WRC Video #21 - Hiawatha Live Steamers

I discovered this You Tube video posted by Wasatch Railroad Contractors in Wyoming USA while searching the internet, and was really impressed by how beautiful this railroad is, and also enjoyed hearing some of its history from the gentleman who built it.  I was particularly impressed by the fact of it being largely built using shovels and wheelbarrows, which sounds scarily familiar to me!!  Enjoy!

Slow progress

As I have said in previous posts, a lack of posts on this blog does not mean a lack of progress on my project!  Overall I have to say that everything is happening more slowly than I had envisaged, but as something of an optimist I suppose that was always going to be the case!

I had the wonderful opportunity of a brief visit to the UK early this month, just one week, but what a great week!!  The catalyst was a Train Collector's Society  get-together in Leicester, which I haven't been to previously.  This is a smallish show which I really enjoyed, and for me it was just the right size.  I've been to shows such as Sandown before, which, though very enjoyable, I found rather overwhelming!

I did buy a few things- some great mint-in-box Lone Star (my first 'train-set'), but overall just enjoyed seeing what was displayed and chatting with fellow enthusiasts.

I really enjoyed this layout, and chatting with the older gentleman who was running it!

This was a really interesting display by David Ramsay.  Very much the type of display that I hope to have in the Trainbarn, although I hasten to add that I don't have any of these superb old trains yet!

In a post several years ago I explained why I had chosen to collect and display old American toy trains in preference to British ones- the prime reason being that at the time there weren't many recently produced British O gauge trains available for the constant grind of day to day running.  Oh how that situation has changed!!  There is now an amazing variety of superb locomotives and rolling stock produced by companies such as Ace Trains, Darstaed, WJVintage and Seven Mill, and suffice to say there is a growing collection of British coarse-scale O gauge trains for Whistlestop, and there is a small British display planned for the Trainbarn.

One particularly enjoyable aspect of my British trip was talking with some of the people involved in this recent O gauge production. A particularly enjoyable visit was had with Paul from WJVintage where I picked up some superb bridges, and a good chat with Colin who is one of the distributors for Darstaed, who had an extremely tempting selection for sale at the Leicester show.

Naturally there were lots of other train-related activities during the week, which may feature in future blogs!  

On other aspects of progress, a good meeting was had with our builders regarding the Trainbarn and a couple of small modifications to the plans were recommended, so they're being modified by the engineer.  This will greatly improve the flexibility of the display space.

Also, now that most of the mammoth clearing projects are complete, I am finding time to do smaller projects here and there, the aim being to convert what was very scrappy bushland into an attractive bushland garden environment.  So, little bit, by little bit, progress is being made on this aspect of Whistlestop, which is very satisfying.  We've had some good stormy rain lately, and the place is looking very green and alive again, after some very dry times.

Slow progress for sure, but enjoyable and satisfying none-the-less!!

A Summery Summary

As I write this post it is Spring on the Granite Belt, but it feels much more like Summer.  It will be at least 31 Celcius later today, and completely dry.  Fortunately we did get some rain about two weeks ago, which brought the grass back to life and we've got some really interesting wildflowers springing up.

The clearing along the track went well, but has now come to a standstill pending other things to do.  There are some really attractive rocky outcrops on our property, although not as massive as at Girraween National Park just up the road.

This is the part I've just cleared and tidied up, and I'm very happy with how it looks.

This part of our track (above) is further along into the property and we love it's winding, bushy feel.  The 'trick' will be to make it more user-friendly while retaining the bush-track feel.

With the bush being so dry, fairly sparse and 'see-through' I took the opportunity to bash around a bit, mainly investigating the future route of the miniature railway.  Many really nice areas were viewed, all of which would benefit from some careful tidying-up.  Another aspect that I enjoyed was 'finding' all the survey pegs on the line which runs down the middle of our property, defining the two 'blocks'.  Two of these I had never been able to find before, in thick scrub.  I intend keeping this surveyed line clear so that it will provide a useful reference for all aspects of the development, as it is very clear and defined, whereas the outer boundaries are not as easily referenced.

