Blagdon & Butcombe Light Railway (b&blr)

SDJR7F88

SDJR7F88

Registered
Hi all, my is Callum and I started my first Garden Railway back last spring, known as the Blagdon & Butcombe Light Railway. Progress on the lines construction and development has been documented via my YouTube Channel SDJR7F88 and a topic I started on RMeb (I'll post a link, so it should give a good run up of the story so far) ;)
I got the name from villages that surround the famous trout fish lake in Somerset. Ironically it turns out there was a Light Railway that did service the lake during construction,sadly there is not much info on the railway itself, but my Granddad who is helping me build the railway, did see one (or the only) loco left in a hedge row before it was removed for scrap, in the late 30's early 40's.
The Garden Railway itself of course is free lance (is there any other option) :rofl:, with a mixture of German and US themed rolling stock, though with a nod to the possible engine that served the real lake, in the form of an LGB O&K in Green (the real loco could of even been an O&K from what I have heard).
Anyway, the railway is just about to come out of it's first winter hibernation and I look very much forward to adding, improving and of course running the layout this year. With help from all the great tip and trick from this forum.
Hear's a link to the story so far...
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/98576-the-blagdon-butcombe-light-railway-bblr/

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SDJR7F88 said:
There's a few weeds here and there, bit of ballasting needs topping up, but not much by the looks of things :)
Click to expand...

Welcome to the Eternal Order of Garden Railway Weeders.

That ballast looks like about a 10mm stone chip (am I right?). Ballast on a slope will tend to slump to a 'natural' repose. A bit of top dressing every year or two is par for the course. What I do, in lieu of top dressing, is drag the ballast back up and over the rail, then broom off. It fills the gaps, and looks neat for some time.
 
Gavin Sowry said:
Welcome to the Eternal Order of Garden Railway Weeders.

That ballast looks like about a 10mm stone chip (am I right?). Ballast on a slope will tend to slump to a 'natural' repose. A bit of top dressing every year or two is par for the course. What I do, in lieu of top dressing, is drag the ballast back up and over the rail, then broom off. It fills the gaps, and looks neat for some time.
Click to expand...
Yes, believe so. Thanks for the tip :)
 
Nice railway....
 
After 6 months of hibernation the B&BLR has held up quite well. Some weeds here and there, but not too bad. After a quick bit of gardening by the family the weeds and now gone ;)
A video update at this stage has been filmed and is hoped to be up within the next few weeks.
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April 1st saw a number of milestones on the B&BLR...
. First run of 2016
. First Diesel Haul Service
. And first Night Run!
Must say, I think it was a great idea getting those bargain lights for the bridge! :DDSC02494 (1024x768).jpg
 
I spy fish, and anti-fisher netting - good move :clap:
It all looks really good but that point that leads to nowhere... do you have plans? :think:
 
pugwash said:
I spy fish, and anti-fisher netting - good move :clap:
It all looks really good but that point that leads to nowhere... do you have plans? :think:
Click to expand...
Ah yes, that's to stop the Heron. He keeps coming back, trying to take some of the fish. Oh yes, there's method in the madness. It's for a planned siding that will follow the edge of the pond, just behind the statue. Was planned to be added last year, but ran out of time and all the plant life came back. It's hoped to get it in there at some point soon. Sort of like a quay side siding :D
 
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