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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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?
