The McMullen Coal Company Light Railway

[Owd Bob]

hi "bob" plates look nice as does the loco. did you get your plates when they had the offer on ?

i ordered 4 sets for talyllyn locos 1,2,3,4.

 

pic is no1 talyllyn on the llechfan garden railway.

Hey up! Stuart, i ordered the plates a couple of months ago and they cost a fiver for each pair of both names and works plates, i don't know whether that was when they were on offer but it did seem very cheap at the time, and at least it's nice to see someone had a good time in Wales that week,  Is that loco one of the kits you were showing me a few months ago Ossy? if so can we have more info' on them please?     

[ossygobbin]

mark. yes its the 3D printed loco, for those interested and dont know about these kits this is the link.

 

http://pdf-models.com

 

yes it was great, pity you couldnt make it due to your health problem, hope your on the mend.

[Owd Bob]

Had a lovely relaxing couple of hours at a nearby local garden railway called the Howe bridge Light Railway, to which i was kindly invited to by its owner Dave' of the 16mm groups local Merseyside & Northwest branch. Great to get out and enjoy & meet such great fellow minded company and see some lovely stuff....bit on the dull & chilly side but the fresh air for once felt great.

[77philg]

Great to see you have joined in bob. Hopefully might see you on the circuit too sometime  Couldn't go to this meet as I was at another one  phil

[ossygobbin]

wouldnt mind an invitation to the next meet at daves mark, didnt see it advertised. looks a nice railway.

[Owd Bob]

wouldnt mind an invitation to the next meet at daves mark, didnt see it advertised. looks a nice railway.

I only heard about it a few days before from Rob Guiness, as i'm not a member of the 16mm Ossy, but he do's keep in touch and tells me of any local meets and he thought that as i only lived local i might fancy a visit, i'll let you know next time. I only had a couple of hours but it was enough to give me a bit of inspiration and a much needed kick up the backside to get a bit done on mine this weekend, and to stop sitting about feeling sorry for mi sen. Met a bloke there who had been down yours just the day before Ossy. Cheers phil i got out for the first time proper and it did me good, had to leave earlier than i would have liked to but the new tablets were kicking in bad style  I'll post a few pics' if i get owt done over the weekend. 

Edited August 25, 2017 by Owd Bob

[77philg]

wouldnt mind an invitation to the next meet at daves mark, didnt see it advertised. looks a nice railway.

 If you are a 16mm member you can get on the Merseyside e mail list which rob runs and every meet is e mailed to all  . I do have his e mail address, ID pm you this .you could always ask him to put you on it  phil

[Owd Bob]

Just

 

 If you are a 16mm member you can get on the Merseyside e mail list which rob runs and every meet is e mailed to all  . I do have his e mail address, ID pm you this .you could always ask him to put you on it  phil

I just sent Ossy all the details Phil' 

[77philg]

Just

 

I just sent Ossy all the details Phil' 

  Seen the video footage on u tube of the meet , I Hope to be able to go next time he has an open day    Phil

[Owd Bob]

Just spent a few gentle days in the lovely weather tarting up the line! I've had to re-lay all the loose rocks along the long straight back stretch and chiseled off the sharp square edges off the concrete slabs the track sits on, any gaps in-between the slabs and the newly laid rock pieces was in-filled with soil and Alpine plant cuttings/divisions. The new mine tunnel was formed using all the rocks i had left over from its original ground level site including the corrugated bean tin semi circle of the tunnel mouth, and all the buildings were also moved up beside it on a newly laid small patio flag to make another if not crammed industrial looking yard scene. I've to alter the winding house to suit today which is missing from these pics' but it will be fitted soon  Once the new concrete is fully set and dry i'll weather it all down with some diluted pound shop matt Black.

Edited August 27, 2017 by Owd Bob

[Owd Bob]

All done and dusted this morning and the pit is back up and running, although the tunnel loco' is now redundant if anybody is interested in it i'd just enough energy left this afternoon for an hours play with the battery loco's.   

[Edwardian]

Not for the first time have I suffered the illusion that I could step into the frame and walk around your railway as if it were full size.  Lovely work and great pictures.

[Owd Bob]

Few more random pics' of recent doings, the Cows take cover on the abandoned line up to the water feature, small patio flags laid for Hoghton Chapels Station new site, and the track to the two storage/steam up sidings are now laid.

[77philg]

 Do you leave the local coal lorry outside Bob or do you pull certain things in to protect from the weather? And hopefully see you at weekend Leigh show? phil

[Owd Bob]

 Do you leave the local coal lorry outside Bob or do you pull certain things in to protect from the weather? And hopefully see you at weekend Leigh show? phil

It has been left out for long stretches but i'm starting to bring everything indoors these days especially when high winds or a long spell of rain is forecast, i've just put my old engine shed on Flee-bay for sale before it starts to rot out, it'll be ideal for an indoor based railway, i'm having a big sort out and thinning out a lot of stuff phil' Hopefully i'll be at the Leigh show first thing on Sat' morn' as i'm busy on Sat' aft' and ordered out by swmbo all day on Sunday    I'll bring the buildings i promised you, don't panic i won't charge you much!

