Welcome to the brand new MVR website! It seems to me that Webs has become increasingly unreliable recently, so I decided it was time for a change. You will see that I have taken the opportunity to make some changes to the site's structure. I hope you will agree that using a blog within the new site provides a more streamlined format: esssentially, I have rolled the News, Workshop and Community sections of the old site into one. (For the benefit of new readers, I have copied the last updates from those old pages into this this blog.) I hope you are as pleased with the new site as I am; if you have any comments, please drop us a line using the email icon at the top right of each page.
If you never visited the old MVR website, let me take this opportunity to say hello! The MVR may not be the biggest or most exciting garden railway, but it has been a labour of love for me over the last ten years. I hope this site will provide interest and inspiration, particularly if you are currently contemplating building your own garden railway. The MVR proves that even a simple, no-frills railway in a small garden can bring you an enormous amount of pleasure.
To pick up, then, where the old site left off: we are currently in the throes of rebuilding Rutton station, our first major civil engineering project since the MVR opened ten years ago. Yesterday, we took a very significant step forward as the new timber deck was installed. This is constructed using standard garden decking planks, mounted on wooden battens screwed into old, pre-railway, patio surface.
If you never visited the old MVR website, let me take this opportunity to say hello! The MVR may not be the biggest or most exciting garden railway, but it has been a labour of love for me over the last ten years. I hope this site will provide interest and inspiration, particularly if you are currently contemplating building your own garden railway. The MVR proves that even a simple, no-frills railway in a small garden can bring you an enormous amount of pleasure.
To pick up, then, where the old site left off: we are currently in the throes of rebuilding Rutton station, our first major civil engineering project since the MVR opened ten years ago. Yesterday, we took a very significant step forward as the new timber deck was installed. This is constructed using standard garden decking planks, mounted on wooden battens screwed into old, pre-railway, patio surface.
The next stage will be to give the wood a coat of preservative. We also need to intall one new concrete block at the Rose Halt end of the station to link the new deck with the original trackbed.
Meanwhile, I am also trying to press forward with rolling stock projects. Work has begun on new tank wagon S1. When I first acquired this vehicle, I noticed a curious gap between the end of the wagon floor and the bufferbeam, at one end only. To my eye this looked untidy so I have inserted a small piece of wood to fill the gap. I have also drilled out the plastic centre-buffer couplings to allow chain-link coupling hooks to be fitted. The next stage will be to obtain the neccessary materials to fit crossbeams and angle straps, this giving her a more British appearance.
Meanwhile, I am also trying to press forward with rolling stock projects. Work has begun on new tank wagon S1. When I first acquired this vehicle, I noticed a curious gap between the end of the wagon floor and the bufferbeam, at one end only. To my eye this looked untidy so I have inserted a small piece of wood to fill the gap. I have also drilled out the plastic centre-buffer couplings to allow chain-link coupling hooks to be fitted. The next stage will be to obtain the neccessary materials to fit crossbeams and angle straps, this giving her a more British appearance.
Unfortunately, repairs to brakevan K2 have suffered a setback. The new roof separated from the van body on one side. I decided to remove the roof completely so I could clean it up and make a second attempt; however, in so doing I damaged sections of the delicate balsa-wood van body. I am now attempting to repair the resultant gaps using Milliput!
Hopefully, there will be further updates on all these projects soon. However, I should emphasise to new readers that this recent burst of activity is the exception rather than the rule on the MVR. Normally, the railway leads a very quiet existance, with the website being updated perhaps once or twice a year!
Hopefully, there will be further updates on all these projects soon. However, I should emphasise to new readers that this recent burst of activity is the exception rather than the rule on the MVR. Normally, the railway leads a very quiet existance, with the website being updated perhaps once or twice a year!