The Dovecote Light Railway Project
By Mark Thatcher
Welcome to the Week 3 Instalment:
Despite a fairly busy week I did find a few hours here and was able to escape to the garden and have actually made more progress than thought possible this week. But it had a rather frustrating and soggy end to it.
Day Nine
The line from Dovecote station going East and splitting, one way back round the tramways loop, to Eastway station has been laid. We chanced our arm by testing out our pride-of-the-line live steam loco, the Vale of Rheidol – and we now really see a lot of peaks and troughs in the line, which will need to be wedged and adjusted before we can really run a smooth service. Also the mystery of the missing hitch-hiker may be partially explained as we have had visits from a number of rooks – know to be thieves. Ironically the hiker in question was posed thumbing a lift. He probably got the ride of his life as he was lifted skywards! I also read somewhere that if you drizzle yoghurt over stuff it encourages moss to grow. Apparently it’s a trick that builders use to make new bricks weather in. Well after tipping a large pot of the track, within a day or so it has pretty much disappeared. Then I noticed, one evening, our dog licking it off the line – so I won’t be trying that technique again in a hurry.
Day Ten
This was really just ballasting the track. It really is a fiddly and time-consuming business, where you need to be careful only to put a hint of ballast around the points otherwise you will be forever getting them fouled up. I know there will always be a certain amount of shifting of the stuff, as (just like the real thing) track maintenance is always an on-going job.
"I have got myself into a bit of a hole"
The signalling dept. was busy too today as the two main home signals were installed to the East and West side of Dovecote station. Also the main signal box has found a home. This was built from a Lineside Delights kit costing around £90.00, but really builds up well. I put in interior lighting (battery powered) and a full interior, which you can easily see thanks to it’s location on the line. During this installation of the track though, I have got myself into a bit of a hole, which I may literally have to dig myself out of. Having filled in the shuttering I now can’t get my wheelbarrow round to the back of the layout to dump the soil required to complete the Tramways loop. So there will be only one thing for it – I’ll have to man-handle the barrow across the existing track – DOH!
Day Eleven
Well it’s the Sunday slap in the middle of the May Bank Holiday weekend and typically we awoke to leaden skies and soggy ground. This is the only full day I have this weekend and really had planned to push along – but I can’t fix the weather so perhaps plans will have to be adjusted somewhat today. Apart from dropping in some more figures I don’t see much progress being made. The figures themselves are interesting. Up until now it’s been hard to get certain people, like British looking railway workers, station staff and Policemen and women (no doubt they have arrived to investigate the crime scene of the missing hiker!)
"figures come well packed"
Well Glendale Junction have just started to stock a new range of figures from Bachmann called Scenecraft. They are unmistakably British. My favourite is the permanent way surveying team, complete with surveying tools. These figures come well packed a sets of two, in a blister pack and prices start at £6.50 per pack making them much better value than the Preiser range. They are resin though, not plastic, which makes them slightly more fragile – but still well worth the money.
"the rain has caused more subsidence"
So at about midday I really have given up hope of getting anything done – and to make it worse the rain has caused more subsidence on the Tramway’s loop, so I am not going to lay any more track until I am assured the first lot is right. Sometimes you have a to a step back to move forwards – as frustrating as it may be. More next week, when hopefully both the weather and my mood improves.
