My Latest project is a large bogey carriage built from two bogies and a steel frame I inherited from my late Uncle.

The top is made from 9mm mdf and 3mm mdf on the roof which was  tricky to curve. I think 2mm is really the limit to bend unless it is pre-grooved. It measures 4ft 8 inchs and should take up to 5 kids.

This picture below shows the carriage not quite finished waiting for some reflections on the windows and a yellow lining.

Pictured below the pullman style carriage on the lines. I found that with just children on it derailed but with me as well it was okay. I think I have over sprung the bogies and will be removing one of the two springs on each corner for another go.

I have been trying to reduce a video file of a trip around the garden from 30 megabytes without success.

With my limited knowledge I think I may have to subscribe to quick time pro or similar to get the software to reduce the file to something more reasonable to download or even stream for broadband.  

16th December 2004

I think I have now cracked the digital video compression and as from tomorrow the web site will have been upgraded to allow fast download of the video file now reduced to 3 megabytes.

I have also looked at ways of increasing traction as this loco is light and will wheel spin easily in the damp with just under 3 inch wheels. A large amount of ballast would be the obvious solution and I will try a non permanent ballast to test this out. I wondered if I could coat the wheels in anything which might provide a better coefficient of friction between wheels and rail. The hand controller has buttons at the top for forward and reverse which have to be held down. This is a good safety device but Kids find it hard to hold down and will have to be modified.

Yesterday saw a Christmas run on the line with Ruby being brought out for the fifth and last time this year.

I stll have not perfected running Ruby with her losing steam rapidly yesterday which having had time to reflect I think was owing to having too higher flow of water on the cross head pump into the boiler. This will proably have to wait until the spring now for confirmation. She also had a slight leak on the steam chest and will need a new gasket made up. Now who said steam trains were a little fickle.

Loco 3 tried out carrying extra ballast in the shape of some old battery cells strapped around the motor and existing batteries. It worked very well with traction noticably improved.

I have added two more video clips under the take a ride on the line section.

 five old battery cells taped on

Rubys fire box

   Thomas powering Rubys blower

I have resized the pictures on this site so each page should load much quicker now.

No activity on the line since last news update. I have been carrying out a few jobs inside though.

I decided to alter Loco No 4 controller as the kids had trouble with it. I have gone firstly with the no cost option and have changed the forward/reverse buttons from the top to the side so a small hand should be able to wrap around the controller better to hold down the direction button while the other controls the speed pot.

Ruby has had some mesh put in the smoke box to stop burning embers being shot out the Chimney and on to passengers and more so the driver.We have had clothing singed and My Brothers daughter was even burnt on her arm. This was done earlier and has proved very successful, with no drop off in performance as the blast nozzle and blower pipe are not impeded. I have fixed the steam leak in the steam chest by sealing on the steam chest tops with gasket sealant as making the paper gaskets is fiddly and not as effective in my case. 

Thanks

Mike. 

Ruby has a new jacket to try out next time she is steamed. I suppose you could call it a 'tank top'. Do you remember them?

I thought it would be an easy way of finding out if Ruby is loosing alot of heat to the atmosphere. I will time permitting remove the side tanks and wrap the steam pipe running from the rear of the boiler to the cylinders with insulation.

The jacket is two layers of under laminate insulation which is silver foil lined, with holes cut out to sit on top of the boiler. The jacket is removeable in seconds.

The Winter does seem to drag on this time of year but there is hope with the evenings getting slightly lighter and some bulbs coming up.

No running still but a trip to Maxitrak for coal and some ceramic cloth insulation. The coal as can be seen from the photo is alot larger than the type I got originally for Ruby from elsewhere. Not sure if this will make any difference to the burning characteristics. I guess it may burn slower being larger.

I decided to use ceramic insulation for the test on Rubys boiler as I didnt want to risk the floor insulation sticking to the boiler when it got hot. The ceramic cloth was only a couple of pounds and I have placed one layer of floor insulation over the top to hold it in place. I had a little damask red over so I sprayed it.   

