the old SSR will see a good few more trains this year as it is in fact 10 years since it was first built: time has flown! As usual I'm sure updates of the garden line will appear on this blog as they happen. Who knows what'll happen. All the best, Sam...

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