We've been living out here in the middle of nowhere for just over two years now. It remains a strange, wonderful, challenging and very different part of the country for us but overall we still love it, apart from the wind.
Ah yes, the wind.
I hear you saying "Yes, the fens, they get the full blast of the winds blowing from Siberia. It must be one of the windiest parts of the country, you know"
Actually, it is very rare we get winds from the East, which is a pity because most of our trees would protect us if we did. And the Westerly winds we do get aren't, notionally, that dreadful. What they are is relentless and, frankly, depressing. Especially cycling home against them.
What has all this got to do with the railway?
I always knew building a 7 1/4" line single handed would be a challenge but I think I underestimated the impact the weather would have on construction. The truth is it just isn't any fun to be crouching down in the wind trying to fasten ridiculously small fish-plate bolts.
I'd been relying on having some balmy Summer evenings to get things done, with the Easter long weekend providing an early season boost.
Easter ended up being devoted to clearing out the sheds of all the things that become surplus to requirements when you move from a six bedroom house to a 2 1/2 bedroom cottage.
We have had some balmy Summer evenings, but then there is cycling to be done, and BBQs to be cooked.
Never mind, I thought. Issy is off for a week's leave in June when her step-mum is coming to stay. I'll take that week off and do a mix of day trips with them and days working on the railway.
Which was a great plan until the day beforehand when poor Barb got rushed to hospital with life threatening sepsis. Issy and I got to spend three days together, one of which was a total washout, and on the other two we had days out. to Skeggie and the rather wonderful Peckover House. Incidentally, I'm sure I read somewhere that Teddy Boston lodged at Peckover House during his curacy in Wisbech, but I'm not sure where.
Barb, incidentally appears to have made a full recovery, I'm glad to say.
The rest of the week was dismal wet and windy, apart from the final Saturday. Fortunately, by then I'd had time to plan a detailed set of actions so we made massive progress with the whole of the "yard" laid to give Teddy proper access to the engine shed and a stock siding enabling the wagons to be stored out of sight.
Another weekend's work saw the tramway extension get underway, with the eye watering 8' radius curves that Teddy seems quite happy with.
So now, after 20 months, the ELR has extended from an end to end run of 30m to a current 55m.
Not exactly massive progress is it?
Well no, but we've actually laid a lot more track than that when you take the sidings into account. And given the nature of the ELR some of the sidings are probably best thought of as short branchlines.
And it completes my plans for phase 1a and 1b of construction. 6 months late, but hey, you can;t have everything.
Better still phase 2 just involves laying 30m of plain track so 2018 should see rapid progress.
Moving from an OO gauge micro-layout to an EM gauge compromise, via a rather major diversion into both 7 1/4" gauge and minimal space OO9
Labels
Layout Design
Blodwell
Buildings
The Art of Compromise
Photography
Llanrhaiadr Mochnant
Scenery
Signal Box
Baseboards
Goods Yard
Track
45XX
Apa Box
EM
Lcut Creative
Travel
Backscene
Concepts
Railway Exhibitions
TVR
USA
Upwold
14XX
Anyrail
Bridge
Cuba
Cycling
Fencing
Lorry
Narrow Gauge
Point rodding
Points
Templot
Turnouts
West Maryland
Books
C+L
Fiddleyard
GWR
Hales
OO9
Phil Parker
Rolling Stock
Signals
State of the hobby
Tillig
Warley
Weighbridge
trams
2012
AC Railbus
Albion Yard
Allt-y-Graban Rd
Apa Valley
Balloch Pier
Bas
Bath Green Park
Brickwork
Bridgnorth
Bryn-y-Felin
CSX
Charmouth
Clarendon
Class 25
Cliff Railway
Coldrennick Road
Corris
Crich
DCC
Disused Railways
Dukedog
EMGS
Edwin Smith
Electrics
Emett
France
Gloucestershire & Warwickshire
HO
Hobbies
Hope under Dinmore
Hospital Gates
Iain Rice
Iliffe Stokes
Inspiration
Ireland
Kings Lynn
La Baraque
Lasercut
Leamington & Warwick
Locos
MSTS
Mainly Trains
Military Modeling
Mishaps
N guage
NEC
OOn3
Percy
Pier Railway
Porth y Waen
Preserved Railways
RTR
SMP
Seend
Sentinel
Sketchup
St Minions
Stockholm
TGV
TRAX
Tansey Bank
Techniques
Technology
Tim Horn
Trade
Trees
Ultrascale
Veldhoveh 1935
Watertank
Williamsport
diorama
manning wardle
painting
procrastination
pug
ships
simulators
Friday 21 July 2017
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)