The other table for my portable model railway is finished, with just the edging to go on.  This just leaves the two small 'bridging' side section to make.  Already it is proving extremely useful!!

Naturally I am finishing the month with an excitement and enthusiasm for the various jobs that I have in mind for next month, particularly some areas of the miniature railway route. I suspect that 'mowing' will become an increasing demand with this warm weather, particularly if we get some rain, but that's ok.  As ever, I can't wait to get stuck into it!!

A wider track

With some of the urgent big projects finished- the clearing around the cottage and the Trainbarn site preparation- I'm able to spend some time on other projects that I've been putting off for ages.  So the next priority is tidying up the bushland adjacent to our main track, which is currently more like driving through a tunnel than along a track.  I'm widening the cleared area so that we can provide some drainage either side and then surface the track with decomposed granite (deco).  Originally the main track was just bulldozed through the bush, which left it as the lowest point and therefore when it rained it became the drainage channel, and so is now fairly eroded.  Incidentally I recently met the bloke who actually did the work all those years ago.  I'm really glad there was a track established when we bought the property as I probably would've found it hard choosing where it should go.

I'm really enjoying this work as there's no time pressure, I can just plug away whenever I like, and it's nice and shady in this fairly hot and dry time.  The other thing I really like is that I can finish it off properly.  Previously I've just made it wide enough so that our cars don't get scratched and trucks can struggle through, but now it's becoming the way I always hoped for and envisaged.  We have some really nice bushy and rocky areas just off the track, which were previously difficult or impossible to see, and now they're being opened up nicely.

As I said in a previous post, the track is the main artery of our property.  Not only do we use it constantly ourselves, but I really want visitors to be able to enjoy using the track without risking scraping their cars on prominent rocks or getting scratched by overhanging bush.

It's too dry at the moment to form the track up ready for the deco- it's literally like dust at the moment- but by the time I've finished clearing this section we should've had some rain and then we can get our favourite bobcat man in!

Another positive thing that is happening is that the Preliminary Plans for the Trainbarn have been received.  I've tweeked them slightly, so now the final, detailed, plans can be drawn and eventually submitted for quoting and council approval.  I'm still hoping to at least get the footings and slab poured before Christmas, but it's going to be tight!!

A very enjoyable and satisfying time!

Riding on trains

One of our daughters lives and works in Nepal, and although I was aware that there had been a railway in Nepal I didn't realise that it still operates.  Well, "operates" is probably an overly optimistic description of this railway's activity!!  It runs from the border with India at Jaynagar via the 'headquarters' at Janakpur to Bijalpura- a total distance of 53km, and it is 2' 6" gauge.

A ticket that I bought on ebay, probably pre 1968

My daughter travels around Nepal a lot with her work, but I'm fairly sure she won't be going on this train any time soon!  We plan to visit sometime, and it'd certainly be fun to track down this railway and fossick around the workshops.  There are rumours that several steam locomotives remain there in unservicable condition.  On Google Earth (what a great tool!!) to the southeast of Janakpur there is a station called Khajuri including some engine sheds, and it is said that there are still some locos here, including the two Garratts from the abandoned Amlekhganj line.  

Here's a picture of one of the Garratts taken while it was still in service.

Apparently there is a 'plan' to create a tourist railway close to Kathmandu using these locos, but I doubt this has happened yet.

Will we go there?  Will we be able to get to these very out-of-the-way places?  Watch this space!!

Next Century

As this post is starting a new century of Whistlestop blogs, plus the fact that it was my birthday yesterday, I thought it was time for another summary of progress.

Suffice to say that I am very happy overall with how things are going, perhaps with only one exception.  The exception is that the plans for the Trainbarn have not been forthcoming, although they are still 'promised'.  Obviously if things don't progress soon another avenue will need to be explored, but I'm still hopeful of a good result from this Engineer.

