Alice

  This is a tad out of sequence as the photos were taken a good few years ago but they are the best photos I have of any of my locos and as they resurfaced from my storage device I thought I would share them.

   The loco is 'Alice' a N-Drive Productions Lily - pretty sure one of the very first he produced. The photos are taken on 'That Dam Layout' by Chelmsford MRC.

Keeping the engines running

   One of the things that the Thornham Light Railway has been struggling with since it's recent increase in traffic is a steady supply of coal at all it's important stations, so the controller has bought himself a rake of wagons to better distribute the coal around the railway.
   The wagons in question are all ex- L&B railway stock with a mix of door styles (mix of RTR Peco wagons and Dundas model kits) which has been stored where ever the coal is needed. While modest compared to supply other railway's coal trains, this is more than adequate for the needs of the TLR.

Glyn Valley Coach Re-Paints

   One of the issues that I have always found with OO9 compared to OO is ease of use that OO has, for a lack of a better phrase. If you buy a OO engine and a pack of wagons, you can guarantee it will run nicely, couple and uncouple easily and will go round corners without issue, all of which kit-built OO9 couldn't always do.
   The rise of ready to run OO9 should then be the answer to this. The ability to get a reliable train going round your layout that can be supplemented with kit built stock and kit built extra locos is just too good an opportunity to miss out on, but I also don't want them to stand out on the layout.

   We have had a few goods vans, bogie coaches etc running on the layout and been really happy with them, so when I had the chance to pick up a rake of Glyn Valley coaches, I knew it had to be done, but they also had to be repainted to match the coaches we already had.

   While we have a 4 coach rake of Glyn Valley coaches in their factory green, I wanted a smaller rake in the railway's normal coach colours - blood and custard. I bought one of each coach type, plus a brake van as felt like an appropriate looking train as I wanted to test how how it would look.

   I've got to tidy up the transfers and add some seating classes and coach numbers but I am pleased with the outcome and would look to do more in the future.

Island of Sodor comes to Thornham

   I don't think it will any surprise if I say I am a fan of Thomas the Tank Engine. I have both the engines from the Skarloey railway that Bachmann have so far produced, and will be picking up Rusty when that is released and I have a project to get some rolling stock built and painted for the same railway. But recently I discovered that Bachmann not only did the narrow gauge engines in the US but also the main line and other non-railway related famous names, i.e. Bertie, Harold and Trevor.
   Bertie and Harold, especially, have stuck in my mind for their parts in the stories, so knowing I could get appropriately sized versions was amazing.

Bachmann Bertie next to the Hornby Thomas

Special Visitor Gala

   Following the success of the last Sodor railways guest engine gala day, the Skarloey Railway has sent over, not one, but two of it's engines to spend the day working the Thornham Light Railway. Skarloey has come back for a second visit and bought the railway's number two, Rheneas with him.

   The two engines spent the day pulling tourist trains full of enthusiastic guests and stopping for photos together.

Both engines enjoyed their day out and the enthusiasts have given rave reviews, so the management is already looking to book more guests for the future.