5th Edition
September 2004

Welcome to the Rurr Valley Reporter, where I intend to record the latest happenings on the RVR, hopefully within a year of them actually occurring..... ;-)

The quest for the Mt Lyell "look" continues!
Our new LGB 0-6-2T (see below) masquerades as a Mt Lyell Abt tank as it hauls a short Mt Lyell style
goods train past the site of the now closed and removed Dragonrock station. 
 

There has not been a hugh amount of actual work since the last edition, though we have had a couple of very pleasant Run days and have aquired quite a few new items off Ebay which should keep the workshops "ticking over" for some time!
 
 
 

Run Day 25th July 2004
We had a pretty good excuse for a Run Day on the 25th July as Kiwi Kerry Paterson, of Ashburton Forks fame was visiting Sydney and managed to fit a visit into his busy schedule!  He brought along two of his very fine 1:24 NZR locos and a couple of items of rolling stock which looked very nice trundling along the somewhat drought affected RVR.  He wasn't the only visitor, as he had Greg Hunter as native guide and the only other 1:24 scale Tasmanian modeller in Sydney, Bill Dive, also put in a very rare appearance.

Kerry's magnificent Dubs A stands at Devlins.  The A is built on a track powered Bachmann Porter chassis and I was not only very impressed with its appearance, but also with its smoothness and power, something I did not expect from this type of chassis.
 

Kerry's Dubs A makes a fine sight taking water at Bottom Points.
The wagons are some of Kerry's, and are scratchbuilt models of NZR prototype. 
 

Kerry also brought his scratchbuilt F class tank, seen here also taking water at Bottom Points. 
This loco was constructed on an extended Bachmann 2-4-2 chassis.
 

Greg Hunter brought his scratchbuilt steam tram motor, and in keeping with the New Zealand theme of the days running, it was pressed into timber haulage!  It seems that when New Zealand's city tramways were electrified many of the superseded steam motors were sold to timber interests and used  on NZ's "Bush Trams"  Here Greg's motor carefully rounds "Cape Horn" with a load of logs.
 

Unfortunately Bill Dive didn't bring any TGR prototype models as has been too busy with his HOn3.5 models (TGR prototype kits that Bill markets under the WD Models label) and "Real Life" to finish anything yet!  He did bring his slightly modified LGB mogul however, and here it is, masquerading as a SAR X class as it hauls a goods towards Possum Point.

I'm hoping Kerry will be able to visit again, particularly as I want to see some more of his magnificent NZR models!
 

Run Day 29th August 2004
Our 29th August Run day was the day of Live Steam!  Mike Bickford trundled up with his "Janhu" and Chris Rowles came all the way from WA with his Climax.  The RVR, with its "end-to-end" running and its steep grades is not conductive to reliable Live Steam operation, but both locos acquitted themselves quite well.  Tony Walsham dropped in on his way back to Melbourne, and ran his very nice little Bachmann Porter saddle tank with full RCS radio control and Sierra sound.  Unfortunately it was on the track for such a short time I didn't get the chance to photograph it!

Chris Rowles' Class A Climax took care of the timber traffic. 
Unfortunately the weather deteriorated rapidly after this photo was taken and this was the only usable shot I got of Chris's loco.
 

Mike's "Janhu" blows off nicely while it waits for photos to be taken at the site of the now removed Dragonrock station.
 
 

Another shot of "Janhu" at the Bottom Points water tank.
The bent wire at the front of the loco allows coupling with the RVR's LGB couplings. 
 

Quite a line up at Possum Point.
"Janhu" in the loop with a goods train, while the RVR's Nos 1, 2 and 12 occupy the loco shed and No 5 and D1 shunt the yard.
 
 

No 5 makes a rare excursion to Devlins to shunt timber outside the station building.
 
 
 

More Ebay bargains!

Proving beyond doubt that I can't resist a bargain I went mad on US Ebay recently and managed to aquire quite a few potentially useful items.

This Bachmann 4-6-0 came as part of a set that included the two passenger cars shown below.  The price was very good and the loco is proving quite useful as it is one of the "almost Annies" that have the new drive train, but the old body.  It is earmarked for a conversion into a North Mt Lyell style 4-6-0 sometime in the future and in the meantime is proving to be quite a useful "testbed" for experiments I am carrying out to improve the Bachmann sound as per the article on George Schreyer's highly useful Large Scale tips site.

