15" inch gauge track

 Heavy track in place, my poor back needs a brace! 

We had Brian from work visit and lend a hand. The first rail we managed to drag down with sheer human strength, then we realized simply dragging them with the ride on mower was the better way to go. Now to fix em in place

M10 50x50 x 3 square washers & 75mm Bugle Batten screws

Rail Bender in action

2x rail lengths fixed to the sleepers

The road ahead

15" inch gauge railway

Lifted the 15" gauge wagon my uncle Neil Wood built in the 1980's out from the bush today(weed spray wagon, 1 tank of compressed air would blow into the chemical tank & make it spray out the nozzles), going to remove the gear & turn it into a flat wagon to start with, the tanks will be repurposed for a couple 7.25" wagons. Going to cut the rusted bolt on the hornstay & removed the wheel and axle block which will need addressing as currently seized. Some bolts can be undone with some crc, others not so lucky with bolts rusted into dust.

Removed the bulk of the rust then covered it with crc rust converter then a coat of hamerite enamel green. Managed to get a 19mm sheet of plywood to serve as the deck. Wheels spin freely thanks to what appears to be roller bearings and the axle boxes can travel up and down.

Relocating the wagon

Adding a turnout & additional line into the shed

 To house all the 7.25" trains I 've been meaning to build an engine shed but until then I can in the meantime add another line inside the existing shed. This all had to be done with the trains out on the layout which meant I had only the day to finish enough track that the trains could be put away. I had to undo the track and shift everything to the left to make room for the second track. To achieve this I undid the bolts on 1 track along the whole length which allowed me to nudge it into position, my back suffered as I hunched over loosening endless bolts and then later on tightening. Then onto the point work, simple enough, tricky part is the frog and blades which a grinder and cutting disk make short work of. The test wagon in front of the silver fern testing as we go, the wagon recently had the wheels reconfigured to match the Da 52cms between axles & happy to report it made it around without any major issues (derailed on a branch).

Forgot to start taking pictures until after shifting the track and tightening up all the bolts & beginning building the turnout. Due to the inside track shifting the outside track (closest to camera) no longer connected by 2 inches.

End of first day, trains safely inside the shed again, turnout almost functional at this point with the mainline point blade connected.

Next day progress, point is mostly finished just need to replace sleepers with full length ones, ballast then add the check rails, although not needed the wheels glide through.

After fussing about on hands and knees & ruining my back even more I can finally sit on my wagon & roll around, need to ballast & tamper before anything heavy can roll over it. 

Need to get some drainage pipe and run it along the left hand side of track then fill it in with gravel.

Some ballasting & tamping later, work on the track resumes

Upgrading the last pallet bridge

The bridge project comes to a quick finish, once the sleepers were in place & secured the track approaches to the bridge were re leveled. In the near future I will be doing some brick bridges to replace this temporary measure.

Happy to report I found a sleeper, this bridge had 4 old railway sleepers which is a bit extravagant.

Upgrading the last pallet bridge

With all the wet weather it recently occurred to me I still haven't replaced the last pallet bridge, and when clearing the drain I noticed a wee cave in and debris building up with a few branches mixed in with the clay. So the decision has been made to remove the pallet bridge and replace it with my 2 remaining railway sleepers.

Track & ballast removed, now the digging resumes.

Much later that day, found one sleeper, cannot seem to find the other one.

The original pallet bridge in place, very optimistic roadbed in the background but had to start somewhere.

After clearing up what I could reach without crawling inside.

A reminder of what happens to a blocked drain, and a sign from god 5" is to small.

7.25" Point signals

A quick post showing off the points, simple to install and can be removed and stored inside when not in use. It uses micro switches attached to a rod that connects to the points/turnout. The lights seem simple enough to replicate for the other turnouts, a good winter project for rainy days.

With regards the block signals, an Idea was to use security PIR sensors set above various positions wired back to a hub to control the signal outputs.

The lower horseshoe loop now has track in place and is now a gentle smooth ride around rather than the roller coaster it was.

New Locomotives & Wagons

Finally a post again, I've been working on the bottom horseshoe loop trying to get it level but still weeks away from finishing it. In the mean time I've been acquiring a few new additions to the railway thanks to Dave in Waihi. Firstly is the locomotive training simulator in the form of a rocking locomotive for kids. The idea would be for the trainee to sit in position with a VR headset and an operator will roll him/her backwards to give the impression of movement and forwards when braking. 

7.25" 0-4-0 NZR Tr shunter. Its a single 450w chain drive 24v with a sound card. Included the 4 wheel wagon which can fit a man when seat is fitted. Pulls excellent up the grade and has vacume braking.

Rush hour on the mainline

7.25" NZR Da. Had no batteries but does have sound. Currently up in the shed sitting on a dolly, also pictured to the left are signals and a point motor which will serve very well.

7.25" F class guards van, an excellent runner and highly detailed. The doors open and shut and the rear has red lights powered by battery, could do with more in door lighting.

Inside the trailer, mid unpacking. 2 of the 3 buildings acquired in the deal!

Adding Gap40 filler

The lower horse shoe loop, is actually finally level

Missing the compacted crushed rock but should give an idea.

The goal is the have a perfectly level circle of track.

Artificial Grass

 This week I've been laying some artificial grass on the outdoor 1:24 gauge railway as an attempt to control the weeds and grass from overtaking everything. I also happened to have lots of old concrete bags laying around so I covered the embankment with em, pinning them in with 8" staples. For the grass mats which were 3x1metres in dimension I split them down the middle and stapled the mat into the wood base and on the ground pinned them into the ground with the 8" staples. The ground is covered with leftover plastic from the pond and soon to be covered with gravel. 

https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/number-8-artificial-grass-h-20mm-l-1000mm-w-1000mm-green/p/2025904