The Bambrough Garden Railway

[Infrontcat]

Good afternoon Jules mi' old mucker!

Hope all is well down your way. great to see you've expanded operations with a rather splendid wee branchline! Glad to see that you've kept it really simple both in terms of construction and operation. Looks bleedin' marvellous mate

And for what it's worth, I couldn't see the point of ballasting either. Frankly, the difference it makes is minimal and cannot disguise the over-scale plants , etc anyway

Great to see the new vids and pleased to know that my former B/Gs are still very much enjoyng their second home

Cheers mate

Tim

[Metadyneman]

Hi Tim long time no speak and good to hear from you

Yeah the line (Can't really call it a layout can I lol) has really come on leaps & bounds this year & thanks for your kind words once again. The Branch line has really given the line a whole new dimension and it's great to let the main line trains run round while I sip my cider in the sunshine (what sunshine?) and operate the branch trains. Simplicity was the aim of the branch.. easy to maintain and clean and also easy to repair if things get broken or snap off.

Your former B/Gg are indeed doing a sterling job in the Sussex sea air and haven't given me an ounce of trouble at all. I have had to do a spot of maintenance on the running chassis now and then but my passengers are very happy with the service they get! As you may have noticed I have quite a few rakes of Mk1s enabling me to model just about any combination of BR train! The only addition to the B/G rake I made was to purchase a Miniature Buffet car (RMB) which shares duties with a rake of Mk2a coaches as well as the Mk1s

Hope all is well with you matey

Jules

[Metadyneman]

Just a little update to say that the Bambrough line is still up and running and is about to enter 10 years service which is pretty good for an outdoor railway in my book!

I have taken quite a lot of video footage during 2012 but as yet I've not produced a new video on youtube. I simply haven't had the time to do it. I've also taken into stock some really lovely Triang Hornby stuff which I've fitted with decoders and I've put lights in some of them too. The whole line really feels like an established railway now and it still gives great pleasure to me when I'm outside running trains. The shelves are bursting with stock and i've had to have a couple of "culls" during the year to keep the stock levels down... I must remember to stop buying coaches that I like the look of on eBay!

Keep an eye out for new videos in the early new year. 2013 is the 10th anniversary of the Bambrough & Mallenbourne Garden railway.

Jules

[Phipps]

Hi mate-it's nice to read an entry here from you.I keep an eye open from time to time & see if something new's up there.
Be good to see that older stuff having a runout sometime.

[Infrontcat]

Hi Jules,

Long time no chat. Good to see the layout is still going. Sadly I've not done too much on Moorcroft of late and I need to do a shedload of maintenance, not least to a broken bridge

Any recent pix too mate?

Cheers

Tim

[Metadyneman]

Hi Tim

Yes indeed it has been a long time.

Since I wrote the update, the railway has been idle for a while due to the persistent wet weather we keep getting. I have only been able to run trains on a handful of spare dry days during November which have co-incided with with time to spare. This continuous rain is really giving the woodwork on the line a good testing. I expect I will encounter electrical problems when it eventually dries out, I usually do after lots of rain. It's usually the lighting on the stations that fail! You'll be pleased to hear the Mk1 Blue/grey set is still in front line service although I had to completely rebuild one of the TSOs due to the fact I poked my finger through one of the windows.When dismantled the coach to put the windows back in the whole thing just fell apart! (bit like a real one hehe). It's back in service now looking good as new.

I don't know what Santa is bringing me this year but with static wage increases and rapid upwardly mobile living costs, investment in the railway is being drastically cut so I expect stock levels to decrease to keep maintenance at an acceptable level!

Nice to hear from you Tim (and you Phipps!)

[Saltspring]

Has anyone had success with ballast outside?

Philip

[Metadyneman]

I have never really tried it in OO on an outdoor line. I daresay it is possible using a waterproof fixative.

[Metadyneman]

It's now been quite a while since I updated you all on this Railway. I am pleased to announce it has been another successful season and I have spent many an hour in the garden running trains when the weather has allowed me to. The branch line has seen good use this year too and is now in it's third year of existence while the main line has celebrated 10 years this year. Maintenance has been relatively light this year but I suspect sooner or later, major engineering works may be needed in one or two places. Being able to go part time at work has increased the amount of time i have to enjoy my railway without too much expectation on other household duties!! Here are some pictures:-

[Infrontcat]

Awesome! I really like those lights Jules!

Good to see the old girl is still going strong! Sadly, Moorcroft is no more Well, it is still there a bit but no longer functional!

Hope all is well on the south coast

Cheers

Tim

[Metadyneman]

The lights I bought direct from a supplier in China via eBay. They are about £20 for 40 lights which gives me loads of spares to replace failed lights. They are LED lights with black posts. I painted them in a more railway like colour. Some traders buy these lights in bulk then sell them at £10 for 5 which to me is a bit of a rip off. Whilst I have no objection to people making a profit, I do object to people charging silly prices for cheap Chinese made stuff like this.

You may have noticed the blue grey Mk1 rake is still going strong Tim. They are still on front line service on my line.

Sorry to hear Moorcroft has died mate and yes all is very well here on the sunny saaarf coast


Jules

[Dcollins26]

Regarding ballast. Our railway has similar construction however we covered the surface wood with shed roofing felt- which obviously helps protect the wood aswell.

[Metadyneman]

There is now an update on Bambrough town in a separate post on this bit of the forum