I had no use for the passenger cars, so I put them on Australian Ebay and sold them to a chap in the US!
 

The 4-6-0 has had a couple of minor modification, including replacing the woodburning chimney with a chimney more suited to a coal burner and fitting LGB couplers to the front, which also involved replacing the cowcatcher with the one that came with the "Heritage Railways" 2-6-2.  Despite being body mounted the coupler has not caused any problems with excessive swing, even on "Cape Horn" which is the tightest curve on the layout.  The tender has been replaced with a shortened version, which can't actually be seen in this photo of the new 4-6-0 and No 1 at Underpool.........
 

The loco below qualifies as my best bargain yet! 

It is a somewhat battered Aristo 2-4-2T, (the photo above is of it on delivery, with no chimney and many missing "bits") that I got for about $US90- (including Airmail Postage), (about $AU130-) on US Ebay.  I wasn't particularly concerned about the condition, as long as it ran well, which it does, as I wanted the chassis to construct a  TGR D class tank.  The wheelbase and wheelsize are just about spot on!

TGR official photo from Pg 15 of Tasmanian Railways, 1871-1996 published in 1996 by 
CG Publishing Co, C/- Don Post Office, Devonport Tas 7310

However, this is another of my "long term" projects and in the meantime I have set about some minor mods to the standard Aristo saddle tank to make it "fit in" a bit better on the RVR.

So far I have lowered the cab and made a new bunker, constructed new front and rear buffer beams and added a spare Bachmann chimney.  Its looking quite nice, and I may have to get another one to convert to a D class!

Another of my "Wants" has been satisfied with the acquisition of a Lionel 0-6-0T.

Its very toylike, and the gondola and caboose are definitely "surplus to requirements".  The gondola has already gone to anew home via Australian Ebay and the caboose will go too when I get around to listing it. 

The reason I have been after one of these is that the wheelbase and wheelsize is just about "spot-on" for one of my favourite Tasmanian locos, the TGR CC class.

TGR CC16 at Zeehan in 1945.  CC16 had a cutaway cab, rather than the more common square sidewindow version.  Needless to say, my CC will be CC16 when it appears!
Late JL Buckland photo from Pg19 of January 2003 ARHS Bulletin, illustrating article by HJW Stokes on the TGR Strahan-Zeehan Railway.

The CC is another "long term" project, but I am gradually accumulating "bits".........
 
 

Another loco I have been after for ages is a good LGB 0-6-2T.  

Patient watching of US Ebay paid off with this mint condition 0-6-2T costing less than half the price of a new one in Australia.

As I have mentioned in previous "Reporters" I have wanted the chassis from one of these to use the bits of the body of No 2 to make a more accurate Mt Lyell Baldwin 0-6-0T.

Baldwin builder's photo of Mt Lyell 0-6-0T, unknown source

Once more, this is another "long term" project, as I have far too many projects going at the moment!  In the meantime it fits in quite nicely with the general "look" of the RVR, and despite not having sound it is proving quite popular with the Operating Department!  I expect it will get modified fairly soon, (that means sometime in the next 5 years......... probably..... ;-) as the performance of the standard Bachmann chassis under No 2 definitely does not meet with the approval of the Operating Department!

Straight out of the box and into service and fitting in quite well.
 

Other projects

Construction of the loco shed is proceeding, with cladding of the shed roof in corrugated iron almost complete.  Barge boards have been fitted and the clerestory is almost complete.  Next step is to complete the semi-circular louvred vent above the doors and then fit the windows.  The old Bottom Points station building is now the Loco store and sign on point.

Another project that is now approaching completion is a small display piece consisting of a scenic section about 2ft long with dual 32mm and 45mm handlaid code 200 track, a corrugated iron fence at the rear and some suitably lush Tasmanian foliage.  D1 is seen here occupying it.  I expect it will find a use as a backdrop for "builder's photos" of my rolling stock as they are completed, though its main purpose is to provide a test track for my under construction 32mm narrow gauge diesel and flat wagon......................
 

To the 4th Edition of the Rurr Valley Reporter: June/July 04