2010 in Pictures

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JANUARY

It was a good start to the year with the completion of two quarry Hunslets. The second of the two was collected from Chingford track where we were able to give it a good test run.
We also took our new 7 1/4" gauge Hercules. This loco was based on the 5" gauge version. Not the prettiest looking loco but it did work.

We later dropped this design as there was little interest in it. I believe the flaw is that as a 7 1/4" gauge loco it was only adequate. Where as its 5" counter part is over specified, this one fell short.

 
   

FEBRUARY
We improved the bogie design by moving the springs further apart. They also have bump stops to stop the springs being fully compressed. With over 400 bogies being sold to date we only really made a few tweeks to a proven design.
   

MARCH
   
2 years on and the workshop fills up. What seemed like a huge open space has been consumed by stuff. .
   
   

APRIL
   
Not a Trojan - it is based on a Jasper chassis. This one went out with 4 motors and two batteries. It was so tight we had to cut a hole in the chassis to get the control board in.

I have 5 cut but never got around to promoting it. Price is the same as a Trojan and most people like the bigger version.
   

MAY
   
After months of messing about we finally got the 7 1/4" gauge riding truck design sorted. This was the first and weighing in at 40kg it is heavy.

JUNE
We seemed to have a batch of locos wanting sound and horns. The amount of wiring lead us to ask Trax controls to put his horn and engine sounds in a pre wired box. Designed to work in tandem with the 4QD bell throttle controller it made for a lot simpler wiring.
 

JULY
   

AUGUST
Bespoke work. Although we are moving away from such work, I liked the idea of this one. The ends are from a caboose we built several years ago. The chassis is one of our standard length ones although we cut the ends down to create the end platforms.

SEPTEMBER
7 1/4" Gauge Society AGM. Managed to attend the Friday and Saturday. Thoroughly enjoyed the event and very impressed with all of it. From the smallest to the largest this event showcased the best of 7 1/4" gauge. Swindon next year.
   

Delivery of the HDPE sheet for coaches. We were asked if we could supply 7 1/4" gauge trains and track for a museum complex in Belfast. The clock was ticking almost straight away as it was for their Christmas grotto.

These sides were machined by the suppier which made life a lot easier for us. Not cheap but then no painting to do.

OCTOBER
For Northern Ireland we promised two over electric steam outline locomotives. Just to make sure our new bogies were up to the job we managed to get a test run at Barnards Farm Railway.

The loco on the right may not look much but it was only a test bed. Passed with flying colours.
All the track for Northern Ireland was built from plotted drawings. It was not until I actually assemble the track and checked the dimensions was I truly satisfied that I had got it right.

The panels had two part track connectors which meant the panels were joined together using just two 8mm bolts.
   

NOVEMBER
One of the two locomotives destined for W5 in Belfast.

DECEMBER
A trip to Belfast to commission and hand over the trains. This picture was pre snow.
   

Paul