Got in an hour or so of track clearance on the garden railway this evening. The line is now open from Devlins all the way down the hill to Bottom Points. The track is in remarkably good condition, considering the neglect the railway has suffered over the last six years. Not so the timber culvert about one third of the way up the middle road, it has disappeared completely! The wood has rotted away and will need to be replaced, but it is cosmetic only, the track is strong enough to span the gap so I can still run trains. (It does serve to allow water to drain under the railway, so it is cosmetic only in the sense that it doesn't support the track!)
When it had got too dark to work I spent a couple of minutes running No.1 and a few wagons up and down the hill. No.1 is running beautifully after her 'overhaul' last week. The old battery pack had deteriorated to the extent that I was lucky to get one trip up the hill out of her, but the new one is very strong, she is still running on the charge she got last weekend!
It was too dark to photograph, so I have used a photo I took at Bottom Points last year to illustrate what the location looks like now.
No.1 and a works train at Bottom Points on 4 July 2010 during last year's attempt to get the RVR operational again.
It would appear the water tank belonging atop that stand has also vanished.
ReplyDeleteThe tank has been gone for quite a while, the glue gave way years ago, so I took it inside for safekeeping. It will return!
ReplyDeleteGood to see some activity to rebuild the railway. Pity it did not happen until after I had moved house nearer to Lambing Flat's homeland. See you at Liverpool on the Saturday?
ReplyDeleteAh well, Mike... what can I say!
ReplyDeleteI'll be at Liverpool all weekend, and as I mentioned in the News section of the Oct AMRM, confined to the AMRM stand between 11 and 1! See you there!