Thanks for putting notes in the guest book it does provide inspiration to keep the site updated albeit in a minor way at the moment.

I have got a little project up my sleeve for Loco 4 which should appear in the next couple of weeks.

The original coal on the right is alot smaller than the new. 

The ceramic cloth placed under the floor insulation, this is only for experiment to see if it will hold the heat better in the boiler.

I have had a contact from Stuart on the guest book who now lives in Italy and has just started building his railway in a woodland. He has a website showing the initial clearing and pegging out of the area. If you would like to follow his work I have put the address on my links page.

The radio control for loco no4 which I should have tested out today has been postponed.

Unfortunately after changing the radio control in the loco having been quite rightly ticked off for using 35mhz which is a flying only frequency, the radio control doesnt work. I have tested it over and again and even put back the old radio gear to no avail.I have exchanged emails with 4qd who seem to think it isnt the new radio interface connection and will charge £10 plus postage to say so. But by elimination I cant see what else it could be.

Today however we dug out the trains and tried a double header with thomas and loco 4, which worked very well. I have included a video of this which includes the bogey carriage. If you look closely you can see not only the passenger changes half way round but Mrs Keyte nearly topples off as the springs compress on the turn pitching the carriage and its passenger. I will be adding an extra spring on either side on each bogey after removing these originally when the carriage derailed. I thought at the time it was oversprung but it appears now the bogies were not swivelling correctly with wood and metal as the contact surfaces. I added a thin sheet of metal to the wood block and some grease to make them work correctly when loaded.

Eagle eyed of you may also have noticed I have not painted the windows on one side of the carriage yet, oh well there is always tomorrow..  

The video is a new feature which buffers as it loads so should allow quicker viewing. Just click on the play button below and the video will play on this page. I will change the others on "ride on the line" section in the near future.

I have added an extra chapter called Feature Special. The first of which is hopefully to follow Paul Eldens construction of a Ruby loco from plans. He is making alot of the components himself, see the stage 1 complete.

I am not sure if anybody is getting problems viewing the video clips. I am aware without broadband they can take around 10 mins plus to download but that aside I have put a web poll below if you have the time to cast your vote.

Hopefully more running at Wickham Railway to follow.

I have updated the front page picture and the around the complete around line video which is better quality and the garden is looking better. Also included in revamp is the around the line photographs.

I have included a cooking version of the ride around the line which is 1/4 the size which hopefully will allow those with a modem to view the line.

We ran today with the Passenger carriage as can be seen from the video below. This now has two springs per corner to carry the extra ballast (sorry my Wife and Mum). It was pulled in a double header by the two strong locos but it is not easy to coordinate the pulling power evenly by the locos. If you listen you can hear the loco 4 spins up as it trys to accelerate away.

Thomas loco is lacking power at the moment and I am not sure until its looked at if the battery is starting to fade or if the speed control is suffering. Please look at the feature specials which has two items now.

Thanks again for your comments on the guestbook. I would suggest putting an extra @ or something similar in your email address if you leave it to stop spaming software picking it up and using it to send junk.

Just a quick update with a video added on the feature specials section of Bobs inspection trolley running on his line in Australia.

If you have been following Stuart's work on his line in Italy you will already know work has stopped after his shed was burgled of all his tools. I hope that is not the end to that railway project.

I am hoping to have a semi open day soon for some friend's young kids.

Meanwhile roll on the fishing season. 2 days to go!

4th July 2005

Minor update,

Feature Special video added on Paul Eldens Ruby chassis.

Thomas has finally had some attention after being down on power. I had hoped it was the battery (easy to fix) unfortunately that wasn't the case. My attention turned to the ancient speed controller but it turned out that was okay as well. My fear is that the motor has taken some damage internally and its maximum speed now seems to be limited. Although it does still go. This is not good news as the motor is at the heart of the loco and will require a full strip down.

I have taken a couple of pictures, the first of which is Thomas on its side looking a little sorry...

