Category Archives: 2020 entries

Local Walks (13) – Floods

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Well, we have had droughts, bushfires, plagues (of mice, in country areas), and now floods.  We have had more than 520mm of rain here in Glenbrook over the last ten days – on the weekend the rain gauge overflowed after 280mm so I know it was at least that, but probably more.

Above is the Causeway across Glenbrook Creek in the Blue Mountains National Park.  The markers show the water level is about 2m above normal, and a massive flow of water is going down to the Nepean River.

I first went down to the “Jellybean Pool”:(click to enlarge, as ever)

The area is usually a peaceful pool for swimming – unthinkable now.

[ 48 hours later the level had fallen by about 2 metres ->  ]

 

 

 

Here is Blue Pool, also a raging torrent.

 

 

 

I had bought some gumboots to manage this walk.  With water cascading down the steps, it was just as well.

The “Dyak” is fully operational !!

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I went to run the Impressionist model of a Stanier Mogul today at the Sydney Live Steam Locomotive Society .

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The engine  performed very well indeed.

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This is my “Dyak” – a freelance design which looks most like a Stanier Mogul in my view (even though the model design actaully PRE-dates the prototype by a few years! – hauling me up an incline of about 1in 60.

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It was a wet day, with lots of wheelslip, but even despite this the engine performed well..

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This was a tremendous moment for me – proof that the engne which I bought based on a comnbination of appearances and a “hunch” has proved to be a good buy.  Just as well considering it cost me $2,500 all up .

 

The Sydney Live Steam locomotive Society site in Ryde has a circular run of about 400m, which is superb.

See the YouTube video:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n2NSUETiIA

They let me have a go on a locomotive known to them first, I suspect to check out that I was able to follow their instructions, so some of the above video shows me running an LBSCR “Atlantic”. They then let me go solo with my “Impressionist Stanier Mogul”, and the first time around I got the whole way up their 100m long 1/60 bank, albeit with wheelslip, etc., without stopping. On a rainy day that was a mark of success apparently. Trouble is, I couldn’t repeat the feat! The loco. went very well though, and others more expert than I said that it was as “sweet” loco., and I had done very well when I bought it.
Their site has three gauges – 2½, 3½ and 5 inch gauges, interlaced and crossing over each other. Very cleverly arranged. We were using the elevated 2½ and 3½ inch tracks (these engines can only really be used to pull real passengers on elevated track) and some of the loco.s on the video are 3½ inch models.

 

Slaters Gauge 3 Midland Railway D299 and D351 wagons

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My MR open wagons are progressing well. D299 is the side-door-only version, D351 has an end-door only – obvious from the hinge along the top end of the door.

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These are the two wagons, as constructed by myself.

the upper one here is the D351.


The lower one is D299.

They haven’t been “weathered” yet, so look unrealistically clean, but that will soon be fixed.

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I am particularly pleased with the wood-look interiors, as shown here.

 

 

 

 


Here they are, side-by-side.  

Click to enlarge, as ever.

 

Slaters Gauge 3 Midland Railway D299 wagon – 3 and D351 wagon

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Even before finishing my D299 wagon I have started my Slater’s kit of a D351 wagon.  Also, I haven’t even finished my model of the MR flat wagon D336.  There are reasons for this, but it’s mostly that I simply like the construction phase and the painting is less pleasurable.  As for adding the lettering – well that’s just stressful!

Here are the two wagons.  The one on the right is the newly-constructed D351.  The only difference between the wagons was the end-door.  When this pic. was taken I had only put primer on the D351 though.

 

So this weekend I have airbrushed the wagons so that they look very similar.  One will have brakes on only one side (see the left-hand wagon on this picture, as most did until the 1930s.  The other will have brakes both sides.  Slightly different lighting makes them look cream-coloured but they are both Midland-grey!

Clearly the two wagons are very similar and the Slaters kits mean that making the second one is a lot easier.  The detail on these kits is astounding.

These are pictures of the end-door version (D351) – the catches to hold the end-door closed.

I suppose that this is why I find the kits so satisfying to make.  The catches almost look as though they would work!

 

So there you are – next will nearly complete, I guess …