The Dovecote Light Railway Project
By Mark Thatcher
Welcome to the Week 5 Instalment:
Probably the most frustrating week so far, where so much progress could have been made, yet, for a variety of reasons so much time was wasted. I wonder sometimes why people call this a hobby – it must be the masochist in me but I vow to continue – somehow.
Day Sixteen
So regrettably it’s back to the thorny question of the loop once again. We had another go at levelling, by dropping the height of the summit, back closer to that of the main line. Eyeballing it, it looks OK, but the only way to really try it out is to run a steamer. This is probably what we should have done, yet inexplicably we made the wrong call and decided to further develop the line to the East of Tramways bridge. The day started out fine enough, with Flo dutifully barrowing another 11 barrow loads of soil to fill this side in – and all was going well, until around 2 o’clock when I realised in scooping much of this soil out of the barrow, I had lost my wedding ring. Now that is not a cool thing to do in anyone’s books. There was nothing for it, than to STOP, and start sifting the soil to find the errant ring. Four hours later…we know it’s in there, bur sadly our search efforts bore no fruit, so we packed up and ordered a metal detector from Ebay instead. In was clear no more progress could be made until the line was “swept” and the ring was found.
Day Seventeen
Well, it’s two days down the line (or not as the case may be) and despite the timely arrival of the metal detector and a thorough search of the area, no ring materialised. Flo – being her usual sanguine self at least thinks, we sort of know where it is, and it has gone in a good cause. I have not yet given up hope however, although this whole experience has rather jaded me and I admit to being somewhat less enthusiastic at this moment in time to continue this project. At least today, we contented ourselves with the first steam up since the “incident on the line”. This time it was our 4th live steamer. ER Calthrop, made by Pearse Locomotives. This is a beautiful replica of the Leek & Manifold loco, fully radio-controlled, and although 12 years old, still looks and behaves like new. It even has a live steam whistle – although this can only be operated when the engine is stationary. It was a first in it’s day and still stands up well to the more modern locos from the likes of Accucraft and Roundhouse. Anyhow, it was during this steaming that I pushed her around the ill-fated Tramways loop. She derailed. “She can’t” I exclaimed, as I know she is quite capable of negotiating the radius 3 track on the loop. That was until I took a closer look. It appears a section of radius 2 track has snuck in – “ah so that’s the problem” Oh bugger – lets relay the loop for a forth time, whilst still looking for the ring. What more can possibly go wrong I hear you ask. Who knows!
Day Eighteen
NEWSFLASH - Tramways Loop Now Open!
About time too! Having finally sorted out the gradient and removed the offending tight radius track on the loop, and despite no sight of the missing ring, we pushed on. Firstly we set the second girder bridge in. It took a bit of fiddling, as we had to widen the curve leading on to it, in order for the tracks to meet to complete the loop. It’s quite funny really that after all the trials and tribulations, as the two tracks met on the far side of the pond, not only were they level with each other, but by some kind of miracle, I did not even need to cut a length of track to fill the gap, as a short section of LGB straight was exactly the right length. Now the chances of that are extreme. It’s almost as if the railway really put us to the test, and rewarded us by finally giving in to our continuous onslaught. So we ran a little battery operated loco to prove the point and all went well in both directions. We have yet to run a passenger service, but completing the loop means our little trains can now leave Awdry Moor to the West, pass through Dovecote station then continue a full circle around the loop, until we get bored. Then, utilising the passing loop at Dovecote station the loco can “run around” the rolling stock, before dragging them back, loco first, to Awdry Moor. Once the carriages are deposited at the station, the loco can run around the rake once again and maybe drop back into one of the two sheds located at this point in the line.
"29 days to go before the grand opening"
It might appear to some that we are on the home straight, but with only 29 days to go before the grand opening, the Eastern end of the line still lies barren. I have already taken the decision to extend it a further metre to allow enough room for a passing loop beyond Eastway Station. However I have very few free days until the 18th of June – so it is still going to be tight. Add to this, that I require three more radius 5 points to complete the Eastern end of the line. New stock was expected to be available in June, but LGB’s new owners still are not up to speed with back orders, let alone production of new track. It would be quite ironic that we may fail to meet our deadline due to no fault of our own, but due to a worldwide shortage of LGB track! So if anyone out there can tell me where I might find any radius 5 points – please let me know.
Day Nineteen
Well again it’s a typical Saturday. It’s raining. So I decided to telephonically scour the UK for radius 5 points. After about three hours on the ‘phone to various suppliers I actually located two more points. But I am still missing one – a radius 5 left hand turnout (LGB stock code 18150), and without this I simply cannot complete the construction. Due to the inclement weather I turned to more indoor modelling matters. I picked up a rather bashed up 1950’s Tri-ang lorry last week, which is the perfect scale for the railway. It was £6.00 at the local market. A mint one of these would cost considerably more – but this one sports the original flat bed and wagon sides, so by a quick re-paint plus the addition of some coal sacks from Shirecraft, I think I may have turned a sow’s ear into a silk purse. (Although as I have never seen a sow’s ear, or a silk purse I can’t be sure.) This started me off on the great Tri-ang lorry hunt, as there are many variations of this model including a milk float and horsebox. Also, the rain lifted enough later in the day to push our Vale of Rheidol loco around the loop. The moist air really caused the steam to hang around and we have some great pictures of this lovely little loco. So, I am looking forward to week six and the home straight. The shuttering has been topped up with more soil, due to natural settlement, and the new points should also arrive this week, apart form the last one I need, which is the final piece of the jigsaw – without which I can’t complete the line.
Read more about The Dovecote Light Railway by clicking on the Week Six logo.
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