LNERW1

Wow, erm… I was thinking more of model accidents when I started the topic, but now you mention it, the incident, referred to as Rickerscote, was the focus of the excellent podcast Signals To Danger, one of my favourite podcasts. I’d definitely recommend checking it out. also, here’s a video I found in the depths of my photo library recently, of a Tri-Ang Jinty that seems to not particularly care about my phone (I couldn’t stop it from slamming into my phone for whatever reason) FullSizeRender.MOV

Ok, so i can't find anything else to hold my interest- I'm just going to make a new topic on here. Anyone want to upload photos or videos of accidents (or "accidents" in inverted commas) on their own, or others', model or garden railway, feel free to. I'll start (not mine) PASSENGER TRAIN CRASHES INTO RIVER- CrazyTrain525 on YouTube

My third post in a row on this topic- are ye losing interest? Below is a little clip put together on my phone- an 'edit' as my generation calls them. SLR_edit.mov

Just had an idea- I could leave the test track in situ, even when the main railway is completed, and say it’s the harbour. Any opinions? Could allow for a shallow pool of water, etc. to make everything more interesting. The patio, being made from concrete, does resemble a quay of some sort. I think that’d be interesting to see, anyone else?

Yes, I do have an iPhone, rest assured us “young ones” use them too. The concept of iCloud, as I understand it, is photos and videos being saved online as well as on your phone, so that if your phone gets lost or damaged, you can still access your photo library on a new device. Ended up using crocodile clips, attached to the lower part of the rail, similar to the chairs, to power the set-up. I’ve found a straight power track now, though, and that should work. Also, does anyone have any tips on how to clean absolutely filthy railheads quickly? There’s about 15m of track in the circuit, and that means 30m, or about 100ft, of rail to clean. I can’t do all that manually, so feel free to provide suggestions. Please. below is a clip of a catastrophic rail accident. 72874926648__AD49CAEB-F9A6-4933-B567-E8E733D9629F.MOV

Progressing slowly- track was cleaned to the point where trains could be run, but unfortunately my phone was not syncing to iCloud or something- no photos or videos i took in that week or so were saved, including all the footage of the running session, and while trying to rectify the issue with my phone, the recent bad weather dirtied the track to the point where very little could run on it. I now have to go through the painful track cleaning process again, but the railway should be in good enough running condition in about a week's time, if i get enough work in next weekend (i cant do anything on weeknights, as i get home either at about 5 normally, and 7 when i have rugby training).

You’re most welcome. I had expected most forum users to be the kind of people who would use it for track plans rather than simply enjoy tracing old railways, but I must admit I enjoy just following railway lines on OpenStreetMap. I’m glad you got enjoyment out of it.

Thanks for the like, @Galteemore, that just increased my rank!

Been a while- long story short, the loop on the patio still isn’t clean, I have to re-ballast it and I haven’t worked out how to provide power (power track that’s connected to the controller is wonky), and I’ve decided to buy an LGB 50040 track rubber, which I haven’t even ordered yet and will probably be shipped from Germany. I’m not too fussed about any of this though, to be honest. I look forward to 2024, and wish you all good health in the new year.

Merry Christmas! I dont have anything else to say

A little something to get you into the festive spirit. An interesting connection- Andrew Ranken, to whom I’m related, is a railway enthusiast, as was his friend Darryl. I have a lot of models that I’ve received from Andrew, as well as two books that belonged to Darryl. Merry Christmas everyone.

That is cheap- but the shipping is $211!

I’m beginning to suspect you weren’t talking about the bog railway story…

Yeah, battery power is definitely on the cards. Track power is difficult when using brand new track, but the stuff I’m using is nearly 30 years old, and aside from being filthy, some pieces are damaged and individual rails are pushed out of place, shorter than they need to be, etc. In fact, I think my great-uncle, who I inherited the stock, track, etc. from, may have used radio control- I’ve found Radio Shack equipment attached to the locos and buried in all the spare parts. I’ve also been quite convinced by the YouTuber Ge Rik, who runs RC Trains (the business, not just RC trains in general) and has a garden railway that is entirely RC- and sound-equipped. Are you saying I made it up?