Otherwise, the good stuff!!  The Trainbarn site is completely ready for construction, with the exception of one big tree which needs to be removed.  I'll wait for the go-ahead with the plans before removing this.  Very satisfying indeed to see the large space all ready to go.  I can very much visualise what the Trainbarn will look like here- it'll be great!

I have also been working on my 'portable' layout, which will be in two main sections, plus two smaller side sections.  One main section is completely finished, and the other almost ready for painting.   I'm really happy with how these have turned out.  Mainly this layout will be British O gauge three rail, but can be used for anything.  As if to prove a point, I decided to set up my Scale/ Gauge collection of Santa Fe F-7A units- the first time they've all been together.

The smallest is Z scale, followed by N, TT, HO, S, O, 1 and G scale.  They will eventually be set up on their own board, which will have a blown-up photo of the Santa Fe's Super Chief behind it, and small placards explaining what scale and gauge each of the locos are.

Here's an overall photo of the board, with some other F-7 items added.

I'll make a curtain/skirt to go around the legs when it's finished.

Another really good thing that has been achieved is a lot of cleaning up in what is effectively our 'back-yard'.  There were three really big stacks of dead tea-tree and rubbish, and these were burnt, with appropriate permits!  Goodness, didn't they burn well, being quite dry!!  A lot of other brushcutting and mowing has been done in this area and it's looking really good.  We tend to look out from the cottage in this direction a lot (washing-up!) and it's really nice to have such an enjoyable view!!

The next project is to start widening the main track, clearing back the tea-tree scrub from each side to allow room for drains and the actual widening and surfacing of the track.  I'm looking forward to this very much!  Although it will be a big job, it can be done in stages as and when I'm inclined.  The clearing will open up 'views' of nice rocky outcrops and original, undisturbed bushland, which I know will eventually look great.  This main track, apart from being our 'driveway', will really be the main 'spine' of the whole Whistlestop project- connecting all the various aspects and areas.  It will eventually share this function with the Miniature Railway, but in the meantime it'll be great to have this attractive track winding through our bushland.

Good times ahead!!

Number 100!!

Welcome to my 100th blog post!!  I've certainly enjoyed writing all these posts, my primary reason for doing so, but if others can enjoy or learn something from them along the way that's great too!

I'm currently in Ingham, northern Queensland, visiting relatives and generally enjoying myself!!  Ingham is a huge sugar producing area (sugar cane) and also seemingly home to a large percentage of the world's snakes!!  It's harvesting time at the moment and all of the cut cane is transported to the two mills by light railway of 2 foot gauge.  The term "light railway" is something of a misnomer as although the rails are certainly narrow gauge the trains are massive!!  One train I saw this morning- pulled by a large, powerful loco- had 61 bogie 'bins'.  It's a fantasticaly effective way of getting the cane to the mill- long may it continue!!

I really enjoy seeing the light, narrow-gauge lines heading off through the cane in all directions, often only the tops of the rails visible in the long grass, and across creeks and through remnants of the rainforest vegetation.  There certainly is something really charming about light railways!

Another very enjoyable experience was having a look at some old 50's Hornby O gauge items, still owned by the original recipient!  A 1950 M1 tender loco whose spring had 'exploded' sending the body into orbit, and a no. 501 LNER tender loco in very nice condition, and still serviceable.

It was really enjoyable hearing first-hand of the fun that Hornby trains had given this gentleman when he was young, and I'm sure will continue giving pleasure to younger generations.

Here's to the next 100 blog-posts, hopefully including the completion of the Trainbarn building!!

Scarily close

It's another fantastic day here at Whistlestop, absolutely perfect.  I've been outside doing some more clearing and preparation for building the Trainbarn.  It's getting so close to being finished, another couple of runs to the dump will see the site all ready for construction.  That will be a relief, it's been hard work!  I still haven't received the plans from the draftsman, but expect them very soon.  I'm sure the timing will be perfect.

