Trains ran today on the Bryandale Railway for the first time in several years today. I had spent some time cleaning and oiling up Linda, then put her up on blocks, fuelled and watered, and waited to see what would happen. A few splutters from the burner and she was off – first time. R/C behaved itself as well. So I then decided we might as well give her a try on the line. Everything went excellently – one or two high spots on the ballast to be brushed out of the way, and one hard spot on the track to sort out – but other than that, Linda spent a happy half-hour pootling round my new circuit.
It’s good to have a decent run without incessant coupling/running round – but I still think a circuit on its own – at least a short one – would be a bit monotonous after a while. So I think the combination of the circuit and end-to-end may well prove to be the best compromise for a small space.
Here are some pictures of the test run, courtesy of my wife.
As can be seen, there is still a lot of dereliction to be tackled – and the whole job of rebuilding the lines to the two termini – but it’s good to be able to run trains again…
Below: the curve out of Minffordd. The vegetation has matured significantly since the last train ran.
Several shots of Linda running through Minffordd
The new long back straight
Linda emerges from the as-yet-nameless tunnel
The lowest point of the line. I think I might have gone a little too low here as it’s quite a climb back out – but there needs to be sufficient clearance for the bridge on the line to Queen’s Forest Road.
Trains and Trad 