Remembering Thomas the Tank engine

 

Back in the 1980s, the L&WMRS built a Thomas the Tank engine layout. It was a simple track plan, a couple of ovals with loops in the station, and fiddle yard. Some sidings existed, but were never used. 

Control was by a couple of old (even then) H&M controllers at the front, feeding through some panel mount ones at the back. Thus, we could let kids drive the trains, but limit their top speed. 

We had all the trains. In an era when Hornby made Thomas and Gordon, keen, and often finescale, modellers in the club, produced the rest. Even the relatively obscure ones like the Twins and BoCo. 

The 8 by 4, later 10 by 4, layout went out to the lot of shows. At one, we met Chris Awdry, the boy for whom the books were written, and had him sign the fascia board. After this, he actually came out with the layout a few times. 

My Dad and I were heavily involved in all this, and Dad loved it. He was an entertainer, and we certainly brought the fun to a few model railway shows.  

Eventually, taking the layout out became a bit of a chore, and we sold it to Banbury MRC. But, we kept the fascia. 

Obviously, a 10-foot-long board is a bit of a nuisance kicking around. Not a problem for many years as it could live in the club loft, but when we turned that loft into workspace, something had to be done. 

In time for the open weekend, Mike Collins turned the long board into something more manageable. He rescued the number plates used for the layout name, and Chris's signature. We now have a panel that can be displayed, so one of our most successful layouts can be remembered, even if it is only by a few of us now. My Dad would be very pleased. 

Warehouse Wednesday: Skipton derricks

While up in Skipton, and strolling around the canals, I took the opportunity to snap photos of a pair of derricks, on either side of an old warehouse. 

It looks like these are original features - you can see one in this photo from 1959, and another from 1974.

One coupling chain to rule them all

 

LGB couplings, Accucraft choppers, both incompatible with each other. The solution? A length of bath plug chain. 

Small scalers won't be impressed with the lack of fidelity of this setup, but outdoors, we are just happy that it works, and we can get on with running trains. 

I do love a cheap and simple solution.  

An unexpected steam locomotive

 

It must be the tweed jacket. And Garden Rail Editor badge. It fools people into thinking I know something about steam trains. 

This is probably how I found myself presented with a mystery 0-6-0 O gauge locomotive. Its owner believed it had been built in the Midlands, but otherwise knew nothing. He'd bought it for £60 a year ago, replaced the safety valve, and then was stuck. 

It took a look and realised it was meths fired. Fortunately, the owner had brought along spirit and water. He'd build a nifty stand, so we decided to fire it up. 

It's a long while since I lit a meths-fired loco up, and that would have been a Mamod. Since I didn't really know what I was doing, I pretended I did, and had a go. After all, how hard can it be? 

The burner unclipped easily enough, so I filled this up. Then unscrewed the safety valve and topped the boiler up with water. 

I lit the wicks, and clipped the burner back in place. And waited. 

With slip eccentric valve gear, the wheels aren't going to spin on their own. Normally, you give it a shove along the track, but we didn't have any 32mm to hand. So, once the safety valve was burbling, I flicked the wheels with a screwdriver. A few minutes, and many flicks later, the model burst into life, running far smoother than I expected. 

What a lovely little engine!

This didn't help with identification though, but a quick post on the Garden Rail Facebook page solved this quickly enough. Several people recognised it as a Burtons of Walsall Jinty. This one is missing its cab, but all the mechanical parts seem happy enough. 

I hope the owner has learnt a bit, I know I have! 

Bournville open garden 2026

After the loco maintenance, it was time to give them a proper test on Andy and Louise Christie's Olive Branch Tramway. This extensive line in Bournville is opened up every year for the Open Garden festival, which means a group of us running trains, and a lawn full of visitors eating cake and watching us work. 

So, how did the locos work? 

Ragleth - Still a problem. Once it gets hot, the regulator servo stops working. That said, I drove on the reverser, and when working properly, the engine was very smooth and powerful. It's also quite chunky, and caught a few plants on the way around. 

Roundhouse Lady Anne - Aside from needing to clean out the burner twice, the model ran very well. The new battery box in the cab roof did its job, but I'd really like to relocate it to the side tank so the roof fits properly. I could look at replacing the four AA pack with something smaller up there, that would solve the problem too. I had the chance to try out a safety valve cover, and it looks very nice. Another item on the shopping list. 

Merlin - This also needed a gas jet clean, but once fired up, it ran a little too well. A reasonable train on the back is a good idea, especially as there are some tight curves on the line. 

So, not a clean bill of health. I really need to work through each locomotive and try to build a bit more reliability in. That's the trouble with second-hand models, they need fettling, and that takes time and expertise I don't have. 

One change I will be making though - propane/butane gas mix. You are supposed to run these models on pure butane, but since starting that, reliability has fallen off. More blocked jets,  and a feeling that none of the models is quite as powerful as I'd like. The gas tanks are all fine with the extra pressure, so why not go with what works? 

I've put a few more photos up on Flickr.