Proof of the pudding

Since I have one of the diesels back and running, I though it was time to do another system test, to be sure that the locomotives can haul a full flask of tea up the inclines of the layout. The more powerful (two-motored) steam engine had no problems: But the diesel found it more of…

After many weks and countless hours of effort, my friend Igor has completed the conversion of the radio control system for the first diesel locomotive. Here you can see it running, with the interference problems with the point motor units solved. https://youtube.com/shorts/CdmL5XJXkXQ Very exciting, since it give the opportunity to again have two trains running.…

good news! Lesley and everlee did manage to get their train: although they seem to be hiding at the bacl. Perhaps they haven’t got a ticket. yes, they are definitely hunkered down avoiding the ticket collector. To be fair, I couldn’t see a ticket office or a ticket machine at the station. One concern with…

I decided that I should started ballasting: But I have decided not to glue the ballast in place, since I don’t want problems when later the track needs to be lifted (worst case when the executors of my will need to dispose of it). I am hoping that it will stay in place anway. If…

For those who were mystified by the comment about my medical condition in my last blog, I had a stroke on 20th December, followed by two weeks in the stroke unit of our local hospital , and then four weeks from mid-january to mid-February in a rehabilitatation clinic near karlsruhe. I am currently undergoing pysiotherapy,…

As many of you will know, my medical condition has prevented any activity on the railway for the past three months. Finally on Saturday, I felt well enough to have a railway day, and Peter, Tom and Arek came to help. The goal was to erect the baseboards into the garden and to reconnect the…

Last weekend, Peter came down and we made good progress on the pillars needed to support the next section of track: My previous post showed the first pillar (20cm wide). This shows the next one (10cm wide) and then the last two (10cm and 20cm wide respectively. Between them are two clamps attached to the…

“Please be advised that due to major engineering works, no trains will be running for the foreseeable future” What!! Well, its not strictly true: trains can still run in the undergarage. But no trains can run outside, because the reversing loop has been detached: This is because the next phase of the Auerbach and District…

It’s over four months since that momentous day that track was first laid into the garden itself, being the reversing loop attached to a spur coming out of the undergarage window. After much planning, I am now ready to extend further into the garden. Here you see the plan of what is intended for the…

Since the Open Afternoon, I have been progressing on a couple of details of the layout which I hope will add to the realism when looking at and operating it. The first is ballast. I have never ballasted a model railway before, except for sometimes using precut foam plastic inlays with my OO-gauge layout. But…