My principal interests are narrow gauge railways and hence my videos mostly feature my visits to UK narrow gauge railways and clips of my own garden railway which represents a fictional 3' narrow gauge railway set in the Cheshire countryside in England.
A wonderful instalment of the Peckforton story. This really helps put into context the route the railway takes through the garden despite being compressed to fit into the property, all the slights of hand being put into a linear order. I was also going to mention how nice it is that despite being somewhat random in wagon to wagon order, its nice to see a common carrier railway being modelled as the traffic would have been handled in reality; a rare treat for people who care about the operational side of things when it comes to the railway's bread and butter.
@@SilverGear_ Thanks. That's very kind and observant of you. My rationale has always been to try and create a whole railway system and run it as realistically as possible. There are undoubtedly some things I've not got right. I know, for example, that the tractor isn't properly secured and the log loads are a bit iffy. But I have to make compromises so the loads can be removed when the wagons make return journeys.
@@rikbennett9 Such is the life of a railway modeller, making compromises is all part of the hobby. Your efforts to realistic running are appreciated, and an inspiration. I am currently considering taking a leaf out of your book regarding the hardware you use for wagon waybills for my own operations. It's a far more dynamic and organised approach to a sequence than a fixed order of operations on sheets of paper. I cannot remember if you did a video that went into detail on how the machine is used and the program written?
@@SilverGear_ Here's how I did the Google Sheets version. There's more info on my blog - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-092Teh2ekao.html
The pickup goods really tells the story of the railway and the place! Your modelling and landscaping are all masterful and the way that you create the timetable and workings to give everything purpose really breathes so much life into it all. A pleasure to watch … and in the case of that malodorous bone mill waggon, watching certainly seems preferable to the full sensory experience! ;n)
@@monkeyvampire Yes. I find researching the local history of the area an interesting part of creating my own miniature version of what life might have been like along the route of the railway. www.tattenhallhistory.co.uk/philip-randles/
Great stuff Rik. Makes me homesick, after 64 years in Oz. I thought you might find this site interesting. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-x36XCKYH6eM.html . Necessity and all that. Cheers,
Depart 11:07 and arrive at 13:10.... For a six mile narrow gauge railway making several stops to drop off and pick up that seems like a fairly convincing time frame, especially in those more relaxed days. One wonders if that was intentional or not.... Always love watching your videos and taking in all the little details. Keep up the good work, we really appreciate it. 😎
I started making my own wagons and bashing commercial ones in 2006 - for example see one of my earliest blog posts - riksrailway.blogspot.com/2007/01/stock-update.html
@@CustomiZe_ Yes, she does run well (trusty old LGB Stainz motor block!). One day, I might get around to replacing its Dallee V3 soundcard which has chuffs which increase in stepped stages rather than a continuous rise in speed.
Until now, I hadn't noticed the various 'sleights of hand' you've used in the layout to extend the length of the trip from one end of the railway to the other-good editing of your videos to create the sense that it's as long as you've imagined! But it's also interesting to see the way you've achieved that with clever use of the space. Love the railway you've created, thanks for all the work you put in to share it!
@@monkeyvampire Thanks Chris. I like your expression - sleights of hand - as an explanation. You might find that cropping up in a future voice-over. I well remember being impressed with an 00 or it might have been an EM gauge layout in Railway Modeller in the 1960s which had two termini inside a circuit and the trains did several circuits to simulate the length of the track between the termini. It was partly luck and partly planning which allowed me to re-use parts of the layout to simulate the geography of the area around my railway.
@@rikbennett9 I am still practicing with FMngr at WIRL. Since I downloaded it earlier in the year, the roster has grown a bit, and some new features have appeared in the PWD. Hopefully the next video will show some new track and sidings, t be followed by some shunting….
A lovely video Rik and both locos look great. Did you design the bodies from scratch or did you start with a basic design (from thingyverse or similar) and then enhance the design?