Another new arrival yesterday was an ACE Trains tender in NSWGR livery.  These locos/tenders were released in 2006 but I wasn't able to buy one at the time, and there weren't many made in the NSW paint scheme.  I figured that the same loco in the British LNER green livery is actually the same colour green, and since the loco itself doesn't have any distinct markings, if I can get an LNER version- which should be easier- I can simply put my NSW tender behind it, and voila,  a NSW Celebration series loco!

While photographing the tender on my new train-board I thought I'd get out a couple of the diecast cars that I plan to use on the railway, and photograph them too.  I don't really collect model cars, but I usually can't resist buying any that look suitable for one of my layouts.  These are 1:43 scale, ideal for British O gauge trains.  The Dinky Austin is by Dinky, and the red Morris Minor van is by Corgi Vanguards.  They're perfect for the era of this new layout, and I love the bright colours!

The second board is all but finished, and I can't wait to set it all up and give the trains a run!!

A Taste

Another beaut day here at Whistlestop!  The end board of my portable layout is now painted green, thus evoking an amazingly realistic effect of a grassy landscape.  Or not!!  But I think it looks good, and tomorrow will see a start on an identical table for the other end.  Building this small layout is giving me a taste of what it's going to be like once the Trainbarn building is completed and I can start building the large permanent layouts in it, that I've been planning for years.  It's going to be fantastic!!

I used the board as a base to take a photo of a couple of small items that have arrived here recently.  They're nothing to do with the layout as such, though.  Both are items associated with past Train Collectors Association (USA) conventions.  I'm a member of TCA, but haven't been able to attend one of their conventions yet, but hopefully that day will come.

The small luggage cart I found on ebay, and it's from their 2006 convention in San Antonio, Texas.  I have some porters and station-staff to put on my Standard Gauge station, and now they've got something to load!  This item was made by Pride Lines, sadly no longer in business.  The lamps are reproductions of old Lionel items made by the current Lionel Corporation, but the street names are appropriate to the 2012 convention, held in Atlanta.  Long term readers of this blog will realise that I have a particular passion for accessories!

The Plywood Central Railway

Today was one of those magnificent days on the Granite Belt- 16 degrees C, absolutely clear and sunny, with no wind.  Perfect for being outside, which I was!

I've decided to build a portable exhibition layout for the Trainbarn, and the first section of it emerged from my workshop today.  It's actually the first layout I've built in the workshop, all the others have been in other odd parts of the world and are now doing good service as kitchen tables! 

Of course it is just a specially designed table.  The idea is that there will be another identical one facing it, and then two 'bridging' sections- one on each side, between them.  These bridging sections can vary in length, depending on the display space available.  The first two will be about three feet, making the overall length ten feet, as that's all the room I've got spare inside my workshop.  I've just got an undercoat on the plywood surface at the moment, I'll put the green satin topcoat on tomorrow.  Green-painted plywood- hence Plywood Central!!  

I've put some Atlas O gauge track on the layout here, and a very nice product it is too!  I don't plan on securing it, although it may just need a screw or two.  The advantage of this is that I can change the track easily, depending on what I want to display at the time.  Any of my various scales/ gauges can be accommodated.  Initially it will be British coarse-scale O gauge, hence the beautiful Pullman coach having a test run.  This Pullman is named Michaela, and was issued to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Hornby Railway Collectors' Association, of which I am a member.

Building layouts is probably the thing that I most enjoy doing, so I'm having a very good time doing this!  Probably my second favourite thing is travelling around to toy-train shows searching for 'new' trains, and I haven't done that in quite a while.  I plan to remedy that situation soon!  In the meantime, the Plywood Central is keeping me happily occupied!

