Narrow Minded

This is unfortunately true NT, it's also unfortunate that Mother Nature doesn't, and so I now face the daunting task of clearing months of growth before I can re-open the line Watch this space

I can't tell you how much these photo's gladden my heart! Seeing the "steam fleet" in action is a real tonic!!

That makes an excellent change to the ubiquitous log or pipe load Phil, brilliant idea!!!!

Don't go cutting it off, I'll pop you an Allen key in the post, cos you'll need to refit the knob when it's modded. I wouldn't worry too much about the tarp being fire retardent, it'll be rolled up and out of the way. An old cotton hanky (or a bit cut off a shirt) will do. Cut it to size, give it a good pasting of PVA glue and roll it up - the glue helps stop any "fraying". I'll put some tiny black tie-wraps in with the Allen key

Cracking job O.B. and a fantastic addition to the roster! I know some folk have replaced the control knobs by removing 'em, cutting off the plastic, then drilling the brass insert to take a length of rod - I'll try and find you a picture And I reckon you need a "rolled up tarp" just to finish off that cab back

That's coming along nicely! The rivet detail makes a world of difference

Blimey! You've only had it five minutes, and you've already done all that to it - really putting me to shame with my own Caradoc "project", which has taken weeks to do far less! (mind you, waiting over a month for a chuff pipe didn't help....... and there's STILL no word on the name plates, so I've given up on those. Some traders don't seem to care much about "customer care" ) Really looking forward to seeing what you've got planned in your minds eye for this loco

Welcome to the "Caradoc Owners Club" It looks a nice example, and an ideal bare canvas for you to work your magic on No doubt you've already noticed the difference in 'feel' compared to the Roundhouse loco's, but don't let that fool you - from experience I'm sure you'll find it a real workhorse and a worthy addition to the MCCLR roster! You can get a water top-up filler valve for it, but running it as built on the "single fill" keeps things simple and is completely stress free - think along the lines of having a couple of 'collectors cars' and a 'daily runner' for tootling about in and you'll get the idea (and I know plenty of folk who end up prefer driving their 'daily runner' to the more exotic examples in their fleet ) Great to hear your lass is doing well, and the extension is looking grand - the new location for the bobby's box is spot on!

Glad to hear your lass is doing OK. Looking forward to seeing the cab steps - I must get some for the Bertie (but not via mail order )

You've read my mind

Marvelous job with the weathering! It's really brought the loco to life, (and you make it sound so easy, but I know from experience how badly it can turn out) Loving the new shed and wondering how long before it gets adorned with some signage

A lovely looking little workhorse for under 80 quid - what's not to like?! I can't see the battery in the photo's, but I bet you could make a "crate" from wooden coffee stirrers to hide it.

Congratulations on the new addition to the KGLR roster Andy I've seen these loco's regularly advertised on that well-known online auction site, but never read a detailed review of them. Your write-up is gratefully received, and I look forward to seeing how it performs when you give it a "load test" and a run with the sound on

Many congratulations indeed, and thanks for sharing those milestone moments with us The "golden spike" and "first train" are certainly well deserved events to remember after all the hard graft

"tone it down" ?????? Nah, give it the proper industrial look, then give the plates a wipe like the footplate crews would have done Hope everything gets sorted for your lass

Top job O.B. I hope you're going to take some "ex-works" photo's before it gets weathered

There has been some N gauge featured in magazines etc in the past, generally with some very precision laid concrete groundwork to support it - there was even a photo posted on A.N.Other forum of a chap out in his garden, wearing a hat which had an N gauge circle of track around the brim! (which caused a huge argument over the distinction between "garden railway" and "railway in the garden" ). It's worth bearing in mind the old phrase "You can't scale nature", and even the smallest bit of detritus on the track will cause huge problems the smaller you go in scale terms. If I was to go 'minimum', I think it would be 7mm Narrow Gauge running on 00 track.

Great stuff Mike. The dwarf alberta spruce trees should make good "view blockers" and create an effective background from most viewing angles.

That's looking awesome O.B. and as good as the Katie looked on your line, the new guise is absolutely PERFECT!

It must have been one of "those" weekends - we went from having just two gigs in the diary to a solid four days worth! Only managed to touch base briefly over the weekend, so absolutely nothing done here. I've had no actual experience with the Cliff Barker track Idris, but I've heard no negative reports about it either

Hmmm, taking "just what you'd start with if you were starting now" as the key point, I'd pretty much repeat what I've done this time round, especially if you're interested in "starter packs" and you're talking large scale. An LGB / Toytrain starter set plus a couple of Sidings extension track packs will provide you with everything you need to make a start in the garden (and acclimatize you to the huge leap in size from the 'indoor scales' which can be quite a shock to some people ), a loco, some stock, power supply and an oval of track with a passing loop. Once you've taken the plunge, the most often repeated mantra is "get something running" Because of the nature of garden railway building (ie you're at the mercy of nature ), it's the tonic that'll keep you going!

Great stuff Idris, and I hope the postie delivers the goods soon so you can keep up the good work while you've got "the bit between your teeth" (but not literally of course

Yay! In the words of Cliff, "Con -grat - u - lations and celebrations.........." And the Katie looks right at home on the MCCLR - are you sure about doing a bodyswap on that one? (or maybe another donor power unit?)

Thanks Idris It'll be a while before the next update while it waits for the arrival of name plates and a chuff pipe.

Great to see tracklaying in progress Idris, but flippin'eck - that does look like a bit of major engineering with the block foundations........ and it led me to wondering if your neighbours knew in advance what you were up to?! I can just imagine the speculation going on as they tried to figure it out!