Long-term readers of this blog may remember that, back in July 2015, I took Russell to Wales for the annual Llechfan Garden Railway gala at Tywyn Wharf station, Talyllyn Railway. Despite a whole weekend of Welsh 'liquid sunshine' I thoroughly enjoyed myself, so I decided to return for this year's event.
Having run Russell in 2015 I had hoped to give Auric the chance to show her paces on the extensive LGR layout; however, unfortunately the pressures of my other commitments meant that I had still not had an opportunity to get her boiler re-tested following the previous issues with her pressure gauge. Russell, on the other hand, has a valid boiler certificate so it fell to her to fly the MVR flag once again.
Unfortunately our normally-reliable workhorse seemed to be in a bad temper on the day. If I didn't know better I'd say she was jealous of the new engine! Having booked a running slot, I went through the usual routine and lit her up; but the pressure gauge stubbornly refused to budge. After almost fifteen minutes the fire went out altogether, and it was only when I tried to re-light her that I finally discovered the problem: the sudden appearance of flames in the cab revealed a gas leak! It turned out that the nut securing the gas jet block to its feed pipe had worked loose; curiously, Auric suffered the same problem during her recent visit to the Vale of White Horse Railway. The problem was easily rectified but by then, Russell's running slot had all but evaporated. Yet by a quirk of fate, the next booked loco was also suffering problems so Russell came out after all.
Russell subsequently made two more appearances, one on the lower circuit and one on the upper. On the latter, we had some issues with the front pony truck derailing on the viaduct, but this time (to my relief!) it turned out that the loco was not at fault: one of the rails on the bridge had become detached from its sleepers. Once this was realised, I simply had to take care to run slowly through the affected spot.
Thus, despite a difficult start another excellent day was had. Many other wonderful engines were to be seen running, including the magnificent Darjeeling B class Kanchenjunga from the VWHR. For me the star of the show was an exquisite Ffestiniog Railway double Fairlie, which ran with an equally-beautiful model of Prince and a matching rake of FfR coaches. However, a Bachmann Lyn repainted in BR black also caught my eye, especially as she was matched with a handsome observation saloon converted from a Newquida coach. Several PDF Models kits of Talyllyn locomotives were also present; these made a welcome sight as the TR has tended to receive less attention from the 16mm fraternity than the FfR.
I would like to extend my thanks to all the wonderful people I spoke to that day, particularly those who worked so hard to organise the event; those who helped to diagnose and cure Russell's problems; those who lent me rolling stock (my own 32mm gauge vehicles having been left behind on this occasion); and of course, JP of the VWHR, who kindly took some pictures of Russell so that I could concentrate on driving. The weather may have been a little too hot for comfort, but at least there was no rain this time!
Having run Russell in 2015 I had hoped to give Auric the chance to show her paces on the extensive LGR layout; however, unfortunately the pressures of my other commitments meant that I had still not had an opportunity to get her boiler re-tested following the previous issues with her pressure gauge. Russell, on the other hand, has a valid boiler certificate so it fell to her to fly the MVR flag once again.
Unfortunately our normally-reliable workhorse seemed to be in a bad temper on the day. If I didn't know better I'd say she was jealous of the new engine! Having booked a running slot, I went through the usual routine and lit her up; but the pressure gauge stubbornly refused to budge. After almost fifteen minutes the fire went out altogether, and it was only when I tried to re-light her that I finally discovered the problem: the sudden appearance of flames in the cab revealed a gas leak! It turned out that the nut securing the gas jet block to its feed pipe had worked loose; curiously, Auric suffered the same problem during her recent visit to the Vale of White Horse Railway. The problem was easily rectified but by then, Russell's running slot had all but evaporated. Yet by a quirk of fate, the next booked loco was also suffering problems so Russell came out after all.
Russell subsequently made two more appearances, one on the lower circuit and one on the upper. On the latter, we had some issues with the front pony truck derailing on the viaduct, but this time (to my relief!) it turned out that the loco was not at fault: one of the rails on the bridge had become detached from its sleepers. Once this was realised, I simply had to take care to run slowly through the affected spot.
Thus, despite a difficult start another excellent day was had. Many other wonderful engines were to be seen running, including the magnificent Darjeeling B class Kanchenjunga from the VWHR. For me the star of the show was an exquisite Ffestiniog Railway double Fairlie, which ran with an equally-beautiful model of Prince and a matching rake of FfR coaches. However, a Bachmann Lyn repainted in BR black also caught my eye, especially as she was matched with a handsome observation saloon converted from a Newquida coach. Several PDF Models kits of Talyllyn locomotives were also present; these made a welcome sight as the TR has tended to receive less attention from the 16mm fraternity than the FfR.
I would like to extend my thanks to all the wonderful people I spoke to that day, particularly those who worked so hard to organise the event; those who helped to diagnose and cure Russell's problems; those who lent me rolling stock (my own 32mm gauge vehicles having been left behind on this occasion); and of course, JP of the VWHR, who kindly took some pictures of Russell so that I could concentrate on driving. The weather may have been a little too hot for comfort, but at least there was no rain this time!
However, for Russell the excitement was not yet over. The highlight of the 2015 event was the appearance of the full-size Russell at Wharf station, which allowed me to realise a long-held dream of seeing my engine meet its prototype. This year there were no full-size visiting engines for the Llechfan event, but a few days later I had the opportunity to take Russell to Fairbourne to meet their half-size version of the NWNGR prototype. I suppose the only thing left to do now is to get all three of them together, but I suspect that may be a little difficult to organise!