jayvid

The last two weeks have been hectic to say the least with shows on both weekends. The system suffered its first major breakdown when the motor cried enough and died .A spare was quickly fitted and it was back to business in around half an hour. A new spare has been obtained but hopefully wont be needed for another 75,000 runs ! Last Thursday the club played host to Chris Nevard for a photo shoot of a couple of layouts at SDRM club rooms so we had two evenings to get the trams dusted down and touched up .For some time I have been working on a backdrop in the form of a cliff wall for the rear of the incline which I fitted intending to canvas the opinion of the club members but remove it for the photo session. It was still in place when Chris took a series of night shots using the Led lights to good effect. Whether or not we will make it into print remains to be seen, but Chris has kindly said once he has weaved his magic on the shots he will make them available for use on the Glenngary website. On a previous visit to the club he banged his head rather badly on the raised test track so it was only fitting that he signed the offending piece of wood at what has become known as Chris' Corner. Ps The Tram photos were taken by me on my box brownie.

Some pictures from last weekends mini exhibition at the N.Y.M.R in Pickering

The second weekend of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway Spring steam gala saw us set up and ready early Friday morning for a private viewing by the Potter hill Playgroup children, parents and staff. following a quick cup of tea we opened to the public although as with the previous week business was slow, but for some reason the trams were also running rather slow as well. We were able to compensate for this by gradually increasing the speed control units but something was definitely amiss. On Sunday morning with just 40 minutes to opening time we discovered that the combined motor and gearbox was the culprit.As we carry a spare we set to to change it,this involves stripping the whole top station down so while we were in there we checked the condition of the toothed cam-belt but all was well.The job was completed with 5 mins to spare thanks to help from club member Simon Denham . The new motor runs whisper quiet and when we consider that the old one had done an estimated 75,000 duty cycles then it was perhaps time for a change. The relaxed nature of these mini shows gives the club members more time to talk to the public and even let then have a go at using digital controllers etc.

A slow start to the first day at North Yorkshire Moors Railway Spring steam gala which got busier as the day moved on. The upgrades done over winter worked well with no nasty surprises. The Red cars are on duty for the first weekend with Part two next week over 3 days (Fri,Sat and Sun 24th-26th April) Doors open at 10am on Platform 2 at Pickering Station.

With only three weeks to the first of this seasons outings at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway ,the winter program of upgrades has been mostly completed. The exception being the electrical modifications to provide a self monitoring capability which would shut down the system in the event of a malfunction.This would be useful at shows as someone without an in depth working knowledge of procedures could man the layout during breaks etc. On the plus side the overhaul of the Green trams "Carli" and "June" has been completed a year sooner than expected !This means the entire fleet of six cars now have new liveries .The top and bottom stations have both had new additions added externally so we are in need of a photo session to update the website and blog etc. We have previously printed our own leaflets and "I drove the trams" cards at home but have now had then professionally printed which seems expensive initially will probably save time and money in the long run. April is looking rather busy with the time table as below 3rd April Pre event setup and test session at home 19th-21st N.Y.M.R spring Gala week 1 24th-26th N.Y.M.R spring Gala week 2 30th April Magazine Photo shoot Plus find time for the day job ! Finally a new video this one is a pictorial walk through of the story so far,you may recognise the music.

Green ! The rebuild of tramcars Carli And June had been planned for sometime so a tin of green spray paint had been bought some time ago. When the time came to paint the assembled parts I proceeded out to the back yard and gave the can a good long shake to mix the contents. After a couple of minutes i removed the lid to find the nozzle was detached inside,usually a quick press to replace it and all is well.....not this time !!. The nozzle only went in half way and jammed solid allowing paint to escape in all directions. There then followed a frantic dash the full length of the yard to reach the wheelie bin. Covered in paint from the chest down I turned see the yard walls, floor, garden table and chairs and flower tubs dripping in green paint .With the sound of the can still discharging its contents into the bin I arrived at the back door amazed to see its white pvc in pristine condition, so the only means of summoning help was to use my head to bang on the door !. Eventually Dianne came to see what the banging was and took one look and said " what have you done that for ? ". The one thing that mystifies me is as modelers we degrease , prime and prepare surfaces to ensure good paint adhesion yet get it on somewhere unintended and nothing short of a thermonuclear blast will get the dam stuff off . Gary

Hi Russ I do hope you give Saltstone another go as it gets lonely on the funicular models front. We tried for ages to get a water powered one to run reliably but we were building for outdoor use which limited our use of materials. gary

3rd March 2015 The last few weeks have been hectic due to work pressures and our daughter getting married last weekend, so modeling time has been very limited . The refit of tramcars Carli and June seems to have dragged on a bit but we are finally there. These are the last two cars in the fleet to to be done so now work to modify the electrics can start but with the first of this seasons outings fast approaching time will be tight.

