Taita Gorge Railway

Poor form. Announcing the opening of a red box* on gscalecentral.

Really poor form. Neglecting to say it was actually two red boxes.

Extremely poor form. Not publishing the photos.

* Well, actually a very dark shade of red.
 
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:cool: Good form, a photo of the contents of the said red boxes

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:cool: :cool: Really good form, the beer train in action. Yes, the critter can haul all 8 reefers.

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:cool: :cool: :cool: Extremely good form, A photo, an overall photo, of the beer train, on a sunny day at Taita.

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:cool: Traction was the action attraction on the Taita Gorge Railway today. Some closet traction fan from the local rag turned up
with his old 5x7 plate camera.......

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.... of course it's Black and White. Do you realise how expensive colour is for one of those antique press cameras.

Published in Garden Railways Magazine April 2016
 
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We likes things on a plate;)
 
Sorry, no red box opening to report..... but, we can do a yellow one ;)

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:wasntme: Birthday present. As usual, quick service from Trainworld in Brooklyn...... according to the tracking notes, it took longer to get from Auckland NZ to my place, than it did from NY to NZ.

This, of course, is super power for the beer train. What's more, it is wired also for battery or track, so now, I can participate in 'away games' (just plug into a borrowed battery car).

During testing, it did pick up a few track irregularities, stuff that the shorter stock was coping with. Quick check with the bubble, a bit of a tamp, and she was 'normal service'
 
A belated HB!
 
When I was a much younger railfan, I was being brought up on a diet, amongst other things, of American magazines (in particular, Railroad Magazine).

Typically, I would devour photos of Geeps, F units, and Alcos. At the time, I quite often turned my nose up at 'backlit' photos, probably because I didn't know better, and had not then developed an appreciation for 'railroad art'. In those days, B&W had reached a high standard, and colour publishing was rather, well, yuk.

Looking back now at some of those older issues, I look at them in a different light. So, this evening, I photographed the maiden road run of my FA and beer train. In colour, the shot was ho hum, so I B&W'd it, in an effort to recreate the atmosphere of those photos of so long ago.

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Happy birthday. Nice picture, taking us back to the '50s.
 
Nice stuff Gavin.
Good to see a bit more of yank kit on the forum.
I like yank kit I do........... oh and I also do like Brit, Euro, Indian etc etc .....
 
I believe there is an under-appreciation of black and white photography. Way back in the fifties, we would be disappointed at the movie theater if the film was in black and white. Today I appreciate the older black and white films. Also, in photography, one can see more of the subject matter and what the photographer was trying to capture, in a black and white photo. Both forms, B & W and color have their uses however. So I cannot say that one is better than the other.
 
The ALCO is settling in just fine, now negotiating the Taita Gorge as if it belongs there. Initial teething issues were slight twists in some of the track, and, perhaps, a little stiffness in the trucks. But all is now well. Copes nicely with the 9 beer cars and bobber caboose. I tried swapping out the coupler, but, even the Aristo loop and hook didn't cut the mustard, it would move about on its mounting. When using the Aristo knuckle, the train can successfully negotiate an R1 crossover. A tad too long for the main crossing loop (I'd never thought it would come to the stage that it wouldn't be long enough). Given that no other trains will be the same length as the beer train, I'll live with sliding crossings.... add a bit of fun to the operation.

That bloke with the B&W camera turned up, again.
Beaut thing about B&W, is that weeds show as a shade of grey, so you can't tell if it is weed, or ballast.

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Published in Garden Railways Magazine April 2016

....and if JR had been here, he would have probably taken a shot like this (first time I've tried this angle)

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One mustn't forget to still run the 'other' trains too. The little ALCO on a transfer move placing a load of Golden CO's finest 'flavoured' water.
 
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I agree.
 
Got around to freshening up the Outback section of Taita Gorge this weekend. At dusk, this evening, I copped the beer train doing a turn on the aforementioned section (it was payday this week, so I could afford to do it in colour).

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JR reckoned this was a hidden gem.... well, now that it is no longer hidden, guess I'll have to make it my summer improvement project. Cops the evening sun, too, as seen just after sunset.

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:cool::cool:.
 
:wait: After a bit of a gee up from JR at yesterday's running day, the saga of the battery powered critter has been kicked up a gear. Having already proven that the changeover switch, and cable linkage to the 'power car' all work, tonight I installed my old Basic Train Engineer into the power car, tacked it down with hot glue. The aerial was then glued to the inside walls. fresh battery into the Tx, connect to transformer power, press buttons, and power output steadily rose to something useful.
OK, worked on the meter, now for the loco..... yep, she works. All I need now is a battery pack (and a compatable charger).

Next running day is battery/live steam, I think I will enjoy that (JR knows that I am mainly going for the free pizza :lipssealed: )
 
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