Looking good!!

As another month draws to a close I like to reflect on what I’ve managed to achieve during my recent time home at our property, Whistlestop.  In no particular order:-

-       I cut my finger really badly, requiring three stitches.  (Don’t ask)

-       I fell sideways off a Penny Farthing bicycle in Evandale Tasmania, and didn’t break anything.

-       We had some wonderful times with family and friends, both here and elsewhere.

-       Pulled out masses of tea-tree scrub and other rubbish from near the cottage, and did umpteen trips to the Wallangarra dump.  The resulting cleared area is looking fabulous, and ripe for creating rock-gardens.

-       On Tuesday I mowed the whole top area of our block, around the cottage, and it looks absolutely fabulous!  This is the first time I’ve ever managed it completely in one day- brushcutting edges etc and push-mowing around trees included.  I find this really encouraging as it ‘proves’ that it is very do-able, and not a potential maintenance nightmare.  I’d rather be running trains, not mowing!!

-       Drank about a million glasses of fresh, cold, rainwater from our tank!!  Pulling out scrub is very sweaty work!

This is the area I've just cleared.  It doesn't look like much, but it was a huge amount of work!!

Overall, I’m finishing the month feeling very encouraged regarding my hopes and dreams for Whistlestop.  No, I’m probably no closer to building the Trainbarn or Miniature Railway- I had hoped to have the Trainbarn built by now- but an important part of what I want to do here is to create an attractive bushland environment  as a ‘backdrop’ for all the train things, and I can certainly see that aspect coming together well.  Yes, there’s a lot more to do, (a LOT more!!) but it’s really happening.  And, I’m really enjoying it.

Mowing right along...........

A very satisfying day today working at Whistlestop.  Nothing particularly special, just mowing and brushcutting- maintenance- but I think the reason that I enjoyed it so much (apart from the beaut weather) is that I was working down the front of our property.  This of course is the area where the future train museum will be, and also it’s a lot more developed than the area ‘up top’ where our cottage is, where I’ve been spending most of my time recently.

Although there is still plenty to do at the front as far as the general grounds development and infrastructure is concerned, there is enough work already completed that it is not too mammoth an undertaking to ‘finish’ it off, which I find encouraging!!  A few days here, a few days there, and it’ll be quite presentable for visitors to the Trainbarn, etc.

As I mentioned in my previous post I am having to work mostly up the top near the cottage in order to make the area safer in the event of a bushfire.  Although I had planned to do this ‘one day’, it is probably a good thing that I am being forced to do it now, and to finish it, as I probably never would have otherwise.  My normal working style has been to do a bit here and a bit there, knowing that one day it’ll all come together, but I think I need to remain focused on just one task, and finish it, if I’m ever going to get Whistlestop ready for visitors.

A very satisfying and enjoyable day!!

Gardening

Well, the idea of writing up our Train-travelogue on my blog didn't progress past my first post, unfortunately.  There was lots to write about, but I discovered that I do not have the past-tense journalistic skills of my eldest daughter!

Another month home is nearly at an end, and while much work has been done, there doesn't really seem to be much to actually show for it.  And, unfortunately, none of what has been done directly relates to the development of the train theme of Whistlestop.  I've been clearing and tidying up the area around our cottage, both as a bushfire-safety measure and to make the place look generally nicer.  I am realising now what an absolutely huge job it is to get our property looking tidy and attractive, although I get real enjoyment from doing this.  Suffice to say though, that it is going to be way harder, and take way more time than I imagined, before we can consider that we've got this aspect somewhat under control.  That doesn't necessarily mean that the Trainbarn or Miniature Railway have to wait for all the landscaping to be completed, but it does mean that it's certainly not going to happen as quickly as I'd hoped.

Here's a photo taken just in front of the cottage of a small garden area that I've just created around a rocky outcrop (former mower-munchies!!).  I thought I'd take my mother's advice and use one of my 15" gauge mining skips as a flower planter!!

This 'garden' may not look like much yet, but it was a terribly overgrown area (African Lovegrass) before being cleared, and looked awful, so this is really a major improvement!!  It will be extended in due course to take in most of the rocky outcrops.

