Ox Mountain Railway

[owlpool]

our cats treat the railway as an adventure playground
and look on at me with an air of studied sympathy

have to keep the dogs off it as they uproot trees, dig up sidings and eat buildings

 

[owlpool]

btw the proverbial kick was well directed
really like the bridges, and the tracks at different levels

 

[trammayo]

Thanks for your kind comments Rik and Paul.

Everything revolves around the cats - SWMBO's bedtime, moggie feeding times (on demand - Tomas will walk away in disgust if you haven't anticipated his anytime arrival, whilst Mae will continue to natter until she's got what she wants) shopping (leave the porch door open just in case it rains - yes love, but we have a barn, or they can shelter under the railway, or under the small trailer, etc).....

Tomas might come in at 11.30pm or want to go out at 3.00am. She (Mae) learns from him - if he gets away with it, she'll try (like scratching the mats).

 

[playmofire]

Thanks, Mick, for the update on the railway and the pictures showing your handiwork. In a strange way it just makes a garden railway that much more real to have signs of maintenance and repair on it. As for the cats, well, the only thing better than a garden railway is a garden railway with two (or more) cats.

 

[garrymartin]

Good to see your railway again Mick

 

[spoz]

Likewise Mick, good to see; and the cats top it off, beautiful looking little animals. Like Owlpool, mine regard the track as an adventure playground, but I get resentful looks when a train dares to dispute the right of way with them

 

[tramcar trev]

Yeah, very cool.... But Mick never run catenary with cats... My neighbour's cat loves to sneak onto the tramway and spread out on the "grass" under the overhead, its ok getting in but when its finished its snooze and gets up and has to have a stretch is when the damage is done.

 

[trammayo]

Thank you all for your comments and encouragement.

Trev. You need a bit more give in the span wires Prototypical though - I remember Bradford using all its tower wagons to raise the overhead (to allow high loads to pass under the trolleybus wires) - they raised the towers until the running wires were pushed upwards. Conversely, there was a section of route where the span wires held the running wires down!

 

[tramcar trev]

Thank you all for your comments and encouragement.

Trev. You need a bit more give in the span wires Prototypical though - I remember Bradford using all its tower wagons to raise the overhead (to allow high loads to pass under the trolleybus wires) - they raised the towers until the running wires were pushed upwards. Conversely, there was a section of route where the span wires held the running wires down!

I'm giving serious consideration to using the overhead as a decorative feature and installing 18650 cells in all my trams.... Seriously it looks good but practically there are many questions remaining...

 

[mike]

nice to see it all being sorted..

 

[Beddhist]

Yeah, very cool.... But Mick never run catenary with cats... My neighbour's cat loves to sneak onto the tramway and spread out on the "grass" under the overhead, its ok getting in but when its finished its snooze and gets up and has to have a stretch is when the damage is done.

I have a solution for that problem: buy an electric fence energizer and connect it to the catenary. Just remember to disconnect anything electronic first! You won't have to do this very often...

Cheers,
electric Pete.

 

[trammayo]

I'm giving serious consideration to using the overhead as a decorative feature and installing 18650 cells in all my trams.... Seriously it looks good but practically there are many questions remaining...

It does look good Trev but, as you suggest, there are problems. Mind you, there are problems with 2-rail curent collection too! I have a few R/C battery powered locos - maybe it's the way to go?

 

[trammayo]

I have a solution for that problem: buy an electric fence energizer and connect it to the catenary. Just remember to disconnect anything electronic first! You won't have to do this very often...

Cheers,
electric Pete.

I think I could find a use for one of those to go around my trailer at shows. Maybe a dummy one that just ticks and a couple of giant crocodile clips to a wire and an earth spike!

 

[trammayo]

This morning, I thought I`d run something. Having cut the lower reaches of the (mainly) privet hedge yesterday, I hadn`t finnished cleaning all the track.

I decided to bring out my freelance railbus. I was surprised that a; I had left the batteries in, and b: there was still life in the said batteries.

So I tried it out and did quite a few circuits in solo mode before attaching the carriage and van. It nearly stalled on the sharper curves but on the straight it went well ....



On the second circuit, I was joined by an iterested onlooker .....



The interest grew .....



Then it was onto the bridge before leaping off in face of the oncoming train. Sort of a third eye level thing ...



After a while, I decided to take it out of service and had a look in the loco shed. A derelict caboose (awaiting attention) had been in there since I built the shed. Apart from cobwebs and dirt - blown in through the unglazed windows - it was still OK. I did buy the camphor pellets (to deter insects and spiders - as advised by Tramcar Trev) but forgot to deploy them.



With the doors open, I wondered if the shed lighting still worked. I put a couple of AAA`s in the battery holder but no joy. Then I noticed the connector block had rusted. After a while I got the wires out and managed to remake a connection. Voila - let there be light. Only one light didn`t work - one of the tails had rusted through!



So a lesson (or two there). Solder rather than use connector blocks, or protect the blocks with vaseline. And coat the tails of the LEDs with vaseline or similar!

With no trains running, I thought Mae had gone elsewhere. Wrong! ....



After a little persuasion, she came out and I barred the doors.

 

[KandNWLR]

Nice pics .... of the cat, too ???

 

[tramcar trev]

Cats seem to love enclosed spaces.... Forget the vaseline, use this goop instead it does work and withstands all weathers; https://www.plastidip.net.au/liquid-tape-electrical
But the Vaseline does have a use to deter cats and other wildlife from venturing where you don't want it venturing... spread it thickly on thin card and lay the card as a barrier where you don't want the animal to go... The cat will walk onto it then change its mind when it has to spend hours cleaning the Vaseline off itself. Helps with fur balls as well....

 

[beavercreek]

Excellent as always Mick.
The inside of your shed is a lovely thing to see...... Love those pendant lights, they are right bang on scale.

Yes, rust (or aluminium corrosion) will form just about anywhere that can get condensation, I coat everything in ACF50..it lasts ages. Bikers and aeronautics (real sized) swear by it. It is like WD40 on steroids...doesn't evaporate like WD40.

 

[Madman]

I was told by SWMBO not to use camphor balls, moth balls, or whatever you like to call them. They're carcinogenic. When I think of opening drawers and closets when I was growing up, and smelling camphor, I wonder how I am still here.

 

[trammayo]

Thanks for the comments and tips.

It's too late for the shed lighting the rust is terminal (pun there), but I'll try and remember what you've all said.

So camphor is a carcinogen? Camphorated oil - that must have been kill and/or cure

Do you think vaseline woud deter snails? Mind you, we'd get covered if I was to protect everything from them.

I used to be biker (once upon a time). The joys of protecting Wipac or Uncle Joe's products from moisture.

I hope the cat/s grow/s out of chasing trains and get down to the serious stuff of catching mice!

 

[owlpool]

very nice shed / cat-house