Friday, 1 February 2013
Monday, 28 January 2013
The End
With the descision to go back to 16mm/ft narrow gauge in the garden this blog will no longer be updated as a new blog about the new railway will be created.
Thanks to those who read my ramblings and hope you enjoyed it. One more update will happen giving a link to the new blog.
Monday, 14 January 2013
Big changes ahead.
I have decided that a change of scale is in order. The 4mm scale railway is seeing little use mainly due to the amount of work required to clean the track, rail the stock and maintain the trackbed.
I have decided the Sitton Watchet Railway will go indoors into a new shed (which needs to be purchased). In its place in the garden the Merrytwit Light Railway will be reborn.
The current line will be used a few times this year whilst I build a portable layout to run my stock on, then the old trackbed will be removed and the new one started. A new blog will appear shortly about the new line.
This blog will continue only it will be about the portable and shed lines and not the garden railway.
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Planning a Film
I am currently drawing up a storyboard and shot list for a film about the Epping and Ongar railway. Sourcing old pictures of the line is another job plus I have already obtained a copy of an old Underground map with the line still on it.
Now I am actually thinking about what I need it is proving to be a harder task than simply turning up, videoing anything that moves and quite a lot that doesn't, then coming home and putting it into some sort of final cut.
I will have to contact the railway to find out if there are any places I can get lineside shots and even if I can get a lineside pass, not to sure about that one though.
General shots like an establishing shot of each station, the general area around each station and trains running into and out of the stations is easy. There are also a few public areas beside the line that I can access to get shots plus a few places where I can get panoramic vistas with the trains running through them. Hopefully this will be enough. I will be visiting the railway before it stops running for the winter to start getting shots plus I will scout out the public areas to establish good places to get shots of the trains from.
Must not forget lots of atmospheric cut scenes of birds, plants, people and general shots of buildings and paraphernalia to allow me to fill in the time between trains.
Oh well, back to the planning, hopefully I will have something ready in November.
Now I am actually thinking about what I need it is proving to be a harder task than simply turning up, videoing anything that moves and quite a lot that doesn't, then coming home and putting it into some sort of final cut.
I will have to contact the railway to find out if there are any places I can get lineside shots and even if I can get a lineside pass, not to sure about that one though.
General shots like an establishing shot of each station, the general area around each station and trains running into and out of the stations is easy. There are also a few public areas beside the line that I can access to get shots plus a few places where I can get panoramic vistas with the trains running through them. Hopefully this will be enough. I will be visiting the railway before it stops running for the winter to start getting shots plus I will scout out the public areas to establish good places to get shots of the trains from.
Must not forget lots of atmospheric cut scenes of birds, plants, people and general shots of buildings and paraphernalia to allow me to fill in the time between trains.
Oh well, back to the planning, hopefully I will have something ready in November.
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
Visiting the Epping and Ongar Railway
On Sat 30th June I finally made a visit to my closest preserved Railway, the Epping and Ongar Railway.
We took the normal service bus from my home town of Harlow to Epping Tube Station where we then caught the railways own heritage bus service to North Weald Station. The bus also serves the station at Ongar although that service starts later in the day.
This is by far the best way of doing the trip, if you are coming by car park in the LT carpark at Epping and get the bus, parking at North Weald and Ongar is limited.
North Weald station has been nicely restored with new tarmac leading up to the building and nice neat lawns around it. There is still much work being donw but it is a whole lot better than some lines I have visited.
The building is typical of the stations on the Central Tube Line. The platforms bear all the hallmarks of having been a tube station with the signals and general fittings making any commuter feel at home. However the train that pulled in first was certainly not typical of the Central line.
The line towards Epping is run as a shuttle with no station as yet for passengers to use. The train, an ex-SR multiple unit, runs to just before the Coopersale bridge where it reverses back to North Weald. Motive power is supplied by a very tatty Class 31 locomotive.
Then, after a short wait, the main train appeared from the opposite direction hauled by no 4953 'Pitchford Hall' with Class 37 diesel no D6729 on the rear of the train. This push-pull arrangement saves the locomotives running around and simplifies operation of the shuttle service as well.
