New garden layout

hi John, Aye I was pleased to get this loco. O gauge Britannias don't come up for sale all that often . This one is needing a wee bit attention to the valve gear on one side but a pal of mine will put that right no probs. Its made from an "Acorn" kit. Don't know who actually put it together. One of these professionally built and ready-to-run new can set you back £1800 (aye and thats UK sterling not US dollars). Anyway saw it for sale and nabbed it for a lot less than that. But I won't say how much incase the wife walks past and sees what I paid for it ! ha ha . The Britannias were normally British Railways Brunswick Green lined out in orange and black but many of them got what they called "economy" paint jobs in  their last years.ie, plain green no lining.  Their brass nameplates were also removed at the end because of collectors stealing them.   This model as per the real thing has the name painted in on the smoke deflectors in white. This would be how this loco would look about 1966/67. The coach behind it is in the BR blue and grey colourscheme which started to come in just around the same time as steam was on its last legs.   DAVY

Hi Davy

Here in North Carolina we have had nightly rain for weeks and temperatures in the 90's during the day so I can empathize on your halts. Due to this not much has gotten done on my outdoor road. No running..just too humid, with the emphasis on humid.  Steaming up the Ruby would be masochistic.On the other hand everything is a deep green, but nowhere as green as Scotland.

One thing I have to compliment you on is how you integrated the backyard as a "viewing platform"for the railroad as well as managing it to serve more than one purpose and it happens to look integrated , not catch as catch can.

I like the all business, brutish look of the Britannia..no fancy sheet metal, bronze, etc..looks nearly American, LOL. It would be terrific to see it dig in on the rails some day.

Til later

Bruce

Hi Bruce, the weather has been a real ***** the last few weeks. Now Scotland has always been used to rain but believe it or not we used to get summers so hot when I was a kid that the tarmac used to melt on the pavements(sidewalks) and roads. These days the weather is all over the place.But it seems to be all upside down the world over these days. Anyway just need to live with it eh?

 As for the Britannia, aye when these were built in the 1950s many features of contemporary American and German practice were incorporated into their design. So their partial American look isn't by accident. British engines were famous for their clean uncluttered lines and generally didn't sport the same clutter of pipes and sandboxes etc.,etc., that continental-european and American engines did but the downside was much increased maintenance costs due to innaccessible working parts.

 The British Railways standard steam fleet was generally far more akin to modern US and German ,though still managed to look a bit tidier. This was partly of necessity too due to the 13ft British  loading gauge.    DAVY

Davy, Nice looking trains.

Aye, not sure which is your favorite, me son, the trains or working with the rocks n all?

Nice job finishing off the bandstand.

Is fall in your part of the world warm enough for you to work outdoors... on your layout? As long as the rains stay away.

BTW, nice new mules.

Cheers lad,

Rick

Hi Rick, not much more rock work to go now. Just have the bridging over the stream and re-hash the right hand side of the garden to do. My wife finally got her wee new garden table and chairs into the wee (now tidied up) patio next to the pond. I have to re-do that pond edge and get some plants incorporated along there. And as you can see the grand-kids play things have started to invade too. I also got some more track timbers laid in cement along the front run. pics attached. Also attached another picture of the Britannia loco. I love that machine !!  The Britannia [pacifics  are my all time favourite British engines and the B&O P7c pacificss my favourite American engine. Anyway,1.30am here just about to leave to catch the 6am ferry from Oban to the island of Tiree in the western isles where I'm playing tonight. So I better skedaddle. catch you later   DAVY

A nice little nook, for a wee bit of lunch or perhaps a Guinness, you've got there. Plants should compliment your stone work, quite nicely.

It's pretty good isn't it... getting a favorite. Handsome looking chunk of British steam, lad. Quite the weapon.

Sounds kind of exotic... heading off to the "island of Tiree"

Seems like things are going pretty good.

Cheers lad,

Rick

Hi Rick,  Just back from the gig on Tiree Friday night and another one in Perth last night.Weather was great and the ferry trips to and from Tiree were terrific scenery wise. So a good weekend was had. Beuatifull here today again so I;m just away out to enjoy it !  Here's Tiree.... http://www.tireeimages.com/tiree.html    Cheers   DAVY

Hi Lad,

Quite the Island. Seems almost desolate, but in a good way. Lots of natural beauty, and some decent waves. Even some hardcore surfers. Wetsuits are probably mandatory. That water must be cold?

Another fine Scottish jewel, Davy.

Have they ever held a music/rock festival there? What a setting.

Cheers,

Rick

Davy, just spent the last two and a half hours reading all nine pages of your posts. I've never had such a good time reading and learning from the Forum. I'm an indoor railroader but am building a pond. Just wanted to say thanks and keep writing. Please do a article in OGR soon. I know Allan will rightfully bug you tell you do. Thanks again it's been an enjoyable evening. Don McCuaig  

A Scotsman from a far away island.

