As the UK lockdown continued through May and June, I made the most of my time at home by continuing to run trains whenever possible. Since most of this period was blessed with glorious weather, I have been less inclined to spend time indoors making progress with my workshop projects! However, one very important project came to fuition in early June, when No. 2 returned to us following the completion of her conversion to battery power and radio control. The batteries and reciever are housed in our recently-acquired LGB van, seen below. Although this slightly limits the engine's operational flexibility, I consider it a price well worth paying for the convenience of no longer having to regularly clean the track, maintain track bonding, etc.
I have also been paying some long-overdue attention to the MVR's station buildings. Rutton has never had a permanent station building, owing to the impossibility of constructing any permanent buildings on the patio. However, in 2018 I came up with the idea of constructing removable wooden plinths which would allow buildings to be put out temporarily when trains when running. In that year, I proved the concept by constructing a small plinth to accomodate Rutton's signal box. Now, having completed a permanent concrete platform at Box End last year, it occurred to me that I could use the old, wooden platform from that station to create a similar plinth for a station building at Rutton.
Accordingly, the old platform has been fitted with wooden legs, to raise it to the appropriate height alongside the track. The station building from Box End has been relocated to Rutton; this works well, as it was a little too wide for the new Box End platform. It does, however, mean that a new building is now required for Box End, and I have begun to construct one. I have decided to experiment with foamboard construction; although rather lightweight, it is much easier to work with than wood or plasticard, which is a decided advantage considering our limited workshop facilities. It will eventually be clad in wooden lolly sticks to give the appearence of a timber building, which is appropriate to the MVR's 'light railway' atmosphere. The photo below shows an early dry run of the walls, and gives some indication of the overall size and shape of the building. Since then, further progress has been made on constructing the wooden framing and adding door and window apertures.
Accordingly, the old platform has been fitted with wooden legs, to raise it to the appropriate height alongside the track. The station building from Box End has been relocated to Rutton; this works well, as it was a little too wide for the new Box End platform. It does, however, mean that a new building is now required for Box End, and I have begun to construct one. I have decided to experiment with foamboard construction; although rather lightweight, it is much easier to work with than wood or plasticard, which is a decided advantage considering our limited workshop facilities. It will eventually be clad in wooden lolly sticks to give the appearence of a timber building, which is appropriate to the MVR's 'light railway' atmosphere. The photo below shows an early dry run of the walls, and gives some indication of the overall size and shape of the building. Since then, further progress has been made on constructing the wooden framing and adding door and window apertures.
It is pleasing to see these projects coming to fruition, but I have nevertheless missed the social side of the hobby during the lockdown period. Thus, it was a real pleasure to be able to pay a visit to our friends at the Vale of White Horse Light Railway last Friday, following the recent relaxation of restrictions. With only myself and the hosts present, there was no difficulty in maintaining social distancing, and we had a most enjoyable evening's running. I have uploaded a small selection of photographs to the Photo Gallery page, and the VWHR had also uploaded a short video to their YouTube channel. As the photo below shows, the VWHR have also been paying attention to their stations over the last few weeks: Kingston Lisle station now boasts very convincing 'foamex' platform surfaces. This material is potentially suitable for a wide range of applications and may well be used for future MVR projects.
Both Russell and Auric ran at this event, and we also brought No. 2 for a trial run. The latter was, in fact, making her first ever visit away from home! Sadly, though, it did not go according to plan. The loco has run successfully on our circular track, but refused to move when placed on the VWHR main line. Eventually, it dawned on me that we had not isolated the loco's track pick-ups; the VWHR's main line features balloon loops, which are not compatible with two-rail operation, and this must have shorted the loco's circuits. Thus, a further modification to the engine will be required - fortunately, I have been assured that isolating the pick-ups is not a difficult task!