Once on the train we had a nice ride into Ongar with a short wait just outside the station. We saw our local countryside from a different perspective as I never rode on the railway when it was still run by LT.
Ongar station has changed quite a bit with a new housing development taking place in the old railway yard however the railway still has a fair bit of room and the station has been very nicely restored. It has a small shop and the town of Ongar has several good places for eating.
The railway is certainly worth a visit and I hope to get back there sometime in the summer to take some video.
The official website for the railway is at eorailway.co.uk.
We took the normal service bus from my home town of Harlow to Epping Tube Station where we then caught the railways own heritage bus service to North Weald Station. The bus also serves the station at Ongar although that service starts later in the day.
 |
| Bus services to Epping and Ongar wait in North Weald Station for their next service |
North Weald station has been nicely restored with new tarmac leading up to the building and nice neat lawns around it. There is still much work being donw but it is a whole lot better than some lines I have visited.
 |
| The Coopersale Shuttle reversing into North Weald. |
The line towards Epping is run as a shuttle with no station as yet for passengers to use. The train, an ex-SR multiple unit, runs to just before the Coopersale bridge where it reverses back to North Weald. Motive power is supplied by a very tatty Class 31 locomotive.
 |
| Pitchford Hall heads into North Weald |
Once on the train we had a nice ride into Ongar with a short wait just outside the station. We saw our local countryside from a different perspective as I never rode on the railway when it was still run by LT.
 |
| D6729 at Ongar Station |
The railway is certainly worth a visit and I hope to get back there sometime in the summer to take some video.
The official website for the railway is at eorailway.co.uk.
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Epping and Ongar Railway
Over the weekend a new steam railway opened in Essex. The Epping to Ongar railway was a branch off the Central line on the London Underground.
It ran until September 1994 when it was closed as a loss-maker and it looked like it may be lifted and lost for good.
A private company stepped in and bought the line promising to start running trains within 5 years. This never happened and it fell to a group of enthusiasts to get the trains running again using a Epping Ongar Railway liveried DMU.
This continued till 2008 when a change of ownership occurred and the decision was made to close the line so that major works could be carried out before the line was re-opened to public running.
As well as the infrastructure work the locomotive stud was expanded to include ex-GWR Hall "Pitchford Hall", ex-GWR Large Prairie no 4141 and Diesel Class 37 no. D6729. This has pitched the railway into the front line of preserved railways in the country.
I have not yet been able to visit but hope to do so in the next few weeks but in the mean time it's worth having a look at their website eorailway.co.uk
I have also found a set of nice photo's from the weekend on Flickr
It ran until September 1994 when it was closed as a loss-maker and it looked like it may be lifted and lost for good.
A private company stepped in and bought the line promising to start running trains within 5 years. This never happened and it fell to a group of enthusiasts to get the trains running again using a Epping Ongar Railway liveried DMU.
This continued till 2008 when a change of ownership occurred and the decision was made to close the line so that major works could be carried out before the line was re-opened to public running.
As well as the infrastructure work the locomotive stud was expanded to include ex-GWR Hall "Pitchford Hall", ex-GWR Large Prairie no 4141 and Diesel Class 37 no. D6729. This has pitched the railway into the front line of preserved railways in the country.
I have not yet been able to visit but hope to do so in the next few weeks but in the mean time it's worth having a look at their website eorailway.co.uk
I have also found a set of nice photo's from the weekend on Flickr
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Gardening
My daughters birthday was this weekend but next weekend we have a load of people coming for her birthday which will hopefully include an operating session on Sunday.
To prepare for it I have been tidying the garden and all the trees down the railway side have been cut back as they were overshadowing the railway. New bamboo screening is being fitted against the wire fence to replace the old reed screening plus I have removed the second platform from the railway so it currently has no station. It will be replaced with the plastic Hornby platforms as they can be picked up cheap from exhibitions and some model shops.
To prepare for it I have been tidying the garden and all the trees down the railway side have been cut back as they were overshadowing the railway. New bamboo screening is being fitted against the wire fence to replace the old reed screening plus I have removed the second platform from the railway so it currently has no station. It will be replaced with the plastic Hornby platforms as they can be picked up cheap from exhibitions and some model shops.
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