The Burnbake and Woodyhyde Railway

[clayliner]

The wraps have come off -

tractor a by clayliner, on Flickr

and it's an i/c tractor which should be useful for moving skips around and other light shunting duties.

A couple of other views:

tractor 1a by clayliner, on Flickr

tractor 2a by clayliner, on Flickr

It was acquired from a (well known) agent and dealer in second-hand stock down in Dorset, but its origins are somewhat obscure - it may well have originated in the USA, as that was its last home.

Can anyone identify it, perhaps?

David.

[clayliner]

The long green 'lump' has now become a long white lump. Although it does look a bit like a beached whale it is in fact a clay spoil tip (clay spoil tips do look rather like beached whales, come to think of it, so maybe it's not so far off the mark) -

spoil tip 2a by clayliner, on Flickr

As a concession to Mick there is a small puddle on the top (though I wish now I hadn't put it quite so squarely right in the centre). I have also slewed the end of the siding at the far end a bit so that it leads to the tip. The margins are already being colonised by birch trees and I think some more foliage may follow soon to lessen the impact a little -

'Arne' and steam by clayliner, on Flickr

Now that the equinox is past, the late afternoon and evening sun is beginning to creep into the railway room, which is nice. However, for much the same reason the garden is crying out ever more insistently for some attention, so modelling will in future have more competition than usual.

David.

[MickT]

Actually I think it looks more like a cuttlefish bone than a beached whale.............................

Mick

[rod335]

Just don't let the budgie near it.

[clayliner]

The gorse has been quite spectacular this spring.

'Arne' gingerly eases a load of Purbeck stone from the quarries down the grade from the overbridge:

stone train by clayliner, on Flickr

David.

[clayliner]

Recently I've been spending time (too much time, perhaps) working on the backscene - specifically, adding more trees and additional foliage (keen listeners may remember I did something similar before). This has involved some nice country walks to find the right trees, gorse, etc. which I can photograph and then print. After cutting the items out it's just a matter of finding the right place to site them on the backscene and sticking them on. The idea is to break up the general expanse of backscene, add some additional interest, hide anything on the backscene which needs hiding and help to integrate the backscene to the 'real' 3-D scenery on the layout:

P1000569a by clayliner, on Flickr

and

P1000571a by clayliner, on Flickr

(- compare this view with the one in my previous post - it's the same location.)
Conifers are possible, too!

P1000573a by clayliner, on Flickr

Sometimes there are two or three layers - a tree behind and then gorse and/or other foliage in front of that. As usual, the camera is a bit cruel and the result looks better in real life - honest! Some extra foliage materials will help to lose the join between the backscene and the layout scenery in places. In due course there will be more 'real' trees in front of the backscene so the stuck-on ones will merge more into the background, I think.

David.

[Doug Dickson]

David,

Raised areas like your 'tumf' were sometimes used by ancient man to site stone religious features, perhaps a standing stone. Of course visitors would wear a path up to it.....

Jus' thinking. ...

Doug

[tedp]

I once experimented with photographic backscenes, but I never took it as far as you did.

Is that new tractor of yours powered or is it a dummy, which I suspect... ?

[clayliner]

Sadly, yes, it's only a dummy - just to add some static interest. But some new (working) steam stock is in the pipeline (though don't hold your breath!)

David.

[clayliner]

Time for a few more photos - first a couple of shed views:

on shed s by clayliner, on Flickr

and

on shed 2 by clayliner, on Flickr

Here 'Creech' heads across the heath with a train of skips:

'Creech' and skips by clayliner, on Flickr

and in the next shot 'Creech' poses on the bridge as 'Arne' heads underneath with assorted wagons:

under and over by clayliner, on Flickr

Finally, a view of the back of the engine shed. There's now a dedicated tub for loco coal - on a smarter line it would probably be proudly labelled 'LOCO COAL' but on the B&W everyone just knows that what it's for. Someone seems to be snatching forty winks out of sight of the foreman...

back of the shed by clayliner, on Flickr

You may notice that a lot of grass has appeared over recent weeks, probably as a result of all the rain we've been having lately!

David.

[Doug Dickson]

Very enjoyable, watching with interest,

Doug

[WALLSHIRTS]

'like'

[B.Meldon]

This is looking good David

What couplings are you using?
I can see some chain and hook types, how do you get on propelling (pushing) trains with these couplings around curves and through points? What gap do you need between the vehicles so the buffers do not bind on the curves?
There is also one wagon with a Bemo type coupling and some items that appear to have no coupling at all.

Brian Meldon

[MickT]

Excellent progress and superb photos David!

I am hoping for an opportunity for the Roving Reporter to be ablet ot visit the Burnbake and Woodhyde sometime before too long. Do you think his little green railcar will manage the Purbeck hills OK?

Mick

[clayliner]

Brian:  Thanks for pointing out the current variety of couplings. The short (and honest) answer is that I am not 'using' any particular sort of coupling at present. However, I have been making up a load of Greenwich couplings recently (does anyone know of an online support group for people grappling with Greenwich couplings?) and before long I hope to get round to fitting them to stock. I don't expect this to be easy... I am quite tempted to go for some fixed rakes - e.g. clay skips - to make the task a little easier, however. More on this anon.

Mick:  I'm afraid running 'foreign' stock isn't quite as easy as it used to be in the bad old days. First there will be clearance issues to be looked at and sorted out. Will the railcar interfere with local signalling and track circuits? Is it fitted with all the necessary black boxes - ATC, TPWS (is that short for TWERPS?), ERTMS and so on? (Will all that metal in your ankle interfere with magnetic couplings?) Once all these little details have been resolved, however, the B&W would be pleased, nay, honoured to receive a visit any time the little green railcar is in this part of the world (I can hear the Manager brushing his rather battered top hat even as I write).

David.