10 January 2015 Towards the end of 2014 I had started to think that perhaps the journey with the trams may be coming to an end. The last season of outings had been our busiest to date but they had all been at the one venue and with the clubs main annual exhibition taking place just over the road we haven't travelled very far. With this in mind the SDRM club have started promoting the trams with exhibition managers but the club has a portfolio of hugely popular layouts and these are quite rightly in great demand. During a visit by Hornby Magazine last week to photograph two of the newer layouts the club had them take a look at the trams in action, this I am delighted to say resulted in an invitation to their Great Electric Train show in 2016. A second invitation from the Barnsley Model railway club has now been confirmed for November 2015, so the promotion by the club is bearing fruit. The North Yorkshire Moors Railway dates are now starting to be confirmed and we will be back for our sixth visit to the SDRM show in August so the next couple of years look to be quite exciting. Following there rebuild tramcars "Dianne" and "Gemma" spent the day running in during the Hornby Magazine Photo shoot. P.s. these pictures were taken by me with a bad dose of camara envy "Can i have one like his....please" Dianne says "NO!"

Happy new year everyone First update of 2015 and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway dates for the coming season are now in the exhibitions tab over on the website. http://www.glenngarytramway.co.uk/#Homepage Two new videos have been added to the visits tab .The first is of a visit in 2010 to the Bridgnorth cliff railway and the second a visit this week to the St Nicholas cliff railway in Scarborough the footage of which was shot specifically for making a video. I am just getting to grips with this video making malarky so plenty of room for improvement. All my videos ,railways or otherwise can be viewed on my Youtube channel At .https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMbJDe21MJLy3YuR7SFfROQ

13 December 2014 It was all Santa's fault ! Back in 2011 I was struck down with a very bad dose of flu and being confined to bed on christmas eve, having consumed a considerable amount of whisky (for medical purposes you understand) I decided to go on the internet to track santas progress on the big night. A quick search brought me to a relevant site and as i clicked on it a view of santa flying through a starry sky complete with reindeers and a fully loaded sleigh appeared. At the bottom of the page was a button inviting me to track santas exact position, this i duly pressed in anticipation to be greeted by what can only be described as a sound not of this earth emitting from the speakers of my laptop, a brief image of the devil laughing followed by the blue screen of death. Result, total loss of everything on the hard drive ! Grrrrrrrr. Fast foward to a couple of weeks ago and whilst looking for some photos on a backup harddrive purchased following the earlier incident a couple of folders containing pictures believed lost were found. These must have been in the cameras memory and subsequently down loaded at a later time. The pictures were of two tramways we visited in Wales and I have made a couple of short videos with them which can be viewed here Work on the top station to inprove the lights and signs is nearly complete with just some minor tidying up to be done, first pictures can be seen below. Lastly Dianne and I would like to thank everyone who has come to the shows and those who have taken the time to read the posts on the Glenngary website, Facebook and RM web. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. We will be back in the 2015 Dianne and Gary

20 November 2014 For those of you who are interested a full history of the build and evolution of the model is available on the Glenngary website @ http://www.glenngarytramway.co.uk. From time to time we make visits to sites of interest and these can be found under the visits tab.We so far have five outings with the trams penciled in the diary for 2015 as the dates are confirmed they will be added to the exhibitions tab Now that tram cars "Gemma" and "Dianne" have undergone their refit the next job is to add external lighting to the top station, plus the boss wants some jobs done around the house !! Gary

10 November 2014 Over the weekend the overhaul of "Dianne" was completed, the tramcar that is, not the missus. Both cars now only need minor painting but are good to go. One of the passengers that travels in "Gemma" is a man holding a camera who we call Sid, Sid the flasher actually for reasons that will become clear shortly. As the tramcar moves up and down the incline the flash on the camera fires to simulate a picture being taken. This was achieved by drilling a small hole in the front of the camera all the way through to the back of the figure. A larger hole was then drilled back going the other way using the first hole as a guide but stopping just short of the front of the camera. A small white LED was then inserted inside and the wires run down the back of each leg and down through the floor of the car. A 470 ohm resistor was added to one of the wires before it was connected to the 9 volt battery for the car lighting. The other wire was run down to the bottom of the chassis close to the track and connected to a glass reed switch. A wire then runs from the reed switch back to the battery to complete the circuit . The reed switch is operated only when it comes in close proximity to a magnet, so a tiny magnet is fixed near the track in such a way as to have only a fleeting effect on the switch as the car passes by. This causes the LED to flash in the required manner and as the LED is lit is for a short time a bright flash is seen without damage due to heat or overcurrent. Sid has done over 20,000 trips without any problems and his twin brother Sam now travels in tramcar "Carli" .

