Dyfrdwy Tramway: Summer steam…
It has been too long, far too long, since I ran steam in the garden. Over the past few years it seems to have, on average been once or twice a year, time will tell if this year is any different! In these ‘tween times I begin to feel like having a live steam investment is rather an extravagance…
Then I use it and fall in love all over again. I have no grand dreams for a large collection, this one model is all and everything. Preparing her for steam, checking her over, filling the boiler, fuelling, lubricating, lighting up and then waiting and listening, tweaking the burner, watching the pressure build, she’s alive, she smells real, real steam.
Over the years I’ve tweaked a few things, but really she’s as Peter Bakke built her all those years ago - and she looks absolutely fabulous on the tramway. I love watching her rattle along the right of way, the steam drifting gently from her chimney. She is alive.
Fine control comes from practice and I’m now confident shunting even light wagons with her, very easy on the throttle and judicious control by feathering the regulator. The tramway is a real drivers line, the track dips and dives, twists and turns and climbs and descends - the train rolls about as you navigate, rewarding experience and the feeling of being at one that comes with it.
There is something about the proportions of 7/8ths that feels very engaging, realistic but somehow toy like - perhaps the element of caricature that made Egger-Bahn so appealing. Whilst the basic foundations of the tramway are reasonably sound some of the ‘detail’ is getting a little fragile - the brick towers for the fuel tank are breaking down and the gates are a little broken. That said, whilst I have every intention of adding more, a pair of cranes, a water tank and a structure or two - their potential up keep and maintenance do have the effect of delaying their inception.
Before you know it though, the fuel is gone and steam pressure drops. Just enough to return back to the wharf, largely downhill, the heart mended, the head soothed and the love of steam in the garden rekindled. I love having a real railway, one that lives and breathes with the seasons. I hope you have enjoyed these photos today, and until next time more soon…
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I whole-heartedly agree with every word James! My Ness Garden Railway only has steam a few days a year at most and it has all the same effects. The rest of the time I run small battery critters, all 16mm scale, battling the plants and weeds and garden debris.
ReplyDeleteI note you have embedded your track in cement(?) and I wish I’d been brave enough to do that when I laid mine. It really needs to be solid.
Keep on steaming
John
Thanks John. I did indeed bury the track in cement - to hide the Peco sleepers as the track is SM32 which would just look peculiar in 7/8ths - the advantage is appearance yes, but it is solid enough to stand on too as a result although isn’t impervious to maintenance!
DeleteIt must feel like a real railway. Not just hitting "power" and going for it, but having to actually finesse a real, living, beast. I envy you, and I also envy your conflicted thoughts over embellishment. I would suggest you go for what you want, and create the railway you want, but I understand your hesitancy over creating things that time will surely wear down. One might say that this is the hallmark of a real railway though. Have you, or have you thought about, adding somewhere you can sit comfortable and warm when the days are rough and still run it? I imagine many of your reasons for only using it twice a year are based around comfort...though of course not knowing you or your circumstances I may be talking rubbish?
ReplyDeleteNo space for such luxury - but with battery locos you can even run a short train in the winter assuming the line is dry and clear of debris. Whilst I have no current build projects for the 7/8ths line I have enjoyed playing with the railway again. I don't mind maintaining the physical infrastructure - its the 'removable' items that frustrate me - we shall see what happens!
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