Friday, 31 December 2010
Snow Problem at All...
Friday, 24 December 2010
Garden Railway Running at Christmas...
As always, if the video looks too small then double-click to see it larger. The first thing I had to do today was of course to clean the track. Now, the route was buried under around 2 inches of snow so the first thing was to brush the track. I then used an old coach and pushed it along the track to clear the flangeways (the inside of the rails where the wheels run). In past years, the railway has operated with snow between the rails but with the flangeways clear. However, this year, due to extra frost, it refused to run! Therefore, drastic action was taken; the track was sprayed with de-icer; especially on the points; and then scrubbed with emry-paper before being rubbed over with a towel. This created shiney rails with no snow between. In this form, though it took longer to prepare, the railway ran without trouble. A select pool of locomotives can be seen in the video, hauling a multitude of trains including four different freight train rakes to say the least! I hope you enjoy the video; it took more time and determination to make than I care to describe! For those who are interested, more SSR video's will air in 2011, starting with a Winter Gala theme around Jan/Feb time. Thanks for reading folks. Good Evening and Merry Christmas...
Monday, 20 December 2010
Stewarding the Santa's at Shackerstone...
Sunday, 19 December 2010
Where We Have Been...
*Battlefield Line Railway
*Evesham Vale Light Railway
*Great Central Railway
*Great Central Railway (Nottingham)
*Severn Valley Railway
*London Underground
*Northampton and Lamport Railway
*Irchester Narrow Gauge Railway Museum
*Rhyl Miniature Railway
*Great Orme Tramway
*Golden Valley Light Railway
*Northampton Ironstone Railway Trust
*Blackpool Tramway
*Llangollen Railway
*Railworld - Peterborough
*National Railway Museum
*Telford Steam Railway
*Tyseley Loco Works
*Statfold Barn Railway
*Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
*North Gloucestershire Railway
*Telford Steam Railway
*Midland Railway Centre
*North Bay Railway
*Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway
*Romney, Hythe Dymchurch Railway
*Nene Valley Railway
*Cadeby Light Railway
*Snowdon Mountain Railway
*Llanberis Lake Railway
*Chasewater Railway
*Peak Rail
*Crich Tramway Village
*Coventry Railway Centre
*Churnet Valley Railway
*Foxfield Railway
*Bodmin and Wenford Railway
*West Somerset Railway
*Lynton and Barnstaple Railway
*Leighton Buzzard Railway
*Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway
*South Devon Railway
*Bala Lake Railway
*Lakeside Miniature Railway
*Didcot Railway Centre
*Volks Electric Railway
*The Railway Age - Crewe
*LNWR Loco Works
And thats only of gauges 15" upwards! It also doesn't include the railtours we've been on either, such as to York with "Nunney Castle", Lincoln with "Rood Ashton Hall" and even Didcot with "Flying Scotsman"! (Please note - Many of the above are from my 'pre-blog' days! Sorry!)
This list is ever-growing and I hope to continue to add to it as much as possible! One of the next on the agenda is the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, set of the 1970s film "The Railway Children". Maybe we'll get there...one day! Thanks all. Goodnight...
Steam Toy's In The Snow...
Hi all. Today I was off out to the Garden Railway. More snow overnight had created yet more frost and ice as well as extremely cold conditions. However, with the snow now falling in only a small flurry, I decided to try and get the Garden Railway running for a few film shots. The first thing I did was to sweep the track and defrost the outdoor points using a heater and some de-icer. With a bit of a clean, the trains were soon running. 56xx No6600 made a few good first runs with the 20-wagon freight train and even the Black 5 took a turn on her LMS Coaches. By now I was ready to film but the snow began to get heavier and heavier once again. Therefore, after capturing 3 short clips of No5775 on her GWR stock, I gave up...and so did the railway! However, though the 00 gauge had to cease operations, I did not; I went inside and brought out my two Steam Toys: the Wilesco D405 and the Mamod SW1. Both engines were soon in steam and I filmed them in the snow. The steam effects were very visible in the cold weather and therefore have picked up well on the film. The video is included above; and, as usual, double-click to enlarge! I hope you enjoy my little post from today; it was bitterly cold! Unfortunately however, the Steam Lorry is now out of action due to a stripped thread on its front axle. Hopefully I'll get a new one asap! Thanks for reading folks; Good Evening...