Ruritanian Railways - 2013
- Thread starter whatlep
- Start date
whatlep
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stockers said:Short memory Peter. You need one of these.
Yeah, but no, but yeah, but no, but..... 8D They're really our standard Mallet with East German athletes' drugs, aren't they?
What Ruritanian Railways really needs is a nice, early (and outrageously cheap) 99.6001 Harz 2-6-2T, preferably without the ugly skull/crosssbones on the side tanks. Pulls like the proverbial and should have no issues with pickup fitted with a Massoth power buffer.
steve parberry
G Scale Trains
whatlep said:
A fine choice there...
A most powerful loco indeed
Lobethalbahn2
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I'm sure Prince Rudolf would love one of those 99.6001s with "Proletarians of the World Unite" in big letters on the side tanks. I could see that would be infinitely preferable to a little skull and crossbones!
whatlep
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Sunday afternoon in Ruritania and, as usual, the diesels are out in force while steam locos get their weekly checks. On the left, the engineers have recently handed back the line to the operators: late and somewhat grudgingly as is their habit. In siding 1, the ever-reliable railbus is about to start up to form a local service to the border. That will be followed very quickly by the 2095 "whizzy cranks" with an express. On Sundays, express passenger trains are generally just 4 coaches with no mail vehicles. So behind the railbus there's a string of mail coaches and vans awaiting custom. Their time will come later...
A rake of hoppers can be seen leaving Zenda quickly before the passenger trains occupy the line. Unusually the loco in charge is number 104, green liveried for passenger workings. The explanation is that this is a running-in turn for 104 after some workshop attention. The loco was also captured as it started the descent of Pootank Pass at the eastern end of Zenda yard.
The 2095 diesel was later caught on camera as it received the stationmaster's permission to leave Zenda station's main platform. It's destination: Prague, with connection to Berlin.
As afternoon changes to evening, traffic resumes a more normal pattern with steam locos to the fore. Mallet number 1 arrives on a working from Prague while its identical twin (apart from being numbered 2!) has come off depot to haul the evening mail train.
With the aid of a telephoto lens, the mail train was seen across the fields almost at the foot of Pootank Pass.
A rake of hoppers can be seen leaving Zenda quickly before the passenger trains occupy the line. Unusually the loco in charge is number 104, green liveried for passenger workings. The explanation is that this is a running-in turn for 104 after some workshop attention. The loco was also captured as it started the descent of Pootank Pass at the eastern end of Zenda yard.
The 2095 diesel was later caught on camera as it received the stationmaster's permission to leave Zenda station's main platform. It's destination: Prague, with connection to Berlin.
As afternoon changes to evening, traffic resumes a more normal pattern with steam locos to the fore. Mallet number 1 arrives on a working from Prague while its identical twin (apart from being numbered 2!) has come off depot to haul the evening mail train.
With the aid of a telephoto lens, the mail train was seen across the fields almost at the foot of Pootank Pass.
whatlep
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pugwash said:Harumph! :impatient:whatlep said:
What's the story with the next to last coach with white windows? Did I miss a page?
You were probably too busy pillaging on the high seas, Puggy!
It's a very simple conversion of an LGB 30710 brake end to a dedicated postal vehicle. Documented somewhere in all the Ruritanian Railways threads. Late 2011 I think.
playmofire
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nice photos and commentary, Peter. Through you, Ruritania lives!
One way of keeping the paparazzi at bayStainzmeister said:whatlep said:pugwash said:Harumph! :impatient:whatlep said:
What's the story with the next to last coach with white windows? Did I miss a page?
You were probably too busy pillaging on the high seas, Puggy!
It's a very simple conversion of an LGB 30710 brake end to a dedicated postal vehicle. Documented somewhere in all the Ruritanian Railways threads. Late 2011 I think.
Mmm...looks like the sort of vehicle the aristocracy would get up to mischief in to me:-
whatlep
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Following on from chat last week about the origins of Zenda station, over the weekend there was much debate in The Peasants Arms about what would be the best way to start an Imperial Railway system these days. The consensus was that Ruritania got it right first time with its Stainz locos, so it was little surprise today when these little beauties appeared on the hoppers:
The two 1998-vintage green Stainzes have been DC, then DCC and now battery powered. Since DC days, they have been fitted with connecting wires, originally to get better pickup by using two locos together, but these days to permit either single or two-loco operation according to requirements, using a "trail car" battery arrangement. Numberplates & nameplates give the locos individuality, but otherwise they are very basic "starter set" locos.