Just the Ticket

Long term readers of this blog will remember that quite some time ago I explained why I had chosen to display mostly American-made trains in my Trainbarn when it is built. Basically, although I do have a reasonable collection of some of the smaller British-made trains, such as Hornby Dublo and Tri-ang, and some Hornby O gauge, at that stage I didn't feel that these were particularly suited to long hours of display running, and there was very little then available in recently produced British toy-trains, certainly not enough to anchor a display.

How times change!!  While I'm still firmly committed to having the first phase of the Trainbarn displaying American trains, it is impossible to ignore the growing range of superb models in O gauge produced by several manufacturers.  Maybe one day there will be a British train section of the Trainbarn (new name required??), but in the meantime I am very much enjoying learning about this section of our hobby.  Rather than waffle on and try to give a primer on British coarse-scale O gauge, I would like to refer readers to a new free Newsletter dealing with this subject.  A gentleman by the name of David Upton in the UK publishes this really excellent and informative Newsletter and an email to him at d.upton355@btinternet.com will bring a copy to your electronic doorstep!

To sample the latest issue click here.

Most of the main manufacturers are represented in the Newsletter, and many good references and links.

It is fantastic to have so much choice in this great hobby!!

Hale, Hale, the Gang's all here

After the terrible weather last week, I'm pleased to report that today is the best weather imaginable here on the Granite Belt!  Clear skies, 17 degrees and no wind makes for a very pleasant day outdoors.

Yesterday I heard a funny sound along the railway tracks which border Whistlestop, so I went out to the gate to see what was happening.  Lo and behold there were eight or nine Section Cars/ ganger's trolleys/ Fairmonts, whatever their correct title is, travelling to Wallangarra and back.  Obviously part of a club that specialises in this activity, legally and safely.  Looked like fun!  Here's a picture of them at Wallangarra taken by the good folks who run the Wallangarra Railway Cafe, which, by the way,  is thoroughly recommended!

To continue the railway-themed weekend today we had the steam train (C17 971) from the Southern Downs Steam Railway, which we viewed at Wallangarra and then followed in the car to the level crossing near Whistlestop.  What a superb day those passengers would have had!!  The Southern Downs at it's best!!

As yet another month draws to a close I can certainly say that I'm happy with the progress here.  The Trainbarn site is nearly ready for construction and the plans for the Trainbarn are being drawn up.  As soon as the plans are ready we'll get a formal quote from our builder, and then get the plans into Council for approval.  Exciting times!!

The first piece!!

Today was an utterly miserable day outside- cold, windy and wet.  It never got above 9 degrees C.  Very tempting to just stay inside by the wood-fire, but I did manage to get two loads of rubbish from the Trainbarn site taken to the dump.  Not much to go now!  It's all marked out, and usually during construction the building always looks too small until the walls go up, but the Trainbarn looks big!  Wide, particularly, but then it needs to be.

A very pleasant occurrence today was that I was given the first piece of the Trainbarn!!  A friend had a really nice set of fretwork for a double and single doorway that they knew would be useful to me, and now it awaits the building to be built around it!!  There will be a wide doorway between the entry area and the trains area, and this is where the fretwork will go.  There are two pieces, one for each side, and a knobby thing that goes inverted in the middle.  Should look great!

Wood is Good

I had a really good talk with our builders today- Altitude 950, who built our cottage so well- with the aim of deciding whether to build a standard metal shed and then line it, or use normal timber faming, for the Trainbarn.  Ultimate cost is probably the main criteria, but quality and appearance is also very important.  The clear winner in my case is to build the Trainbarn using normal timber framing techniques, which will greatly facilitate the interior lining and finish.  I have a very clear idea about how I want it to look both inside and out.  So the ball is now back in my court to work with the Engineer/Draughtsman to produce the plans, so that an accurate costing can be done and also to obtain council approval.  So, I'm very excited about all that!!  Incidentally, the outside will be clad in Manor Red Colorbond Trimdek steel, which simulates (to some degree) the board and batten siding found on many American railroad stations (depots).

