Through at last!
A few weeks later this spider appeared in the workings. Compare its size with the gum leaves.
Started in February 2006, these scrapbook pages are where we can put some of the photos and stories that don't
belong elsewhere. If you want to print these photos, you might care to ask for the original as the ones on this page are
compressed for display. Of course if you have any story or photos to add please send them to us!
There are some YouTube movies on this page - you might have to tweak your browser to see them.
Back to Barchester Towers Railway home page.
Scrapbook -
Page 1: 2006.
Page 2: 2007.
Page 3: 2008.
Page 4: 2009.
Page 5: 2010.
Page 6: 2011 and 2012.
Page 7: 2013.
Page 9: 2015.
The Big Log In January we finally reached the place where we can pass through the big tree that fell across the route during the 1994 bushfires. We can see from the moss where Tim, the kid from next door, almost managed to cut through the log. It is surprising that he was able to find the correct height and almost the correct direction for his two cuts. They must have been hiding there unknown to us for 10 or 15 years. By now the wood is fairly rotten near the ground so it was easy to finish the job with the back of the mattock. The rest of the log will remain as habitat and erosion control.
A few weeks later this spider appeared in the workings. Compare its size with the gum leaves.
BTR - Six Tubs - Slow Train
Sometimes soft spots appear in the formation where over the last 30 years filled areas have gradually sunk. Repair is just a matter of bringing in more soil, making it level and lifting or relaying the track. Usually we move soil one truck at a time as someone passes with a train. This time we waited until we had six tubs ready and moved them all at once. That was about the limit for the locomotive dynamic and friction brakes, but it did look a little like a loaded coal train moving slowly but relentlessly downwards through the bush.
The background noise is the calling of thousands of cicadas, the random squeaks are bellbirds and the regular squeaks are from an overloaded bearing somewhere. You can also hear a whipbird (or a lyrebird mimicking a whipbird).
As usual, if you feel like helping with our trackwork, or running on this line then please contact us.
Susan, Anna (and Holly) came to visit. This is just a souvenir. You can see another reason why wearing covered shoes in good idea when riding small trains or walking in the bush. Anyway, we all survived, as always.
On the Set. Not our usual line of work, but who could resist a day in the country and a chance to ride up and down in luxury, even if we had to get dressed up? Three veterans of the Barchester Towers Railway joined the cast as extras for the day.
Our circuit is finally complete. The trams stopped running from Wynyard in 1958: so now we have to make do with a model in the back garden. The track includes a 3.4M radius curve (scale 27M) which would be too tight for most rigid-wheelbase steam models but is no problem for our tram. Sydney trams used to regularly turn 16M radius curves. The gauge is 7-1/4" so the trams will run on model engineering club tracks and, of course, on the Barchester Towers main line.
One can ride the original tram at the the Sydney Tramway Museum at Loftus.
What is Risa doing?
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Visit to the Train Shed.
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But not before a visit to Cockatoo Island!
 Yes, that track is 7 1/4" gauge.
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New points ready to be painted to match the rust on the existing rails.
Bottom Yard waiting for renovation.
Time to replace more sleepers just below the truss bridge. The ground has settled here and the screws that hold the chairs have rusted.
After a club meeting at Narara HaYoung, our new language student and mechanical engineering intern from Korea, came over to Barchester Towers. We had half a day to put in a new siding to ready for our next visitors and their train.
Near the bottom, with the new siding on the left.
Two days later Robert and John came over with John's "tram" and carriage.
Three men and a dog, and a fine and cool day to play trains, what more could we want?
John's Tram at the still-incomplete bottom yard.
The tram is 7 1/4" gauge but it is heavier than most of our vehicles and has wheels designed to run on 20lb rail as well as the usual bar stock so we were happy that it only found three weak spots in our track - and we were able to fix them all easily.
Here the tram is paused at the truss bridge. The hill above the track here still has some dead lantana following our bush regeneration efforts in early August.
Crossing the high bridge through the trees.
At the last bridge (so far), Robert inspecting the transmission. The creepers here set the limit for high vehicles.
Our small train also managed to haul John's passenger car to the end of the line.
All good things must come to an end. Loading the tram on John's trailer.
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Return to Penwood. 27th September. It was supposed to be just an afternoon trip to see the Kiama Blowhole. Luckily we loaded the tram in case we had time to press on to Jaspers Brush to drop in on the annual invitation weekend at Penwood. Obviously we made it!
 In the van there were five of us, the dog and this heap of parts.
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Back to the main page: BTR.
Scrapbook Page 1: 2006.
Page 2: 2007.
Page 3: 2008.
Page 4: 2009.
Page 5: 2010.
Page 6: 2011 and 2012.
Page 7: 2013.
Page 9: 2015.
This page is: http://dazed.org/btr/2014/scrpbk14.htm (Page 8: 2014). This line last edited:
20 January 2015.