Thanks, I’m quite proud of the backstory. Interesting to see yet another modeller from Laois- are you a volunteer at Stradbally? Also, I’m planning on making a “what if” model of Abbeyleix station(My “local” station) in the 70s at some point in the next few years- maybe in N. Were you aware of the bog railway?

Good point, hadn’t thought of that… just adds to the story, I guess. PROGRESS UPDATE: The railway is still in the planning stages. Just to clarify, progress updates won’t be a daily thing, this is just because a lot happened today. Firstly, some “prototype research” was undertaken today. Me and my dad walked along the Bord na Móna line south of Portlaoise, from where it crosses under the N77 to the point, slightly west of the packing/processing/whatever-it-is plant, where it crosses a small lane. All of the track, apart from the temporary stretches running straight out on to the bog, is still there, and upon reaching the plant, we discovered that three Hunslet 0-4-0s were still there too. Given that there was no sign of any of the distinctive boxy wagons, I presume they were sold off for scrap. This does leave the question of why the locos remained. My guess is that Bord na Móna may be trying to sell them as locomotives, rather than as hunks of metal, ie trying to sell them for preservation. Unfortunately, I was too caught up in the fact that I had walked along an abandoned railway, and found three locomotives, to take any photos, but my dad did. I’ll post them tomorrow. On the model side of things, myself and my brother assembled a “test track” on our patio. This runs under the picnic bench, through the brick-built “tunnel” I used to take the photo of the “last train”, and onto a short embankment and makeshift bridge to carry it over the entrance to the “quarry” my brother built. It consists of one main loop, as well as two run round/passing loops and two sidings. It’s made up of track that is totally covered in grime and unusable with track power. However, I plan to work my way around the loop, cleaning the track by Christmas (and yes, I’m aware that’s in 6 days- I’ll have a lot of free time on my hands from Friday on). That’s all for now, so I’ll leave you with these photos of the “test track”. The line from the tunnel to under the table The tunnel The embankment round the end- you can see the “bridge”, where the track crosses over a gap in the brickwork, in the top right hand corner. One of the loops, and one of the sidings. The approach point work to the loop and siding shown above. The second siding can be seen diverging to the left. The other loop, situated below the bench. PS I forgot to mention- my little brother built one siding, and ballasted the other- he’s not even in 1st class yet!

Fair enough, plus it gives you an opportunity to make a feeder line in 32mm, like that British guy on YouTube who has a G scale railway( just checked, it’s Peckforton Light Railway, click here).

This little guy might be on the cards

Is that RTR? If so, probably beyond my wallet…

Pity. Did you move house? And lovely coaches btw. I might do that with mine, but im not sure.

Don’t worry, this is a project that I’m relying on to keep me going through first year, so it’s not something I’m likely to give up. In fact, planning is already well underway, and I have already begun to plan out Botanical Gardens station, where the double- track main line diverges into the Sheehaun Tramway, and the “back line” around Sheehaunmore, for freight and express passenger services (I’m planning on running slow passenger services along the tramway, just to make things more interesting) and the tramway. Just to clarify, the line down to Sheehaun Harbour, along with the harbour itself, is not going to be modelled. I’m using the “get out” clause of claiming that the hotel was built above the 250ft tunnel, and that the foundations required it to be partially demolished. I might end up modelling the harbour in a smaller scale eventually, but on the model the harbour line will branch of the tramway, running through Sheehaunmore town, and disappear into a blocked-off tunnel under the “back line”. The spur remaining will probably end up being used for stock storage. Also yes, gauge 1 and G scale share the same 45mm track gauge.

GSR crimson? What railway were you modelling? Also, I found the locos. Pictures will follow as soon as I finish bringing in the logs. I also started a topic on the garden railway itself. To view it, click here.

