The coronavirus pandemic continues to cause great disruption for the 16mm community. During the late autumn, it was still possible for the South Oxfordshire Area Group to hold meetings for up to six people. In November I attended an evening steam-up, for which Auric was fitted with a new lamp iron to carry a working headlamp from SLR models (see left). However, I had to resort to fixing it with superglue, as the boiler barrel on this engine extends right to the front of the (purely cosmetic) smokebox, which makes it difficult to drill the smokebox to accomodate fixing screws. The lamp iron promptly fell off once the engine returned home - oh well!
Meanwhile, Russell had been sent away to the Rhos Helyg locomotive works for a general service. The engine proved to be in surprisingly good condition after almost twenty years of fairly heavy use - a real tribute to the quality of Rounhouse's construction. Nevertheless, the workshop visit provided an opportunity to attend to some minor issues, such as resetting the reverser servo arm (which had worked slightly out of alignment), and replacing the die blocks and piston rings. Hopefully, this work will "future proof" the loco to ensure another twenty years of reliable running.
Russell returned to traffic at a VWHR steam-up in early December. It was accompanied by No. 2 which, following the problems experienced during its last visit, had been stripped down again to allow the electrical pick-ups to be removed from the wheels. Although this will make it more difficult to re-convert the loco back to track power (should this ever be neccessary), it has resolved the problems with short-circuiting when operating on a line with balloon loops, or alongside steam locos with non-insulated wheels. The engine made several trips with a heavy train of Accucraft goods wagons - her first successful runs away from home metals.
Meanwhile, Russell had been sent away to the Rhos Helyg locomotive works for a general service. The engine proved to be in surprisingly good condition after almost twenty years of fairly heavy use - a real tribute to the quality of Rounhouse's construction. Nevertheless, the workshop visit provided an opportunity to attend to some minor issues, such as resetting the reverser servo arm (which had worked slightly out of alignment), and replacing the die blocks and piston rings. Hopefully, this work will "future proof" the loco to ensure another twenty years of reliable running.
Russell returned to traffic at a VWHR steam-up in early December. It was accompanied by No. 2 which, following the problems experienced during its last visit, had been stripped down again to allow the electrical pick-ups to be removed from the wheels. Although this will make it more difficult to re-convert the loco back to track power (should this ever be neccessary), it has resolved the problems with short-circuiting when operating on a line with balloon loops, or alongside steam locos with non-insulated wheels. The engine made several trips with a heavy train of Accucraft goods wagons - her first successful runs away from home metals.
Also making its debut at this event was our new cattle wagon U2. This vehicle was kindly built for us by the VWHR from an old GRS kit, which I acquired second-hand some time ago. It is based on the W&L prototype but, being G scale rather than 16mm, is slightly smaller than the ubiquitous Accuraft model. This wagon allows us to fulfil our long-held aspiration of operating a complete train of livestock vehicles. I duly did this a few weeks later, with our recently-acquired "Mortimer" providing the motive power. The VWHR have completed the wagon to their usual, excellent standards, and it promises to be a valuable addition to our fleet.
I was due to make one last visit to Oxfordshire on the 19th but alas, Buckinghamshire went into Tier 4 a few days previously, thus barring me from non-essential travel. Instead, I have used my time at home to continue construction of the new Box End station. The internal painting is now complete, and I am currently working on the entrance and exit doors for the booking office.The new station is loosely modelled on Quainton Road (being a good, local example of a medium-sized country station), so I am going to try to recreate its distinctive doors with fixed, glazed panels either side (see photo). This will be rather fiddly but should produce an attractive end result - if I get it right!
I have also used the Christmas period to invest some time in the MVR website itself. The internet changes rapidly and, with more an more garden railways setting up Facebook pages, I have decided to do the same for the MVR. This will hopefully make it easier for me to share shorter but more frequent updates. Hence, this blog will longer be updated regularly, although it may occasionally be used for longer updates. To find us on Facebook, just search for "mvr16mm".