Weekend report

A couple of railways were visited this weekend. First up is the extraordinary Steeple Grange Light Railway...


which features some odd points!

The staff were very friendly, and it's a nice little railway which goes a fair length for a cheap fare (£1.50 return) and up some serious gradients. They have a nice running shed, a little shop and even a small branch line that they take waiting passengers on whilst they wait for the 'main line' train. No steam though, publicity is poor (except for media coverage of a dispute with e.on electricity) and parking is a side of road job. There is also an odd squeeze through a gatepost to get in which would be hard for a pregnant lady or anyone of a larger than average waist size. The rolling stock is basic (miners' manriders) and the trip is mainly through woods to the middle of nowhere. Thus it doesn't score very well, which is a shame as we had a lovely hour or so there. 23%

Today we went on the Rudyard Lake Railway. Rudyard sports a tidy little station with its own footbridge and seasonal planting.

There were 3 steam engines in steam, all very similar and built for the Exmoor Steam Railway.

The trip along the lake was lovely, with nice views and a decent length. There was a festival on at the Dam, where we had a nice cup of tea. Overall 47%, just short of Kirklees, which feels about right as the facilities (shop, cafe etc) are better at Kirklees.

Oh and I did some wiring underneath the board with all the action (4 point motors)... Note the DCC points decoder (gaugemaster) installed and the DCC bus (two household copper wires [red and black] stripped in a few places). All wires have been soldered to their 'home' be it a feed, point motor etc) and a series of chop blocks have been glued on ready. All wires have had their ends stripped, so when the chop blocks are solid, wiring can be completed quite quickly.

I expect to staple the main bus wires to the board. That is if I can repair the netto nail gun!

and also gave the KMX tamper container a second coat of primer, added a polyfilla bank near the steps from the car park, painted rocks where they had been missed from the other side, added foliage to the walls to cover gaps and tone the stones down and a few other minor jobs.

Colin