Most of the tea-tree in the background of the photo will also be removed to open up other areas of really nice granite outcrops and gum trees.  I have realised that if I was already building the Trainbarn or Miniature Railway (elsewhere on the property) this landscaping around our cottage would never get done, so it's probably best that I'm doing it now!  It doesn't have to be totally finished before moving on to train-things, but needs to be a lot more under control than it is now.  

Soon everything will start growing again after the winter hybernation, and then it will be Mowing Time!!

The Tillig Museum

Today, after spending some time with our eldest daughter, we picked up a rental car in order to tour around.  The car was a brand new Citroën DS4, which was a really nice car, but oh so complicated!  Combine this with driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road, and there were, let’s say, some ‘interesting’ moments.  The other German road users were extremely patient and forgiving, fortunately.

After a brief visit to the town of Zittau, we headed west into the Czech Republic towards the German town of Sebnitz.  This town is the home of the Tillig company, manufacturers of a large range of TT and HO model railway equipment.  It is the modern incarnation of the former Zeuke and then Berliner TT bahn companies- also specialists in TT.  They have a really excellent museum of older model trains, as well as some very nice layouts displaying their current range.  I was particularly interested in the ‘history of TT gauge’ display- very well done, and showing some models and brands which I was unaware of.

Also of great interest was the old Zeuke 0 gauge electric layout, which was a genuine old railway from an earlier period.

I enjoyed this museum very much and also was able to purchase some TT track, for a planned layout, from their shop.

Heading back towards Herrnhut now, this time staying within Germany, and driving through beautiful rural landscapes and villages.  A very enjoyable- if somewhat nerve-wracking- day!!

Herrnhut Germany

We’re currently visiting two of our daughters in Europe- one lives in eastern Germany, the other in the UK.  This of course is a fantastic opportunity to explore new areas, including anything to do with trains!!

We flew into Frankfurt in the evening, and enjoyed a short but pleasant night there.  I have spent a bit of time there over the years, and it was really nice to return to the familiar surroundings.  In the morning we caught the very efficient Strassenbahn (tram) to the main station- again it was good to be back here! I used to hang around here ‘trainspotting’!!  There must have been nearly 100 train magazines in the newsagents here- the Germans are really ‘into’ trains!!- and I bought a really interesting reproduction map of the German railway system as it was in 1914. We caught the ICE train to Dresden, and I’d been looking forward to this, but it turned out to be a disappointment.  We had reserved seats, but in a carriage in which the air-conditioning didn’t work, and it soon became like a sauna.  As the train was fairly full there really wasn’t anywhere else to go, but I ended up standing in a cooler carriage until two seats there finally became vacant.  Not what I expected from the Germans at all.

From Dresden a short ride in a modern railmotor took us to Löbau, where our daughter picked us up for the short journey to Herrnhut. 

Herrnhut, Germany, is right down near where Germany borders the Czech Republic and Poland.  The town is most famous as the home of the Moravian church, and despite the fact that their service was of course in German, I really enjoyed it this morning!  Eastern Germany is fascinating regarding ‘preserved’ railways, as they kept steam long after the rest of the world and so many have survived into the preserved era. I saw several steam locomotives yesterday from the window of my train, both in service and plinthed.  I’ll be riding a preserved line on Tuesday.

There is an abandoned section of railway running through Herrnhut, which seemed to have formed an alternate loop route from the main line further west, and it is still completely intact though overgrown.  Unlike abandoned lines in Australia all the signals and other railway paraphernalia are still there!  I love walking along old railway lines, and this was one of the best and most enjoyable that I’ve ever done.  The line itself was interesting, and ran over several large stone viaducts, and the views were spectacular.

Tomorrow I’ll be checking out some of the local train shops, and hope to find some of the uniquely East German items, such as Zeuke or Berliner TT.  Then later in the day I hope to visit the Tillig factory and Museum nearby.  Tillig is the post- reunification incarnation of Zeuke/ Berliner TT, and I’m hoping to see some of their current production TT items.  TT gauge (1:120 and 12mm gauge) is still very popular in Germany, although little known elsewhere.  I’m looking forward to tomorrow!!