PHASE ONE JULY 2006
It all started when she who must be obeyed, had decreed that the childrens Wendy house needed moving from the patio, where it had stood for the last four years, and should be positioned somewhere further down the garden. In a moment of genious, it was obvious that this was my chance, and with a little help from the children we managed to persuade her that this would make a wonderful little station building for our garden railway! After carrying out a survey of the planned route of the line, it became apparent that locomotives would find this a challenge.
After establishing that it would still be feasible, and that locomotives should in theory be able to cope with the 1 in 15 gradient with, or without a banking engine, it was decided to press on.
On the 1st July 2006, a concrete base was laid at the site soon to be known as, 'APPLE TREE STATION'. The base was made slightly larger than the size of the station building, and may yet be enlarged further, with an additional platform.
From left to right: A) Looking South. B) Looking North. C) Facing West. The track has just been placed on the grass to check the gradient.
On the 8th July 2006 the Wendy House was dismantled, and re-built on its new site as, 'APPLE TREE STATION'. The new station will be re-painted soon in its new railway colours, and further items including a new roof added for effect.
The new APPLETREE STATION. The Station Master can be seen proudly looking through the window. The railway builders tea cup can be seen on the platform, many gallons of tea will be consumed in order to complete this project!
On 9th July 2006 the first sods of earth were removed. A 15.5' trench 2'10" in width and varying in depth between 8"and 3" on the gradient was dug out by hand on one of the hottest days of the year! 6" slabs were then laid along its length. 3/4 ton of MOT1 was then filled into the trench after first placing an anti weed membrane along its length. A ton bag of this stuff looks a lot, but believe me when you put it down and compact it, it goes nowhere! Many more tons of this stuff, not to mention ballast, will be required.
From left to right: A) The first sods are cut. B) Checking the level before ballasting commences.
On the 15th July 2006 temperatures were again in the high 90s, so I decided to work on the new Appletree station. The station was painted in HLR colours of brown & cream. I made some signs out of some old timber I had lying about. The first attempts at signwriting were disasterous, and not up to standard. The signs now in position are 3rd attempts. Three gas lights were made and put in place. The station looks really good at night when lit up. (Photo to follow if one comes out!).
From left to right: A) The newly painted Appletree Station. B) Looking towards the North. C) Close up of station. (The booking office clerk and station master can just be seen looking through the windows).
On 16th July, although still very hot, I did some more trackwork in the morning. In the afternoon I found three old seaside buckets that the children had, so I knocked up a fire bucket stand in traditional railway style. The left side of the station still requires undercoating & painting as a result, but I think it was worth the effort.
From left to right: A) Looking south towards Appletree Station showing the new fire buckets. (Note the camber in the track on the curved sections). B) Appletree at night (Not a good picture but it does give an idea!).
On 22nd July 2006 the left side of Appletree Station was completed, and more clearing and preparation of the track bed south of the station was carried out.
On 23rd July more track was laid at what is the steepest section of the line, the 1 in 15 climb to Blackberry. Track was completed as far as Blackberry, where a cutting will have to be made to reduce the gradient. This section will be the most challenging for locomotives, being a series of double curves on a continually rising gradient. The line will continue for a short distance south, which will then complete phase 1.
Left:Permanent way staff at work on the ascent to Blackberry. Right: Looking North.
From left to right: A) Looking North Down the decent from Blackberry. B) The double curve on the approach to Appletree. C) Looking South towards Blackberry.
It will be necessary to ensure that locomotives & rolling stock, can all cope with the gradient and curves before commencing phase 2. If it is found that they cannot, all is not lost, it just means more excavation work will have to be carried out.
LATEST I have not been able to update this site recently due to work commitments, and being sent on courses all over the country!
However, a lot has been happening and I hope to get around to it soon. The good news is that battery loco, "Allen" shot up the incline to Blackberry with no trouble at all, negotiating the double curves easily with power to spare! This was a great relief. I had even modified the driving truck to take an additional motor just in case, but this will not be necessary. "Allen" is a very powerful & useful engine, and I hope to get some pictures on the site soon.
The weather here of late has been appalling, but the track bed seems to have settled down well. I did have to increase the camber on the approaches to Appletree as "Allen" is a strong heavy loco and came off twice when going too fast down the incline! After altering the camber it is now possible to hit the curve quite fast and remain on the track, but we wouldn't go that fast down hill would we????!!!! (A strict speed restriction of 5mph is rigidly enforced on curves on the railway).
