Indholdsfortegnelse for July 2023 i Garden Rail

I’m pretty sure the very first garden scale wagon kits I ever built were from the Cooper-Craft range. Being plastic kits, they were within the abilities of someone capable of assembling an Airfix Spitfire, if not entirely suitable to run behind an untamed Mamod steam engine. The sale of the range saw them unavailable for many years, but still much in demand judging by the prices both built and unbuilt models command on the second-hand market. Now under the ownership of Cambrian Model Rail, these useful, and economic wagon kits are now on sale. Garden Rail got hold of the first shots, so we could bring you a build as quickly as possible. Are these still as easy to assemble as the Editor remembers? North Wales single plank wagon We’ll…

Last month, I described how I modified an off-the-shelf LGB ToyTrain diesel loco to make it look more appropriate for my 1930s UK-based narrow gauge railway. I mentioned how I had initially used the loco as a test-bed for my experimentations with Arduino-based control systems. At first, I explored controlling the loco with Bluetooth phone apps. Whilst this was successful technically, I found the necessity to keep looking at the screen of my phone to press the on-screen buttons or swipe sliders to be distracting, if not near impossible, when the sun shone. I much prefer having a handheld transmitter with a speed control knob and physical buttons and switches, which can be operated by touch, much like the Deltang radio control systems I have been using for several years…

BOOT LANE WORKS 16mm scale Corris locomotive kit ‘St Crispin’ is inspired by Corris No 4 - Kerr Stuart ‘Tattoo’ saddle tank. The kit includes parts to build Corris No.4, or the Talyllyn Hunslet rebuild in 1952 with cab openings on both sides. If you prefer an Awdry prototype, a cast resin character face is also included. The kit is built from 3D-printed filament and resin parts, plus laser-cut acrylic frames and cab. It utilises Boot Lane’s new adaption to the Binnie Engineering 29mm wheel, creating an effective driving wheelset. Complete with a 3-6 volt motor, nylon worm gears, Binnie Engineering 29mm wheels on 1/8” stainless steel axles, all necessary metal stock, nuts, screws and washers required to build the model in the photos are in the box. Also included…

To go ahead and open your own private garden to the public is a very bold and brave thing to do. The decision can leave you pondering over many questions and thoughts. Who will visit? How many will visit? Is there enough cake? Thankfully, our experience in 2022 was delightful and very successful. However, being prepared is everything. Our family home is located in South Birmingham and we are proudly part of Bournville Village. On one Sunday in July, a collective of residents jointly open their gardens to raise funds for charity under the well know umbrella that is ‘The National Garden Open Scheme’ (NGS). Soon after moving into our house near the famous chocolate factory, my wife Louise and I became aware that a number of gardens were taking…

The ubiquitous 3 volt can motor is used in so many of our battery electric locomotives, especially the small ones so much beloved of the battery electric faction. Of course, there is no such thing as a battery electric faction; pretty well every oily garden rail enthusiast will have some kind of battery electric locomotive powered by a can motor in their shed. These incredible motors can cost as little as 60 pence each, when bought in a job lot at a show, to as much as a staggering £3.97 when bought from a reputable trader such as MFA (MFA RE280). My love/hate relationship with can motors started when I was about 11 years old. KielKraft Quick Built model boat kits required a Mabuchi motor (not included), which cost four…

I’ve always considered part of my job is to make mistakes, so you don’t have to. This one’s a good one. Pay attention and don’t do what I did. Earlier this year, I took out the Accucraft Peckett I built on these pages last year, with the intention of giving it a run at the Warwick show. Checking the loco over, I noticed the reversing lever wasn’t operating its valve. Worse, when trying to turn the wheels, nothing would move. What could be wrong? With the loco supported upside down, I worked out that all the valves were stuck in the block. Properly stuck too. Much work with penetrating oil, and even some heat wouldn’t free them up. Stumped, I took the loco along to the show to see if…

I first visited the Anglesey Model Village in the summer of 2019, and penned an article about it for Garden Rail shortly afterwards. I’d hoped the piece would be both an appreciation of the village and an encouragement for people to visit. Naturally, this ended up being printed immediately before Covid, and its resultant travel restrictions, demonstrating my usual knack for timing, if nothing else. Returning to Anglesey in 2022, I was happy to discover that the model village had weathered both the metaphorical storm of multiple lockdowns, and the very literal (and damaging) storms of early 2022, and the team there are very much looking optimistically to the future. As a quick recap; the Anglesey Model Village was established in 1992 as a way of showcasing buildings from around…

MODELS PROTOTYPES You were asking if anyone else had pictured their model with its prototype. I was at the LWR railway last Sunday and took this shot. Unfortunately, the white model against the white of the loco doesn’t help, and also ‘Mennock’ is undergoing some maintenance just now, so it isn’t a particularly good shot. Eddie Lund BRIDGE LOADING I was intrigued by Jim Smith’s article on bridge building in the June Garden Rail, and admire his patience in making a lattice work type. I was a little taken aback by his method of proof load testing. The carry box in the photograph looks substantial and would itself act as a sort of bridge so that the loading would be applied mainly at the ends of the box - not what…