  

 

Edited August 30, 2017 by Owd Bob

[44690]

Have you built a new engine shed? I hope my Lady Anne fits. Lol. 

 

Lovely pics. I won't recognise the railway nest time I visit. Onwards and Upwards.

 

I won't get to Leigh show this weekend  ELR and football Saturday and Southport on Sunday.

 

Enjoy the show.

 

Ian

[Owd Bob]

Have you built a new engine shed? I hope my Lady Anne fits. Lol. 

 

Lovely pics. I won't recognise the railway nest time I visit. Onwards and Upwards.

 

I won't get to Leigh show this weekend  ELR and football Saturday and Southport on Sunday.

 

Enjoy the show.

 

Ian

No more engine sheds Ian, and very few other buildings from now on, i have to simplify things. Leigh show for me on Sat'  then Heaton Pk. on Sun' 'cos it's a big classic car/bus do!  Then it's off to the ELR on the following Sunday the 10th. that is another classic car do   and i really need to do some research and take some pics' for my indoor 'O' gauge creation based around the old Goods yard /shed at Castlecroft.    

[Dinmore Manor]

A stunning series of pictures Bob, love it!

[Mike Storey]

Outstanding Bob, as per usual. You are truly a real artist to which many of us can only dream. I am so glad you have managed to get back into the railway despite your medical difficulties. Keep on with your vision, which must help your physical condition. Never give up, never surrender. (I may have nicked that but it doesn't make it any less relevant).

 

I am just about to lay my first track on the concrete foundations I have now laid. I have taken aboard all you have said. You are a total inspiration, so unlike the bighead detractors with whom it would appear you have dealt with in the past?

[Owd Bob]

Thanks Mike! all the 'loads a money' 'R' soles don't bother me at all i'll always do things my way and on the cheap, and i've been trawling this site for ideas and inspiration for my O gauge winter project and can't believe how many use cad drawings, laser cutters and printers to make stuff! especially buildings with special artiste cards etc...what's wrong with laminating old cornflake packets together with PVA? and whats wrong with using a pencil, a ruler and scissors/Stanley knife blade!    Good luck with the track laying i do hope the weather is kind to you this weekend! 

Edited September 2, 2017 by Owd Bob

[44690]

No more engine sheds Ian, and very few other buildings from now on, i have to simplify things. Leigh show for me on Sat'  then Heaton Pk. on Sun' 'cos it's a big classic car/bus do!  Then it's off to the ELR on the following Sunday the 10th. that is another classic car do   and i really need to do some research and take some pics' for my indoor 'O' gauge creation based around the old Goods yard /shed at Castlecroft.    

I'm not at the ELR on 10th. Shame as it would be great to meet up with you.

 

PM sent.

 

Ian

[Martino]

You have a really stunning railway Bob.

 

What do you use to ballast around the track? It looks cemented in. It's impressive.

[Owd Bob]

Many thanks Martino!   I use a granite chippings mix from my local building supply yard, i seem very lucky to be able to get hold of it around here. It is about 5mm-6mm. Diam' particles of Granite going right down to fine dust, i use/mix it 50/50 with pure Portland cement, no sand is needed as there's plenty of granite dust in the mix to bind it all together, i make a dry mix and brush it into the sleepers and firm it down just with my fingers, i let the rain or on dry days use an hand held spray bottle to damp it down and set it. Once it has set i sprinkle handfuls of the same granite chippings around the line-side which washes and weathers in nicely with the set ballast. Hope it helps! 

[Edwardian]

Just because I've run out of superlatives doesn't mean I'm not thoroughly enjoying each new picture!

[Mike Storey]

This effing weather is driving me bonkers! I laid about 15m of reinforced concrete track bed in a few days and have now moved on to where I need to lay a concrete base at a lower level and build up to track bed height with blocks (a lot of ground movement here so it needs to be over-engineered). This part requires a triangular junction, so levels are all important. So far, I have only managed to lay the base for about 6m, in two directions, and laid only 6 blocks, over a wet week and a half. Tried to get going again this morning when the heavens opened, on a forecast of only 6% possibility. Do what!!!???

 

I would post photos but my Windows phone does not want to talk to my HP laptop, so I will have to join in this Cloud thingy to do it apparently, so will open a new thread when I have solved that.

 

Meanwhile, I have screwed my track down on the previous incarnations in England, after pre-bending, but always found this caused distortion, no matter how careful I was. I am proposing to try just using the coarse sand and cement mix to hold it in place this time, and will experiment with cheap, hard cat litter on the surface to simulate ballast, which is apparently just rock dust. (No decent quarry near here for the effect Old Bob has achieved). I have left some out in the rain for several weeks and it has not turned into the featureless glob I was expecting, which is how it often goes in the cats' litter tray. So, as long as the cats don't take to weeing on my track, we shall see....

Edited September 11, 2017 by Mike Storey