Hi Guys, Rick, well when you see the Hebrides in the fine  weather it was at the weekend its just absolutely amazing. I've travelled far and wide in my life and I'd I've seen some amazing and beautifull scenery but the north western seaboard of Scotland has a qaulity all of its own. Truly a wee bit of heaven on earth. Doug,glad you're enjoying the thread. If you need any help wi the pond building just ask. The one thing folk usually get wrong when doing ponds for the first time is getting  the edging wrong. So watch out for that. You can do a beautifull job of everything else but if theres 6 inches of plastic liner showing when its finished above the water line it just defeats any natural look. So rule of thumb .... you don't want liner showing at all when the jobs finished.(Just my humble tuppence worth). Anyway, catch you later guys.    DAVY  

Hi again Don, a Scotsman from a far away island ? , where ?      DAVY

Maui, where we still have working narrow gauge steam. 

Lad,

For some reason, after reading your last post, to me, I thought of fall(the season). A fine season, that one. One of my favorites. I like that time of year, including - sunny fall days with it's cooler, clean(clear) air, the smell of the air(there's a different feel to it) and definitely, the great fall colors.

Is there such a remarkable season, in the land of the Scots?

Later me son,

Rick

Hi Guys, Don, I didn't know there was preserved steam in the Hawaiian islands. I've seen steam working on the US navy bases there on old WW2 footage but I thought that was long gone. Those look like narrow gauge Baldwin engines ? Very much like preserved Baldwins in Brazil where theres quite a few preserved these days.

 How extensive is the steam working in Maui ? 

Rick, aye,Tiree is quite a place for surfers apparently,and aye the water IS cold. Looks Carribean ,feels Baltic ! ha ha .Its OK in the shallows in hot weather....so I'm told ! As for tree colours in the fall ,aye we have colourfull autumns here too but different from America. My favourite place in autumn is up around Ballater/Balmoral/Grampians. The birch trees turn gold/yellow and contrast with the green of the Scots pine. Quite a sight. Anyway, not been doing much on the garden layout the last few days for one reason and another ,however just took delivery of a Rivarrossi German (Deustche Bundesbahn) diesel.(pic attached) I'm building up 3 O gauge collections ,ie.,  US, UK,and European continental outlines. Variety is the spice of life as they say so I don't intend to be bored !  ha ha     DAVY

Nice new piece for your European spice rack, lad. Looks good.

I've recently cancelled my train orders. I'm looking to move. I've already got a mind numbing amount of trains to pack up. I hate thinking about that chore. I'd like to find a place that could accommodate my trains, but, in reality, that might not be in the cards. I might have to sell everything or at least... most of it.

I might try to auction off the whole works, or just leave all it behind. Free for the taking...

You hope for the best in life and try to put yourself in a decent position, but sometimes **** still happens.

I'm currently living in a detached home, that we own, and unless I move further out... from the high priced areas, like the area I currently live in, it looks like some type of condominium or townhouse is in my future. Not something I look forward to.

I like my privacy, don't like noise coming through walls/ceiling(from neighbors); and boards of any sort, i.e. strata councils and monthly maintenance fees.

A lot to figure out, here.

Rick

Hi Davy, we have two narrow gauge steam engines running here in Maui. They are sister engines both built for a mining operation. They worked together all their lives and still are.   They also have a Plymouth diesel as a back up engine. They run along the coast for six miles. Four runs a day. I can hear them from our house. Love the sound. This is a little video of the run.  http://youtu.be/I0tHWkpN26U

I'll start working on the pond again next week, might have a question or two. Thanks Don 

Hi Doug, nice that theses engines survive in daily service.  Nothing like the sound of steam trains to cheer a body up eh ?

Well yesterday I made a start to the final trackbed phase of the garden railway. ie., the right hand side of the garden. Cut down the old mini-alberta spruce trees as they were gettin too big . Also lifted the last of the G scale track. My only problem is I've still not made my mind up what track plan to go for down that side.  Don't know whether to go for a simple rural look or go for a medium sized station layout. Continental and US stations generally have rail level platforms so by using removable platform buildings a Euro-appearance could easily be changed to a US-appearance by simply swapping over. UK ouline is a different kettle of fish because over here our platforms are running board height. Anyway,we'll see what transpires. I've attached some pics of the area in question as it was yesterday when I was just making a start to stripping it back . Nothing doing today down to rain.    DAVY   

Hi Guys, well not gettin much done with the railway down to the weather not playin ball. Anyway, I found this absolutely fascinating article on the hill billy's of Appalachia.

I knew much of this but not in such detail. Really interesting to me because these people came indirectly from Scotland via Ulster .Its a long video so I'd advise sittin down with a beer or a coffee and relax. Great history including a big chunk on the Clinchfield railroad. Brilliant. Some of you may have seen it before but if not you'll learn a lot from this.  Enjoy   DAVY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PJ7qqnkVaI 

Hi Guys ,well after some absolutely abysmal wet weather I finally got a dry day ,nothing very exciting to show except the beginnings of the track base at the front right hand corner being cemented.The old G scale track bed can be seen lower right in the picture bed.This will be lost under a step.  Usual rubble and cement method for the track base .Rain again tomorrow forecast !! ,oh well ,c'est la vie eh ? Can see it being next year before I get right the way round at this rate !! hey Rick....you out there ? Hope you're keeping OK       Cheers   DAVY