H&MGR, a family railway in NZ

[duncan1_9_8_4]

Your railway is amazing.

 

[spoz]

Good to see you back in operation John. Looks like Hannah has a bit of ability with that camera!

Steve

 

[Martino]

Excellent as always John. Happy New Year to y'all in Middle Earth.

 

[JRinTawa]

Thanks for the pics!!! What is the green engine with the small cab? I like it a lot!

Hi Henri

The Dubs A is based on a early A Class of light 0-4-0 tank locos that ran from New Zealand (Government) Railways from the late 1800 with a number later working on bush tramways and other industries with a few survivors making it into preservation service. They were built by Dubs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NZR_A_class_(1873) and locally known as Dubs A as the A classification was later taken by later 4-6-2 tender loco. My model uses a slightly modified Bachmann Ported motor block with a body scratch built in styrene, golly now over 10 years ago!

And thanks guys as always for the very encouraging comments

 

[AustrianNG]

Love the viaducts and the section of track buried in the road/yard.
Like the shot with the Moggie Minor lurking under the bridge.

Would love to see a few shots of (Hannah's ?) black Stainz number 2 negotiating the line.....

 

[JRinTawa]

Thanks Paul. Will see what we can do about running Hannah's Stainz in the next few days. It's actually one of the green one, but it's still a Stainz!

After a service ran Jonny today to test it out, not sure he's still 100% but that just means more testing needed

and

or

last one for today

 

[Gavin Sowry]

Must be a Feldbahn virus of some sort going around in our neck of the woods.
I've just replaced my O&K motor (from Garden Rail Outlet, $NZ47 landed), and Chris has been making noises about these sorts of motors as well.

 

[Kotanga Girl]

What a magnificent garden railway you have John. I love your Dubs 'A' by the way and it certainly looks fine out in the garden.

 

[JRinTawa]

A brief steam up on Monday evening (a long weekend day here) and was an opportune time to see what the little bit of weathering I'd done on Ngahere looked like out in the wild. Oh and a dummy whistle added to the steam dome.

A sequence of photos on the return loop as I play with finding some new photo spots.

Coming back the other way.

And almost same spot as the first but from reverse angle and train going to opposite direction.

Last piccie today, this over Puddle Pond and shows a bit more of the weathering.

 

[trammayo]

A brief steam up on Monday evening (a long weekend day here) and was an opportune time to see what the little bit of weathering I'd done on Ngahere looked like out in the wild. Oh and a dummy whistle added to the steam dome.

A sequence of photos on the return loop as I play with finding some new photo spots.

Coming back the other way.

And almost same spot as the first but from reverse angle and train going to opposite direction.

Last piccie today, this over Puddle Pond and shows a bit more of the weathering.

I really like the look of the loco - really purposeful!
What make are the tipper trucks John - Binnie?

 

[JRinTawa]

Hi Mick. Thanks. Yes the skips are Binnie Engineering skips but with larger diameter Haywood curved spoke wheels. On reflection I probably could have use some of Binnie's own curved spoke wheels which I'l probably do next time. But either way I liked the look of spoked wheels.

 

[JRinTawa]

Autumn has started here but that's all bad. Sunday a fine calm late afternoon/early evening aligned with free time and so just for fun a passenger special was run. Otto hauling GSM coaches.

Up past the Bridge Ganger's Hut

and onto Nina's Trestle

Through Punga Cliffs

 

[JRinTawa]

Steaming off the return loop

And over Puddle Pond Bridge that now supports sides 3D printed for me by my Aussie mate Stephen Cross.

To finish the day I also did a quick video off the phone. Sun had gone off the railway by then but you'll get the idea

 

[trammayo]

The plate girder bridge and its reflection! It looks great and the pond looks naturalised in its location.

 

[ge_rik]

Your railway is so photogenic, John, especially in the evening light. Great shots and a nice bit of video.

Rik

 

[dunnyrail]

Otto is such a lovely iconic little dragon. Bought mine as a completly unexpected purchase when I had a glut of dosh at Glendale Junction after flogging redundant kit. So glad I did as it is a little beuty. Must do a vid of it circumnavigating my line. Probaly ned to do this in 3 or 4 steam ups, tough job but someone has to do it.
JonD

 

[mike]

Love the setting..bridge looks fantastic john

 

[JRinTawa]

Seems most of Autumn has gone past without and update, hmm and well without many trains run for a variety of reasons, which is not good news But it's not all bad as Puddle Pond bridge has now been completed with the Aristocraft track has been replaced with hand spiked Code 250 rail complete with proper fishplates and check rails. Heck much of the detail you'll never see but I know it's there

And from the other side.

Testing with the Simplex today as well.

One more

 

[JRinTawa]

Meanwhile elsewhere on the railway today...

The Simplex through the bushes

Almost a tad overgrown between the rails, but this is supposed to be a bush tramway after all

Last one for this update, more soon I hope

 

[JRinTawa]

It's been way to long since and update, hmm and looking at some of my posts above it seems a some of my photos above have been lost in the internet. They are, or should be links to one hosted on Picasa/Google photos, maybe they will be re-appear.

Anyway, since trains ran last Otto has been turned into a proper bush tramway loco

other side

In action

Line nicely disappearing into the ground cover

There is a proper crew to come, once painted, and a pile of firing wood to go in to cab, but pretty happy with the result so far.

Oh and it felt so good to be running a train again.