The second picture is one of the motor leads looking a little cooked to say the least. I think it probably stems from a derailment and then being left off the rails with power still applied by the speed control which does not return to neutral when let go.

We ran yesterday with some friends over. Tried out a maximum haul for loco3 which amounted to seven children  although it did struggle at one of the curves, you can see how much energy is sapped on the curves.

The picture isn't very good quality as it is a still taken from the video.

A special hello to Nick and Lara who were visiting from America. Now that is keen just to see some trains.

Loco 3 wasnt the only one to get a good work out although wheel spin was the order of the day for no 4. I must adjust the speed controller as it is set quite sensitive at the moment combined with lacking traction it does spin up easily with a good load.

Below is a video made of the big pull by loco 3.

Ruby ran on the day but I didnt get a chance to really concentrate on her running.I just dont find it possible to run her and supervise the other goings on. The steam loco needs undivided attention to keep it running with water,coal etc to keep on top of. I did try the new larger coal and this seemed a good improvement with the fire burning well still after a run round, with the smaller coal it was just about burnt out after one run. I contacted maxitrak who suggested 1/2 -1 turn on the cross head pump (putting water into the boiler) I had been running two turns and this improved Rubys boiler pressure during the run with 3/4 turn with the water level keeping up on the gauge. I think a bit more playing with by reducing the turn would have been even better. 

After cooling I cleaned ruby and lifted the ceramic insulation on the boiler to find it had stuck to the boiler, I think where water had got onto the cloth it had adhered. It wasnt hard to clean up but I dont think I will run it again.

Rubys smoke box after only about six runs.

The station became quite congested at times with all the rolling stock out so My eldest Rachel just went in reverse instead of  waiting to turn around on the turntable. We have found some loco and rolling stock work better than others regarding reversing and indeed forwards with some combinations more prone to derailment.

This combo worked well and I think Rachel does hold the lap record as you can probably guess from this short piece of video. It shows the potential performance of Loco 4 running at 24volts. Wheel spin being the limiting factor with its small wheels.

Sadly no running recently at Wickham Railway, however I have added some more pictures to Bob Barkers Railway under Feature Specials.

Thankyou for your continued comments on the guest book.

As a result of some of the comments, if you have a Garden railway or one under construction or even a loco that you would like featured I am more than willing to post pictures and or digital video.

This obviously would be done time permitting, just let me know by email.

For anybody who did start to follow the new railway construction called Hoginwood light Railway in Italy. I noticed today that Stuart has started work again after having all his tools stolen back in May. He has changed his transport and will now tow his tools to the remote site. The site address is on my links page or click below. 

http://www.freewebs.com/wickhamrailway/links.htm

Quick update on the "feature specials" for Bob Barkers railway with three pictures of his guards van under construction.

It is now about one year since I started the website, which was only done as an experiment to see how hard it was to create one. My wife was after a web site for her riding club and I said I would look into it.

Having been given this website that boasted it was as easy as writing emails to create your own site I had a bash at it. I didn't believe the claim but I have got to say it wasn't far off the mark and thus formed Wickham Railway.

If you are thinking of having ago, then go for it. I have been in touch with people in Australia, America, luxemburg etc. The site has been viewed around 3500 times in one year I am quite amazed.

There hasn't been any action at Wickham Railway recently, I am considering next year taking up the longest straight and running Wickham Railway at my Daughters school fair to help with the fund raising and will feature this if I do.

I have updated Feature specials with a video around Bob Barkers line. I have some more pictures to add over the Christmas holiday. For the festive season  i have changed the look of the site template, hope you like it.

Happy Christmas everyone  

Thanks to Bob for helping to keep the site fresh with more pictures from his Railway, I have posted a few.

With no action on Wickham Railway recently it has been nice to have some material to post. If you do have something that you would like to share with other enthusiasts I will do my best if you get in contact.  

A quick apology, you will have noticed advertising when you click on to this site. The advert should be no more than 5 seconds and can be clicked off on the top right hand corner if necessary.