This photo of Jamestown Depot on the Sierra Railroad shows the 'classic' board-and-batten siding used on many US stations, which is what I want to simulate with my Trainbarn.

Meanwhile, there is more clearing to be done on the site, but that is progressing well.  I took a break from clearing to mark out the sides that are clear, mainly to confirm the placement on the site.  I used tapes and a string line and then marked it out with upside-down paint, which is one of those great inventions that should have been invented earlier!!

To make sure that the walls are at proper right-angles to each other I use the simple 'trick' of a 3-4-5 triangle.  Basically if you measure along one side 3 metres (or multiple), the other side 4 metres, then if the hypotenuse is 5 metres then you have a perfect right-angle corner.  At this stage it's only rough, but it's fun to see it all laid out!

A very satisfying and encouraging day!!

Happy Birthday Mr. Hornby

Today, the 15th of May 2013, is the 150th anniversary of Mr Frank Hornby, who invented Meccano construction sets, and of course, Hornby Trains.  As such, he had a HUGE impact on the childhoods of countless boys, and the Hornby name remains one of the leading names in model trains.  Needless to say, my first 'proper' train set was a Hornby Dublo (00 gauge), built on an 8' X 4' table.  It was a very sad day indeed when I learnt that the Meccano empire- the makers of Hornby- had been taken over, and that there would be no more proper Hornby trains produced.  Little did I know that 50 years on from that sad event there are still lots of Hornby trains available courtesy of auction sites such as ebay, and therefore it is still possible to build a very nice Hornby layout or collection.  There is a very active organisation with members all over the world called the Hornby Railway Collectors' Association  (HRCA) which does a very good job of keeping the name alive, and produces an excellent monthly magazine.

Incidentally, it is often joked about that it is very fortunate that Mr Hornby had such an acceptable name, after which his products were named!  I'm sure readers can think of many less suitable names!!  Good on you Mr Hornby, and thanks for the many hours of fun I've had with your trains!!

High Voltage (but it's not Rock 'n Roll)

As an Aussie, whenever I think of High Voltage, I automatically think of the song by our iconic Rock band AC/DC, although I'd have to say that they're not one of my favourites.  Similarly, the latest accessory for the Standard Gauge railway in the Trainbarn- the #94 High Tension Towers.  These are a great accessory, and at 22" high will add a new dimension to the layout, but I really don't like the real thing!!  The sight of high tension towers marring an otherwise attractive natural landscape definitely doesn't impress me, but I do like the accessory!

These date from the 1930's, as does the # 840 Industrial Power Station, which is a mammoth accessory, but one that I'd like to have on my layout.  My Towers are the grey with terra-cotta base variety, which I really like, and they were also produced in silver with a red base.

I'm hard at work finishing the clearing of the Trainbarn site, removing horrible tea-tree regrowth.  Only a few more days work and it will be ready to survey, as it has a gentle slope.  I'm waiting on a rough estimate for the building from our builder, so things are definitely happening for the Trainbarn!!  And like our cottage it will be solar-powered, so definitely no need for High Tension Towers!!

Sachsen Steam

Our eldest daughter lives in Germany, half her luck, and as it was her birthday yesterday she went out into the beautiful countryside for some walking and a picnic with friends.  The reason I mention this here is that while visiting her last year we also had the opportunity of visiting the same area.  Our reason was somewhat different, albeit predictable- trains!!  Still very much alive and operating here in this remote corner of the former Eastern Germany is the Zittauer Schmalspurbahn (Zittau narrow gauge railway).  So I thought I would take the opportunity to post some information about this wonderful line on my blog.

We bought unlimited day tickets, and as the line forms a Y shape we were able to spend most of the day on trains!  Ok, we had a nice lunch in a village, too.  Although it is a preserved railway, the impression is much more that it is simply a working passenger railway that has survived continuously.  There is nothing put-on or artificial about this line, it is a useful passenger service that just happens to be steam operated!

