Ruritanian Railways - 2013

Neil Robinson said:
whatlep said:
A fine sight in Prince Rudolf's opinion: small engines, big fun!
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Another entertaining addition to this fascinating saga. :bigsmile:
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! :rolf:

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I recognise that location Neil. The photo is now of historic interest as the four tracks have long gone. Now replaced with a single track on a much gentler 1 in 60 gradient. What a great loco.
 
Ruritanian Railways is pleased to announce the appointment of a new member of staff. Tonto, Marquiskers of Claws has been hired to assist Earl Charles' mousekeeping squad at Zenda depot. He is undergoing a period of intensive training, as shown in the second picture. The old mantra: "two cylinders good; four cylinders better" has been much repeated.
Tonto is currently very narrow gauge, but is expected to become Ruritanian standard gauge over the next 18 months or so. He is already excellent at identifying track components. For some reason, the word sleeper was immediately understood, but there have been language problems with "grub screw".
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Love it !
 
whatlep said:
Ruritanian Railways is pleased to announce the appointment of a new member of staff, Tonto, Marquiskers of Claws....
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Mizzy Gizzy seal of approval is retrospectively granted....
 
whatlep said:
Ruritanian Railways is pleased to announce the appointment of a new member of staff. Tonto, Marquiskers of Claws has been hired to assist Earl Charles' mousekeeping squad at Zenda depot.
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Sufferin' Succotash! :rolf:
 
Ruritanian Railways is pleased to announce the re-introduction into service of the former Harz Railways 2-6-2 tank. This loco ran briefly on our system two years ago, but the short-wheelbase pickup area proved inadequate for reliable running. Now fitted with a Massoth power buffer, the loco performs superbly and was given a warm welcome back to Zenda depot. The loco is mainly intended to be used on fast mail trains and the occasional passenger train at weekends where a Mallet would be "overkill" even in Ruritania.
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The last picture of Tonto is why I say what I say at the end of every one of my posts.
 
Although 2013 still has many days to run, Ruritanian Railways is already planning ahead to 2014. Near Zenda depot, a new signalling commissioning facility has been established. Ruritanian Railways MD was seen with the line's Rules & Regulations Officer in front of just a few of the signals planned for installation under the planned 2014 signalling scheme:
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To accompany the signalling scheme, Prince Rudolf has commissioned plans for a significant revision to the trackwork near the invisible ballast works. The overall layout of Ruritanian Railways after July 2013's major scheme at Zenda is shown below:
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The new scheme is proposed to address the bottleneck which exists at the foot of Pootank Pass. All traffic to and from the ballast works must currently use the main line for shunting. Historically, this had not been a problem, but with the doubling of passenger services in 2013, free time for shunting to take place has been increasingly limited. This detail view of the quarry area shows the bottleneck.
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As is well known, invisible ballast exports are the lifeblood of Ruritania's economy, so this traffic simply must not be compromised. Abolition of the former oil siding means that it should be possible to realign the main line via the former siding, leaving the current main line as a delightfully long siding for ballast trains, with two separate tracks around the ballast works. The works itself will be slightly resited in a small "land grab". Prince Rudolf approves of "land grabs". The revised layout will also eliminate the nastily placed point right at the foot of Pootank Pass which means all traffic has to slow for the curved route at the worst possible time. The diagram of proposed changes and an artists' impression of how the new main line curve will look should make matters clearer.
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All of this will have to wait for next year. As the days shorten and leaves fall, it's time to concentrate on keeping the existing tracks open, with winter weather the next problem to be overcome - doubtless with Ruritania's legendary "can do (but probably will put it off to a warmer day)" strength of purpose.
 
That's a really good alteration Peter. Ruritania will rejoice in the ease with which both passenger and invisible ballast movement will be freed up....I imagine......
 
Stainzmeister said:
If you left the point nearest the siding in Peter (thus retaining a small passing loop), a banking loco could wait in the loop for heavy trains....
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True Paul and I did consider that, but having a banking engine in that pocket would come at the expense of siding length and the ability to shunt freely clear of the main line. It also puts a point on the steepest part of Pootank Pass which Prince Rudolf's advisors consider - errr - inadvisable. I can envisage that once this lot goes in the banking engine may need another short siding somewhere. Land grab!!
 
Okay, so I am as dense as depleted uranium, but shirley if Prince Rudolph owns the country there is no landgrab, merely a displacement of quarrelsome serfs?












Kevlar hat, bullet proof vest, armoured door... :bigsmile:
 
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