Garden Rail June 2024

This month, I take a look at Accucraft’s 13 ton Shay, and one of the first things I realise is how little I really know about running steam locomotives. OK, I can manage a simple 0-4-0, and to be fair, I am getting better - I’ve steamed at our club on days when no one else dares, and generally, it’s gone well, with locos puffing around the track. But, would I be able to diagnose and fix a blocked gas jet? Well, yes. But only because I spent some time with someone who showed me how to do it as part of the review. It’s not difficult, or at least isn’t on the Shay, but we all have to learn this stuff. It doesn’t matter what the topic, everyone has…

The Cleobury Castle Light Railway (CCLR) is my second proper garden railway. The first was started in the 1990s and lasted until 2010, when a house move saw services withdrawn and the infrastructure removed, although much of it was saved and later recycled. I learned a lot from this first foray – how to do things well, and how not to do things in certain ways, and this has definitely helped with the creation of this, my current garden line, which started in early 2022, with trains first running in the summer of that year. It will be useful to first give an idea of the challenges presented by the new garden location, which will help explain the construction methods I deployed. As the name of the line implies, the…

The famous Willow Pattern plates, much loved by our grandparents, can nowadays be bought for a song in any junk shop. The pattern apparently depicts star-stuck Chinese lovers who are escaping from the girl’s aristocratic father by running over a stylised bridge. The father catches up with them, and the lovers choose to die together rather than be separated. Their spirits are depicted as two birds ascending to heaven. I had always wondered about this rather unlikely story, until at a boot sale, I came upon a rare Majolica willow pattern plate made by the famous and much-collected craft potter Doris Cliff. I handed over my 50 pence in anticipation of a considerable profit. Little is known of Doris except that she was the long-lost cousin of Claris Cliff. Doris’…

I am lucky to live within striking distance of Denver Sluice, where the Great River Ouse turns tidal and makes its way out to The Wash; a trip I have done on my own boat many years ago. In fact, the sluice is a confluence of five watercourses, and in the summer, boat-spotting is one of my favourite activities. In 1651, the first sluice was built across the river at Denver, by Dutch engineer, Cornelius Vermuyden. Had it not been for his labours, most of North and East Norfolk would still be underwater to this day, as a good part of this county is below sea level. Thanks to my love of all things nautical, when my friend John Candy presented me with all the files to 3D print a…

Write in and share your ideas with other enthusiasts Letters are welcomed on any aspect of large-scale railway modelling. Please email the Editor: phil.parker@warnersgroup.co.uk or post to The Editor, Garden Rail Magazine, Warners Group Publications, West Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire, PE10 9PH. Bole Lasercraft Living Van Following on from the Jan 2024 article regarding the above, and subsequent discussions considering suitable traction engines, I found this one in a vintage/antique warehouse. It’s brand new, so there must be a number available. It’s one of those mass-produced tinplate models and has reasonable detail. I paid around £30. It’s posed here with a 16mm driver and appears to be reasonable scale. It’s weathered too. Worth looking out for on travels, especially at that price. Paul Abbott CDR Drewry Railcar Nice article in the…

Llangollen Garden Railway Show Date: 11 May 2024 Venue: Llangollen Pavilion, Abbey Road, Llangollen, LL20 8SW Times: 10am to 4.30pm Web: www.lgrf.co.uk Garden open day as part of the National Open Garden Scheme Date: 7 July 2024 Venue: Kings Norton, Birmingham, B30 1SD. Follow signage upon arrival. Times: 11am to 5pm Model Tram, Bus and Railway Exhibition Date: 17 and 18 August 2024 Venue: The National Tramway Museum, Crich Tramway Village, Crich, Derbyshire, DE4 5DP Times: 10am to 5pm Web: www.tramway.co.uk The Yorkshire Garden Railway Show on Tour Date: 28 September 2024 Venue: Barrow Hill Roundhouse Railway Centre, Campbell Drive, Barrow Hill, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S43 2PR Times: 10am to 4:00pm Web: www.yorkshire.16mm.org.uk/Yorkshire16mmShowhomepage.html Exeter Garden Railway Show Date: 26 October 2024 Venue: The Matford Centre, Matford Park Road, Marsh Barton Ind…