Sheehaun is a small island off the west coast of Ireland. It has always been sparsely populated, with its largest town, Sheehaunmore, only boasting about 750 residents in 1857. It wasn’t the kind of place you would expect a railway being built. But Arthur Tilselby, an Englishman who had made his fortune building railways in the North of England, was not one to bow to anyone’s expectations. In 1860, he bought all the land on the island, and began the process of turning it into a rich industrialist’s paradise. He decided to take advantage of the fact that there were more sheep than people on Sheehaun, and set about establishing it as a centre of woolen clothing production. A large industrial area was set up on the outskirts of Sheehaun, and a three-foot-gauge railway around the island to transport the wool into the industrial area. It began construction on 1861, and initially ran into issues with lack of labour, but workers were brought on to aid the construction, with the promise of jobs in the factories once construction was finished, which it finally was in 1867. Having fought their way through Sheehaun’s unforgiving limestone landscape, they settled down to work in the factories. These were a small but profitable industry, keeping the island and the railway going until 1953. During the Emergency, Sheehaun’s factories stayed going, as the demand for woolly jumpers and the likes increased during times of gas and coal rationing. After the war in Europe ended, however, Sheehaun’s industry began to lose more and more money. By 1950, it had gotten bad enough that the current landowner, George Tilselby III, began to alter sales quotas, income figures and expenditure quantities- in short, trying to decrease the amount of taxes he would need to pay. He was found out in 1952, and after he was convicted and fined, there was little money left for the factories. In 1953, the Sheehaun Wool Company went bankrupt, and the Sheehaun Light Railway, which had served the island for over 80 years, closed in 1956. It had never been taken over by CIÉ, it was not particularly focused on passengers, but still provided a lifeline for those living near the line. It’s main line serving the island’s farms closed first, in 1955, leaving only the mile or so running from the former factory site, now being demolished, to Sheehaun Harbour, or the Sheehaun Tramway. This lived on only for a few months, closing on the 3rd of January, 1956. The last train, the 18:07 from Sheehaun Harbour to Sheehaunmore Town, stopping at the Tilselby Botanical Gardens, an amenity for the local residents built by Arthur Tilselby, the man who built the island’s industry. This last train was captured emerging from the Harbour Tunnel, passing under the former main line, by local photographer Seán O’Sullivan. His haunting photograph is shown below. And so, Sheehaun was left to be, its inhabitants making do with the potholed roads that criss-crossed the small island, as it slowly reverted to agriculture, with some extra income provided by a hotel and golf course near the harbour. However, its inhabitants had never been satisfied with its mediocre road network, and in 2009, they finally decided they would do something about it. They set up a company, the Sheehaunmore Light Railway Ltd, and set about purchasing track and stock to rebuild the island’s U-shaped railway system. They received planning permission, and with the cooperation of the Tilselby family, who still owned most of the island, they began construction of their new railway, starting by connecting to the Sheehaun Tramway, whose rails had remained in place since closure in 1956, and continued construction, completing the project in 2019. It now operates as the primary means of transportation around the island, and is run by a mix of volunteers and paid staff. The above is, of course, entirely fictitious. It is, in fact, the story I dreamed up to explain the existence of my garden railway. As it stands, construction has not yet begun, but I do have over 40m of track and a large fleet of rolling stock, ready for construction to begin, which it will in spring 2024. This is where I will share updates on the progress of the layout, as that seems to be the sort of thing you people like. I hope you enjoy reading through my mindless rants about the irregularities in the geometry of LGB track.

@BosKonay@Warbonnet@Garfield You're staff members; it would help if you could bring this topic to as many people's attention as possible. Thanks.

just to say, @Glen and @WRENNEIRE, by rating this topic five stars up in the top right-hand corner, it will increase the visibility of the topic, and people may be willing to give suggestions, and maybe even offer models for sale.