Hi Gerald. The Ruston Proctor was a download from Shapeways which I rescaled to fit a 45mm gauge chassis (so now very out of scale). The Ruston 44/48hp loco was designed and drawn by me based on photos, so once more not to scale as it too was designed to fit my own 45mm gauge chassis. I've now got scale drawings for both locos so, one day, I might get around to drawing and printing them more to scale ....... ( One day .... 🤔 )
I think, after watching this, I better get my new 3D printer 🖨 out and get it going. Thanks Rick. I must send you some pictures of my Kenton Valley Railway.
It's actually taken from a video of a real Ruston on the Great Bush Railway. I've tracked down a video of a Deutz on which the Ruston Proctor was based, so might swap out the RP's present card for one which is more realistic.
PS You can extract the sound from online video sources by setting the recording source in Audacity to the computer's speakers rather than the microphone
@@rikbennett9Oh heavens yes. I did read that one some time ago. This is still a bit out of my technological reach. Still attempting to convert to battery power thanks to your articles. Thank you for sending the link; I'll keep trying. Thanks also for the videos: they always make me smile.
batteries and radio controls are so inspiring. having to deal with track power and it's headaches is something that always seemed stressful to me. when i get my own place and finally have the space, time, and money to do a garden railway, i plan to do what you did! really inspirational! thanks for paving the way :D
Yes, those Toytrain (eg Otto, Oho, Rusty) motor blocks are great little mechanisms. I used to be able to buy a secondhand Otto for around £50 (sometimes even less) but now lucky to find one under £100. I've even seen a secondhand Otto on eBay for around £400. I wasn't tempted ....😱😁
It was my first attempt at a partial scratchbuild - scratchbuilt plasticard body on an LGB ToyTrain motor block - riksrailway.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-i-converted-toytrain-diesel-into.html - Quite a few of my locos use ToyTrain blocks which are well engineered, powerful and run well.
Stellar. I can imagine many, many hours sitting back with a cuppa and just 'playing' trains. It enhances the character of the layout when there is proper context to it mixed along with snippets of real places. Makes me wish I was still working😃
It certainly keeps me busy - and at least the missus knows where I am. She's very tolerant of the time I spend out in the garden - though the list of household jobs she gives me does seem to be lengthening.....
Thanks. Yes, I thought the workmen's coach would add a bit of variety to running sessions. I bought it on eBay years ago. Clearly scratchbuilt, from plywood and loosely based on a GVT coach. The ply is very ragged around the windows and beading which made me think it would be better used as a time-expired coach pensioned off for use by mineworkers rather than part of the regular passenger fleet. The workmen are roughly hand-carved wooden figures I picked up in a pound shop somewhere - see - riksrailway.blogspot.com/2011/09/progress-report-38.html
For me too, a no-brainer !!! Thank you for this, am new to the garden scene and have beem messing around with scratch- built battery power locos on a meccano chassis. They work well but bugger all control… now… radio controlled… 😎… thats the ticket i need. Thank you again. 👍🏻
@@rikbennett9 i have a running loco using a 6VDC motor and battery pack. So presumably i can just introduce the receiver/controller and a RC handset into the circuit?
That's more or less all there is to it. If in doubt, have a chat with Andy at Micron or Phil at RC Trains. They will advise you on what's needed. Their email addresses and phone numbers are on their websites.
Wonderful. An antidote to everything nasty, as well as a fantastic achievement. Such a busy line. I can't believe it doesn't make a profit with all that traffic. (Ninety-three years later I want the M&GN Joint reopened in full for the Amazon parcels traffic.) Two questions: (i) how are the points reset between the passage of two conflicting trains, and (ii) seeing the little live steam loco with that ore train, <SPOILER ALERT> what is the ore actually made of?
Thanks Alan. I'm with you on the Muddle and Go Nowhere. 1) Mostly points are changed manually but a few are electrically operated. The point blades for the sand quarry were thrown by the Walker railcar trailing through it. It's heavy enough to push them. 2) The ore is actually crushed sandstone. Working on the principle that it's the bedrock in which the copper (and small deposits of silver) is carried.
