Dorking Garden Railway - videos in 00 scale

[Dorkingian]

Rehab and more

 

Not a lot has happened in the last six months, and no trains have run despite my eagerness to dispel the idea that winter isn't always good for garden railways, mainly because of wet weather.

So the railway has been suffering from neglect, and this week's sunshine prompted a serious effort to excavate it from the leaves and rubbish that had covered the scenic side.  This also revealed a number of problems which need to be dealt with - some easier than others.

For the first time, the vegetation on both sides of the track has died back during the winter.  This has affected both the ivy above the railway and the mind-your-own-business below it.  Presumably they will both recover in due course.

 

 

 

Secondly, moss has flourished on some stretches of track, which would be fine if a scale overgrown look was required - but it's not.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, scraping the moss out from between the sleepers often meant that the scraper just disappeared into the rotten wood beneath.  And holes are appearing elsewhere.  Not good, although after 11 years it shouldn't be a surprise.

 

 

 

And inevitably there are a few rail-end bonds which need resoldering, usually in the most awkward locations.

 

 

So there's still work to be done before trains can run.  And that's only in the short term, because the garden decking replacement project is due in May and will entail dismantling and rebuilding much of the railway.  Hope I can get some running sessions in beforehand...

 

Edited April 4, 2023 by Dorkingian
typo

[Dorkingian]

Temporary suspension of service

 

It was a sad day when, after over eleven years of happy DGR running, I had to dismantle half the layout to make way for garden landscapers to remove the rotting decking at the front of the railway (and elsewhere in the garden) before installing replacement paving.  The future infrastructure should be on more durable foundations, but for the moment, no more fun days in the sun.

 

On the first day of the project, the landscapers made quite an impact.  It was hard to visualise where the front of the railway went...

 

 

 

The decking will be replaced by more-durable Indian sandstone paving, and the retaining walls are being done in oak timber which I'm told will last longer than I will.  The landscapers have given me four upright sleepers on which to rebuild the front of the railway.  The bamboos in their pots have been temporarily moved, so Bamboo Curtain Straight should retain its name.  And as befits a railway that sometimes represents parts of the north of England, a modest amount of levelling-up has taken place behind the sleeper retaining wall using the pile of spoil in front of the digger.

In this photo you can just see the A-frame forming the end of what was the Northern Viaduct, with the bamboo pots still in place...

 

 

 

And here is the new work, all ready for me to lay some timber trackbase once the landscapers have departed in a few weeks time.

 

[Dorkingian]

Emerging from the backwoods

 

A bit of transAtlantic eBay shopping produced this wonderful beast, a Doodlebug from just a century ago in America, displayed on the remaining part of the layout:

 

 

See: https://www.trains.com/ctr/railroads/locomotives/emc-delivers-first-doodlebug-motorcar/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Haven't had time yet to see if this Bachmann product actually runs, but it looks promising. 

I really want to acquire a decent interurban model, but they are scarce and pricey and mostly in America.  Of course to be realistic that would need an overhead power wire anyway.  The Doodlebug isn't an interurban but looks like a useful midway option.

Not having bought anything on eBay from the US before, I was half expecting to have to pay import duty here.  But the bill somehow included 20 per cent VAT and airmail shipping and nothing further, so I'm happy.

 

[Dorkingian]

All a bit quiet in the garden recently - but I've been to Paris:

 

 

 

And coming back was pretty fast too:

 

 

[Dorkingian]

The models were here:

 

 

Well worth a visit.

[Dorkingian]

After France, yesterday it was time to visit Germany and drive some trains...

 

 

 

 

Many thanks to the UK FREMO group for an entertaining time yesterday operating the latest configuration of their German outline modular approach to model railways, complete with fully detailed timetabling which drivers and signalmen have to follow.  Some Anglo-Saxon interlopers appeared on the track during the lunchbreak.

Altogether an ambitious undertaking, but very rewarding to be able to share in it.