The locos are very large, powerful, 2-10-2s of characteristic German design, running on 750mm gauge track, if my memory serves me correctly.  It is mostly uphill outbound as the lines climb to two different villages in the mountains near the border with Poland and the Czech Republic, and the locos work hard.  Music to the ears of a steam-buff!!  There are quite a few comparisons that one could draw with Australia’s own Puffing Billy, however I was amazed that the German whistles were incredibly similar, if not the same, as the whistles on our Na class, and that same haunting echo as the sound reverberates through the hills.  I can ‘hear’ it now as I write this, thousands of miles away!!

A real thrill for me was on the last trip, returning to Zittau.  No, not a cab ride, but the next best thing!!  Of course being a tank loco the return trip is made in reverse, and the carriage coupled next to the loco was one with end platforms………. Are you seeing where this is leading??  Yes, I made the return journey on the end platform right next to the smokebox and chimney, and even though it is mostly downhill (the loco not working hard) there were sections where the regulator was well open and the resulting sound was, shall we say, most satisfying!! I did this many years ago on Puffing Billy too, on the end platform of an ex Mount Lyle carriage, and filmed most of it on video tape.  When the loco whistled LOUDLY it destabilized the picture being filmed, goodness knows how, but there is incredible sound energy in a loco whistle!!  Fantastic memories all round!!

Any of the small steam railways still operating in Germany are well worth visiting if you ever get the chance, and the Zittau line is sensational!!  And there are LOTS of other train-oriented activities in this beautiful region.

Completely Complete

I admit that for most of my life I have tended to move onto new projects before finishing current ones, leaving a trail of semi-unfinished jobs in my wake.  However, old dogs CAN learn new tricks and now I have an obsession about finishing things off!!  And so I am extremely pleased to report that our Cottage project is now officially finished!!  Even though the cottage itself was nicely completed, there was a requirement to clear an area around it as a bushfire safety precaution, which held up the actual Completion.  After months of very difficult work, and getting an excavator in to finish off what I couldn't do myself, we have just had the successful final inspection.  Phew, what a huge relief that is!!  For months I've spent every minute thinking about, and doing, clearing, and now I can start doing some of the many other projects that are planned for Whistlestop.

Mention must be made of the incredible assistance in all this clearing by the amazing Fergie, our 1953 TED 20 tractor.  Quite literally I couldn't have done what I have without it.  At 60 years old I am amazed at what it can still do, particularly getting into tight and rough spots in order to pull out teatree stumps.  As much as I like some of my more modern equipment, I am absolutely sure that none of it will still be giving good service in 60 years time, not that I'll be around to notice!!

Here are a couple of pictures of the newly-cleared area, with many new opportunities for gardens!

Our 'new' views to the wine-growing area of Ballandean.

As another month draws to a close, I am absolutely thrilled that the Cottage project is now complete, and while there is still a lot of gardening etc that I want to do around it, I can now move onto another exciting project here at Whistlestop.   Something, perhaps, with more of a 'train' theme to it.......................

Excavation Day

A big but good day today at Whistlestop!!  Readers of this blog will recall that we have a requirement to clear around our cottage for bushfire safety, and it is now done!!  We had a huge excavator with a four-way head in today, courtesy of our friends Adrian and Maree of Johanson Earthmoving.  What Adrian can do with the excavator in three minutes takes me a whole day!!

Although I now have a lot of tidying up to do, it is so good to finally have this job finished!  We now have some new, interesting, views over both Ballandean and Girraween National Park.  I think in a way too that today marks a transition between plugging away around the cottage, to now being free to get back into the train projects at Whistlestop, which is a very exciting prospect!!  Thanks Guys!!

Hi-Rail it to the Pacific Northwest!!