The reason for this is, I am given 1.5 gigabytes of bandwidth for my site a month. The site is becoming more popular as time goes on and has now reached this amount before the reset date of the 19th of each month.

I have two choices then, either freeze the site or allow an advert until the site is reset.

For anyone that cares the bandwidth is the amount of use the site gets ( ie if a video is 5mb for example and is viewed 10 times in a month that is 50 megabytes of bandwidth used.) I have quite a number of videos on the site so this pushes up the use alot, but I can see this is the most popular part of the site so I do not intend at the moment to cut this number.

I have added to Paul Eldens section on the feature Specials.  

An update on the Feature specials regarding Bob Barkers Railway and Paul Eldens.

I would recommend if you have not already looked at it via Ride on Railways the link below which features a new Railway Channel starting in the spring this year.The link shows some free previews taken at the Ally Pally exhibition. You will need broadband as the files are large.

Revised web address below.

www.therailwaychannel.com

I spent today reclaiming the railway line from the garden. The weeds and grass do soon lay claim to it and I reckon if it wasn't touched for a year then it would disappear completely.

The grass and weeds will grow quite happily in the shingle and granite chips. The plus side being that with the matting underneath they are atleast fairly easy to pull up. It does however take some time and effort to do 300ft or so. I am going to try pathclear this time after clearing it to see if that will keep it all at bay for longer.

 I am hoping to do an afternoons train running on Easter monday work permitting, that will be the first run this year.

The railway channel have been in touch and might do some filming at Wickham Railway in the summer, I will keep you posted if there are any developments on this.

Please see the links page for two changes to web addresses.

The Railway Channel and Stuart Thurstans Hoginwood Railway have both migrated to other web addresses.  

First run of the year today.

The track was prepared on friday for the first use today. As last year though we found the trains had a number of derailments when being run for the first time and not all in the same places. The situation got better as the day went on with the rail seemingly bedding back in after the winter break.

All four locos were run however Thomas is definitely in need of some tlc and struggled on the gradients. I think he needs a completely new speed control system and new or recon motor as the controller does not return to neutral in the event of an accident this is where i think the damage was done. I don't know when he will get this attention though.

Charlatan loco 3 ended up lying on her side completely off the track after derailing coming on to the return straight to the station. Having inspected the rail it had shifted on the shingle and needed banking as the camber was in fact tipping the loco outwards on the bend.

I gave Ruby a good run out and learnt some more about her requirements. The cross head water pump needed screwing in from 2 turns down to about just under half a turn to stop too much water being injected into the boiler and severely dropping steam pressure. I experimented by turning the supply completely off at times on some of the more taxing points of the track. One of the glands on the cylinder needs packing with a little more graphite string.   I have done a video of her at points around the line and merged them together using a video editing program which is really very easy to use to make one continuous film being driven by my daughter.

Below is Ruby having done her days work resting at the station.

Video of Ruby around the line.

Ruby got her clean up after running and I decided to investigate more thoroughly why the drain cock on the cylinders doesn't stop water being thrown out the chimney when moving off despite being open. I partly took apart the drain which is positioned under the loco and is tricky to get at. I poked a piece of solder into the drain whilst it was in the open position and it wouldn't go in. On shining a torch underneath I found that the drain was completely sealed with solder from its production and had never been open. The hole was promptly opened with the drill. The leaking gland also got repacked.

The sealed up drain pipe.

The loco with no name No 4 is back in the workshop and I am going to try and get the radio control working again I have ordered another radio control interface from 4qd after deciding by elimination that it must be at fault. 4qd reckon not, so time will tell. 

I gave it my best shot at fixing the radio control problem having ordered another radio control interface from 4qd. I was convinced that the interface must be the problem having had the the radio control working and the train control board.

4qd were correct though and a new interface made no difference.I have now run out of ideas having tried my best to get to the bottom of it.

On a positive note We have just been filmed by the 'Railway channel' for a forth coming feature when the site launches. Mark Found hopes it will launch mid May if there are no more problems with the IT.