Haulage power? Well Prince Rudolf considers 11 LGB hoppers on a 1 in 20 gradient without any slipping very acceptable indeed. Naturally, everything is fitted with metal wheels, so it all helps clean the track too.
Zenda shed's foreman also turned out a special train at Prince Rudolf's request. Leading off is a "full specification" Stainz, no 27211 from the manufacturer's catalogue. In rear is a modern "starter set" loco (catalogue number 70400), garnished with a new funnel and various descriptive plates. Both DCC fitted with Massoth power buffers. Rumours abounded that Prince Rudolf was driving the rear loco himself, but he must have dropped down onto the platform for a word with the stationmaster.
The two trains met at the border station. A fine sight in Prince Rudolf's opinion: small engines, big fun!
The two 1998-vintage green Stainzes have been DC, then DCC and now battery powered. Since DC days, they have been fitted with connecting wires, originally to get better pickup by using two locos together, but these days to permit either single or two-loco operation according to requirements, using a "trail car" battery arrangement. Numberplates & nameplates give the locos individuality, but otherwise they are very basic "starter set" locos.
Haulage power? Well Prince Rudolf considers 11 LGB hoppers on a 1 in 20 gradient without any slipping very acceptable indeed. Naturally, everything is fitted with metal wheels, so it all helps clean the track too.
Zenda shed's foreman also turned out a special train at Prince Rudolf's request. Leading off is a "full specification" Stainz, no 27211 from the manufacturer's catalogue. In rear is a modern "starter set" loco (catalogue number 70400), garnished with a new funnel and various descriptive plates. Both DCC fitted with Massoth power buffers. Rumours abounded that Prince Rudolf was driving the rear loco himself, but he must have dropped down onto the platform for a word with the stationmaster.
The two trains met at the border station. A fine sight in Prince Rudolf's opinion: small engines, big fun!
Neil Robinson
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Another entertaining addition to this fascinating saga.whatlep said:
Without wishing to contradict HSH I would suggest bigger engines bigger fun.
Perhaps he would consider slashing the Royal household's domestic budget in order to increase the railway's subsidy, enabling it place a order with Messrs Beyer Peacock for several of Manchester's finest!
Zerogee
Clencher's Bogleman
steve parberry said:whatlep said:
A fine choice there...
A most powerful loco indeed
Steve - the converted tender loco in the foreground of your pic, I know I've seen it before but is there an old thread about it that you can post a link to? Is it still a 2-6-2 with a tender, or has it lost the trailing truck to make it a 2-6-0?
Jon.
whatlep
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Neil Robinson said:Without wishing to contradict HSH I would suggest bigger engines bigger fun.whatlep said:
Perhaps he would consider slashing the Royal household's domestic budget in order to increase the railway's subsidy, enabling it place a order with Messrs Beyer Peacock for several of Manchester's finest!
Prince Rudolf is certainly enamoured of the erstwhile Gorton Garrett works, but has - alas - to accommodate the Comptroller General's attitude to expenditure on Ruritanian Railways. Yes, even an absolute monarch has to acknowledge that, in financial terms, one Garrett is roughly equal to 20 Stainzes (& 20 Stainzes = 3 Mallets, but don't tell the accountants that).
Anyway, Rudolf enjoyed his footplate day yesterday enormously, so he ordered Zenda museum to extract from its collection and make ready the "ur-Stainz", progenitor of the entire race of Steenz. So original and genuine Stainz number 2 was to be found at Zenda station this morning, ready to take Rudolf and a small party of invited enthusiasts on a jaunt:
The object of the outing was very simple. Double-headed Stainzes on the hoppers worked adequately yesterday, but speed up Pootank Pass was a little slower than convenient for maintaining today's intensive timetable. So, "bah and fie to double-heading" quoth HSH. "Let the hoppers run at full ramming speed with triple-heading!". So they did (*)...
Lest anyone think that Ruritania is going backward in the motive power department, in the background of the last picture one can espy the service train to Prague awaiting its next duty. Mallet number 4 is back on "top link" duties after its running in turn on Sunday.
(*) No Stainzes were harmed during the course of proceedings, though a remarkable amount of curried black pudding was consumed.