I am definitely a Toy Train Collector, not a Railway Modeller, although I admire the work modellers do, and enjoy seeing detailed model railways at exhibitions.  One of the layouts that I plan to build in the Trainbarn though is what’s called a Hi-rail layout- that is a layout using three-rail 0 gauge track and trains, but running in a detailed scale-model-type setting.  Probably the big difference between a Hi-rail layout and a scale model railroad is the configuration of the tracks and the way in which it is operated.  Hi-rail layouts usually have multiple circuits of tracks running within the scenery, going around and around, whereas scale model railways will closely resemble the real railways- stopping at stations and sidings simulating the task that real railways perform.

The picture above is one of the best examples of an 0 gauge Hi-rail layout that you will ever find!!  It is of the Black Diamond Railway and other information can be found on their website www.toytrainsontracks.com .  The builder of this layout has produced three fantastic DVDs detailing the whole construction process, and I thoroughly recommend them!!  They'll get you hooked!!  You will notice that the track used- MTH Scaletrax- is still 3 rail, the design is still fundamentally several large loops of track with continuous running, but the scenery and detailing is absolutely stunning!!

Scale model railways nearly always are set in a particular area and timeframe, and will only run locomotives and rolling stock that are appropriate for that setting.  I’m going to do that to some degree with this layout too, but for me, picking a defined area is usually nearly impossible, as I like everything!!  In this case however, I have a good friend who lives in the Pacific Northwest of the USA who I’ve visited a couple of times and I’ve grown very fond of the various railways in the area.  There was a ‘home-grown’ railway called the Spokane Portland and Seattle (SP&S) which is still highly regarded by enthusiasts, the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, Milwaukee Railroad, Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, and no doubt various others, so even though I’ve narrowed down my locale somewhat, there are still lots of choices!!

I haven’t purchased many locomotives for this planned railroad yet as there was a bit of an issue about actually making them run.  Unlike the smaller HO trains which run on 12volts DC power and are almost universally compatible, O gauge trains run on AC power. This is not an issue with the older trains at all, however with the more recent trains that incorporate some sort of electronic ‘command control’, this use of AC power may or may not have been an issue.  The problem- if such a problem exists- is the frequency of the AC (Alternating Current)- the Hertz- ie how many times a second the current alternates/ changes direction, within the wires.  Most of the world uses 50 Hertz power, the US uses 60 Hertz.  The frequency of the power is often used to ‘set’ the speed or timing within the electronics, so a different frequency can totally upset modern electronics.  Incidentally, my digital clock radio beside my bed keeps very good time in Australia- where it’s made for- but gains time dramatically in the country in which I work part time because the frequency here is different, if not erratic!!

One of the leading 0 gauge manufacturers- MTH- has just introduced a new version of their command control (DCS) called Proto-Sound 3.0 which, as far as I can understand, eliminates any problem with different power supplies or frequency.  Apparently you place the loco on the track and it figures out what power is available to it- AC/DC- and makes it’s own adjustments!  Very clever stuff!!  So railroaders in non-US countries can now confidently buy locos and know that they’ll perform properly!!  Well done MTH!!  Possibly the other leading manufacturers like Lionel and Atlas will follow suit, if they haven’t already, but where recent trains are concerned I’m just much more familiar with the MTH brand.

All of which is an incredibly long-winded introduction to my latest purchase for the Trainbarn, which is an MTH Railking Great Northern Railway RS-3 diesel locomotive!!  The Railking sub-brand is a slightly less detailed version of the loco, versus MTH’s Premier line, but it’s still a superb model, and somewhat cheaper!!  It literally has all the bells and whistles- well horns- of all the Proto-Sound 3.0 locomotives, so will be really fun to operate.  While I’m primarily a steam train fan, I really enjoy the sound of the older diesels too.  The engine sound is an accurate digital recording of a real Alco RS-3, which have quite a distinctive sound.  This loco will look very much at home pulling a string of Pacific Northwest area freight cars, with an appropriate GN caboose on the end, which I already have. Eventually I’ll have to make LOTS of scale Douglas Fir (Oregon) trees too, for the trains to run through!!  Can’t wait!!