Around the Railway 2

More general views around the railway.

The side garden. The track enters the shed on the left.

Looking out from the shed. 

Inside the shed with Grandad's Little Helper. 

A view out of the shed tunnel mouth - looking towards the conservatory.

Around the Railway 1

To put recent photos in context here are some general views around the railway.

The bottom of the rear garden. Birdlip Junction is behind the tunnel.

Looking back towards the house from the bottom of the rear garden

An aerial view of the rear garden

The shed area in the side garden

Photos of the New Extension

The open day has come and gone. About 30 G Scale Society members came to have a look. The weather was very kind and everyone seemed to enjoy the garden and the railway.
Here are a few photos of the completed work.

The viaduct, under arch bridge and goods bay

The low level station

A general view of the area

The pony trust girder bridge which carries the line over itself

Line to the shed (below) and back out of the side on the new embankment

A view of Birdlip Junction through a viaduct arch

Birdlip Junction - the start of the extension

The Extension Is Now Open

It's been a rare dry day here in West Bromwich so I've been able to get a full day's work in on the railway and the first trains have been run on the extension. A little fettling is still required (like shaving a little off the shed) but it will now be operating on the open day in 11 days time.

20 Days to My Open Day

It poured with rain all day yesterday, but this evening I've managed to work outside for an hour or two. The track has now been laid on the lower level and partially on the higher level. The next jobs are to complete the painting of the platforms and add the ballast.

22 days to my open day

With just over three weeks to go, the gap is finally closed and the new station area is taking shape. The low level platform is complete and just needs painting, the steps have been cast and mortared into position and the high level platform is in place too.

The blocks in the foreground are supporting the walls while the concrete dries. 

The new station area

Steps connecting high and low levels

I don't think any work will get done on the railway today!

The shed area

The rear garden

Flooding

34 Days To My Open Day

Preparation for the open day continues.  As most of the work involves concrete, I've had to make the most of this rare dry day - although heavy rain is forecast this evening and over night.

The last viaduct pier has been cast.

Looking from the other side of the viaduct.  The concrete in the middle section of the new station area has been made lower so that the Cain Howley station sections can be sunk below track level.  I think they are a little high for a narrow gauge railway.

A general view of viaduct and station area, taken from near the bottom of the garden.

Zooming in shows clearly that the viaduct is on a steep gradient

38 Days To My Open Day

Progress on the railway has been very slow recently due to a combination of poor weather and a nasty bout of man flu.

Another viaduct section has been added - reducing the gap to 26 inches.

On the lower level, I have started putting in the footings for the new station area.

The viaduct (and gap) and the new station area

A view of the viaduct from the shed.  In the foreground is the modified embankment which still needs finishing. 

A New Station

There appears to be a national shortage of viaduct sections so while I'm waiting for more to be produced I've decided to start on the new station area.

The area marked out with string.  In the background is the 'gap' where the viaduct sections will go and to the right is the removable bridge.

The station area with the turf removed

Unfortunately this is as far as I got before having to go out.  Perhaps if it doesn't rain too much this week I can get the footings in.

Realigned Embankment

A little bit more work today on embankment near the shed.  The embankment has been raised and a new curved bridge is being made to fill the remaining gap.

Work on the embankment near the shed

New Artefacts

After a visit to the National Railway Museum in York earlier this week the railway has gained some new artefacts - a sign for the gate and a regulation fire bucket for the shed/station.

The new sign

The fire bucket

Another view of the fire bucket

Today on the Railway

Too hot today to work on the railway so just sat in the shade and watched the trains go by.

High and Low Level

More Work on the Railway

As well as bridging the gap there are a number of other areas of the railway that need attention this year.  This gap was temporarily bridged with a plank of wood.  However it's not the only thing in this area that needs fixing - the embankment on the left is too low!

Shuttering in place for raising the height of the embankment

Another view of the shuttering - ready for adding the concrete

As soon as the concrete had been added the heavens opened and it hasn't stopped raining since.

The Gap Is Being Closed

Unfortunately it was not possible to get all of the viaduct sections I need to bridge the gap from the G Scale Society 25th Anniversary Show and also the inclement weather has prevented work on the railway, until today.

The 'removable' bridge removed and 3 new viaduct sections roughly aligned.

Work in progress

The viaduct is three sections longer

The gap has now been reduced to 42inches.  Two more arches and a thermalite block should complete the job.

Work has re-started on the extension

103 days to my open day and approximately another metre has been added to the formation today.  Looks like nothing else is going to happen this week as the weather forecast is for rain, rain and more rain.  Still it's off to the G Scale Society show this weekend to collect more concrete viaduct sections.

The gap in the thermlite block embankment has been filled in

The thermalite block embankment has been extended by two blocks

The Plan

Having got some of the railway running, I have decided it is time to plan how to bridge the gap in the figure-of-eight circuit.

The Gap looking towards the shed

The Gap from the other direction

Before the conservatory was added, there used to be a station on the edge of the patio.  This disappeared under the extended area of slabs.  The plan is to re-build the station, but this time to have an island platform at the lower level linked to a smaller platform at the higher level.

The Plan

The aim is to implement the plan in time for my next open day on 28th July.  I'm now writing a shopping list to take to the G Scale Society 25th Anniversary Show.

The first train of the 2012 season

I spent the afternoon cleaning and relaying some of the track in the back garden.  Percy handled the test train.  Still lots of cleaning and maintenance to do.

Percy and Troublesome Trucks

An excuse for playing trains

On Fridays we look after our grandson and with the fantastic March weather it was too good an opportunity to miss.

This button operates the whistle

This button rings the bell

Where to begin?

Do I clean up all of the detritus from the winter and get trains running on the back garden circuit?

An air of dereliction

Or do I forget running trains for now and get on with completing the figure of eight circuit?

The gap remains to be bridged

Or do I just get on with the DIY jobs around the house allocated to me by Mrs Edwards?