I’d already bought some bling to accessorise my Millie, but the first real upgrade required some surgery: fitting a chuff pipe to get that chuffing sound. Continue reading Get Chuffed
Category: Rolling Stock
Twice the Momentum
One of the less desirable characteristics of small live steam locomotives is that they hurtle out of the starting gate, and even if you manage a light enough touch on the regulator to run them slow, they stall on the curves. Continue reading Twice the Momentum
Bling for the Millie
I have been buying some accessories to make my Millie look even lovelier. Continue reading Bling for the Millie
First Run
When there was a short break between rain showers this afternoon I nipped out and steamed up the Millie for her first run on the railway. Continue reading First Run
Steaming Up
Night before last I steamed up Millie for the first time. I think it counts as a success – I managed to raise steam and run her on blocks for over 25 minutes. Continue reading Steaming Up
Hello, Millie
She’s here! Continue reading Hello, Millie
Choosing Millie
The Moel Rhos Light Railway Co. has placed an order for the first steam locomotive for the line. She will be a ‘Millie’ class, manufactured in Doncaster by Roundhouse. Continue reading Choosing Millie
The Steam Dream
After a summer of trains pottering round my little circuit of track, and tinkering with rolling stock kits, the prognosis is fairly clear: I have the garden railway bug, and it does not appear to be curable.
I need a live steam loco. Continue reading The Steam Dream
Motive Power
With a wagon already, and even some track to run it on, I now needed some motive power.
I’ve already revealed my aspiration to run live steam… So I didn’t want any steam ‘outline’ locos that weren’t actually steam powered (I feel weirdly fundamentalist about this, not sure why). But I’d like to run a diesel too – and I was happy for that to be electrically powered. Continue reading Motive Power
Wagon
I got me some wheels. I bought a wagon kit before I even began construction on the railway, because I wanted some track to play around with whilst planning. As it happens, Track Shack (who I’d recommend for their extremely prompt service – order before 3pm and it comes in next day’s post) give free P&P if you buy enough. Some kind of vehicle is essential for testing purposes, anyway, right?