2 November 2014 Work to refit tramcars "Gemma" and "Dianne" has progressed much faster than anticipated with "Gemma" almost finished and "Dianne" requiring a further 10 hours work to finish off. With this refit being completed so quickly it has opened the possibility of cars "Carli" and "June" paying a visit to the workbench for a similar makeover before the new season of outings. Gary

2 October 1014 End of term report. 2014 has been our busiest year so far with the trams having attended six events.This has resulted in 15 days exhibiting plus set up sessions etc. The system has run for over 13,000 metres without any breakdowns to report. Damage due to our hands on policy at shows has also seen zero. Invites form other clubs have been disappointing but our programme of events at the NYMR have played to the models strengths, due to their large number of visiting families. The surprise of the year came at the SDRM annual show where we were so busy for almost the entire event considering this was our fifth consecutive year in attendance. We currently have one outing in the diary for 2015 with a number of others pencilled in awaiting confirmation so a programme of winter maintenance and upgrades will be implemented ,these include 1) full service of the winding gear etc. 2) Overhaul and repaint of Tramcars "Dianne" and "Gemma" 3) Final Batch of figures in Tramcars "Carli" and "June" to go for detail painting. 4) Freshen up scenic areas on the incline 5) external lighting and detail to add to top and bottom stations 6) modification to the electrics to provide a self monitoring function so should a fault occur the system will shutdown to prevent motor and drive system damage. Over the years various modifications have resulted in the control area being not as tidy or logically laid out as it could be so a complete revamp and rewire is not too far away. This would be a fairly major undertaking so we will see how the future work load pans out to see if it would be justified. Gary

28 september 2014 The second day proved to be as busy as the first with the green cars "Carli" and "June" on duty for what was our last scheduled outing for 2014. During the weekend a list of jobs for the winter maintenance period was drawn up, details of which I will include in the next update. It was nice to see Joan and David Burnett who back in 2010 were the first to invite us to exhibit at their Cleethorpes model railway society exhibition.

27 September 2014 To round off the busy first day at the NYMR Autumn Steam Gala we had a short nighttime running session.

26 September 2014 This weekend (27th/28th Sept ) sees us return for the final time this year to the NYMR for their Autumn Steam Gala . Joining the regulars (Thomas, Goathlandin00, Pocklington and Glenngary) this time is Ian Harper's Haymarket Cross, which has featured in some of the best selling model railway publications. Goathlandin00 can be seen in the October issue of Railway Modeller and Glenngary currently features on Scarborough TV news. All this and more for only a £1 can't be bad so come and see us on Platform 2 Pickering station.

Back home following the 3 day diesel Gala at the NYMR, tram cars "Dianne " and "Gemma" completed their final running sessions on Friday and Saturday without incident. On Sunday we ran the new red cars for the first time at this venue. The more relaxed pace of this gala allowed us to let the trams do their thing in automatic mode and spend more time talking to the punters. One thing that does come across is how unique the model is but it's that uniquness that results in us falling outside the usual catagories for inclusion in exhibitions. The SDRM club has shown great support for the model and its upgrades and has asked us to again attend their annual show in 2015. The club graciously houses the model in its down time but space is always in great demand so layouts need to earn there keep. We are currently seeking a limited number of invites from clubs who would like something a little different to fill a small space at their show. Gary

Scarborough Tv News paid a visit to the recent SDRM Model Railway exhibition at Pickering http://www.scarboroughtvnews.co.uk/railway-exhibition.html

Our next outing will see us returning to the NYMR at Pickering Station for their 3 day Diesel Gala (12/13/14 September) . This will be the last chance to see tramcars "Dianne" and "Gemma" in their current form as by the end of the weekend both cars will have passed the 25 miles travelled since being built and are in need of an overhaul. The dark blue paintwork they have carried since 2001 is no longer available and attempts to match it has proved unsuccessful so its time for a change. The cars will be fitted out similar to the new red cars and will have new lighting fitted. The work will be done over the winter as time permits and the cars should be done for the first outing next year. At this time the events diary for 2015 is empty so when that will be is unknown.

Back home following what has been our busiest show to date. The SDRM clubs annual show proved to be as popular as ever. The trams spent most of the weekend running in manual mode with drivers at times queueing to take a turn. The new tramcars performed well and earlier concerns regarding the robustness of the frames contruction ie plastic rather than metal proved unfounded.

Its time for the SDRM's annual show at the Pickering Memorial Hall 16th/17th August. With three floors of layouts, demonstrations and traders so there is something for everyone. This is our home event and will be our fifth with the trams so the pressure is on to bring something new. After a busy winter the top and bottom stations have been refurbished with new interiors and external details added. The front display has been revised with led lighting added. Two new cars will be running for the first time in public and two model morris vans made up in red to match the new cars, one of which will be given away as part of our free to enter "guess the distance travelled by Margaret -Tilly tram car" competition. So come and see us in the foyer, drive the trams, have a chat and enjoy the show. Gary

Two short videos of the trams in action. Hope you enjoy Gary

With the changable weather and the schools summer break just around the corner this resulted in a relatively quiet weekend show at the NYMR.The trams ran faultlessly on what was our thirteenth exhibition outing. Tram car "Dianne" passed the 40,000 metre point just before 3pm on Sunday, Thats 25 miles in old money ! (Pic ) SDRM Chairman Mike Johnson starts proceedings. (Pic 2) Time to chat (Pics 3) View from Goathlandin00 layout