It will be a new concept covering all forms of Trains in a Railway magazine on the internet which will have articles films etc which can be viewed online.

Our article will probably be 2/3 months down the line, so to speak. It will feature Ruby driven by my Daughters at Wickham Railway.   

I have added another chapter which is called "your shout"

This is a new feature which I thought was worth a try and is for anyone to post comments, chat, ask questions etc. This is for all readers and doesnt have to be directed to myself.  If someone else is also online you can have a live chat.

Please keep it clean if you do use it.

Mike.

I have added some pictures of Paul Eldens finished loco under feature specials.

Anyone that is waiting for the Railway Channel to materialise I have spoken with Mark and he now hopes to release on the 1st june. From what I understand this is quite an advanced site that will be able to stream videos in superb quality but is taking a while to get right.  

West Wickham Railway appears on the Railway Channel in this episode No 6.

It can be viewed by going on to the Railway Channel site. I am afraid you will have to subscribe though to view the video.

www.therailwaychannel.com

Chris Rennie has changed his web site address and this has been updated in my links.  

Wickham Railway ran yesterday with the electric locos, the first time since May.

A very mild mid October assisted in providing a nice time for all. Special thanks to Mum for preparing the line for the rabble. It had disappeared under the grass in places and is no easy task to cut aand edge all that grass. I managed to get some footage and have included a short compilation on video below. I have posted a trip around the line with the points set the other other way on the Ride on the line chapter.

Some of the gang pictured below....

Short video compilation of the day. 

Loco 3 received a service a short while ago having run without fault up till now. I did however notice a noise from the wheels area when on the tight turns the last time out..

With the batteries removed there are three lubricating nozzles revealed for oiling the axles which was duly done.

The noise was coming from the middle axle where the motor mounts had loosened and the gears were not meshing correctly, and on cornering hard it was actually slipping at times. The colour of the middle gear gives this away.

The picture below shows the four motors that power the Charlatan two of which power the front of the three axles.

This is a close up of that middle axle with the gear realigned. As can be seen the outer edges of the teeth on the axle are lighter coloured and the real give away the dust from the teflon gear spread over the motor where it was shaved away by the slippage.

A five minute job had it realigned and tightened. This can be done by the correct method of loosening the bolts and placing a very thin piece of rice paper or similar between the gears and then tightening up or by fully meshing the gears together and then just backing it off a fraction before tightening. Provided the wheel is turned a complete revolution after to make sure there are no tight spots.

What this picture also shows is the middle wheels flange or lack of it having been ground down to make the loco corner on a 10 feet radius. The next picture shows this clearly when the loco is sat on the table.

A view of the neatly designed cab.  The on and off switch is a nice touch. When in the off positon it can be taken off the loco and then isolates the loco in the off mode.

 A little more oiling and checking and it was all prepared for some more service, a nice powerful and reliable loco.

A working party was held over the last few days to recover the railway from the garden, special thanks to Mum, John and Forest.

We ran Ruby and the others today at what could be described as a Big Kids day.

Special hello to John and Forest who have travelled all the way from Zimbabwe just to play trains!!!

Ruby probably hasn't worked so hard, with several runs on the main straight. I dont think we had ever steamed her loaded in reverse before.

Compilation video below which is a large file of higher quality than usual as an experiment so make take longer than usual to start.Not sure if it is worth the extra wait for the higher quality video, probably depends on your broadband speed.

Bob Barker from Oz has been in touch and I hope to have some more from Bob under the feature specials section in the near future.

Unfortunately very little running on Wickham Railway over the summer months.

However on a positive note Paul Elden has created a new website called  www.ellinghamengineering.co.uk Paul is an engineer by trade and has featured on this website.

He intends buying and selling locos, rolling stock, lathes etc. He also offers an engineering service to include renovations etc.

If you want to get some idea of his credentials his scratch built ruby loco appears on this site and his one. That loco was built by Paul purely from plans.

If you need some work done or indeed have some stock to sell, then take a look at Pauls site and get in touch. I look forward to watching what Paul gets his hands on to work on in the future.