Zanimljiv blog o gradnji makete vrtne željeznice:
http://downlandmr.blogspot.hr/
More changes
Since the last update a lot has happened here at Downland - here is the news as of June 2015
LOCOMOTIVES
The first all new steam locomotive was constructed in our works. Based on 'Firefly' the ex Bullock Pannier converted to an 0-6-0 tender loco at New Romney in 1946, the real loco spent many years working the Hastings Miniature Railway. It is now on foreign ground in Arbroath.
The Downlands version is the chassis and running plate off a Lima Fowler 0-6-0 with a scratchbuilt (3D printed) boiler, cab, smokebox door and tender body. The chimney was something I found in my scrap box, while the dome and safety valves were salvaged from the remains of the Lima body. The tender body disguises a KATO 4w mechanism and a few bits of lead for weight. It runs extremely well and made its debut at a small exhibition in Maidstone in April, where it put the rough running of our other two steam locos to shame. With the success of the first Firefly 2 class I decided to have a go at building a second with a bit more of the original's look.
The great thing about 3D printing is once you have the file made up it is as simple as pushing a button to print out a second set of body parts. The time was taken in stripping down the second donor Lima Fowler - unfortunately this time the chassis was found to be damaged so I have had to start from scratch, replicating the chassis and running plate. I also decided to build a new tender body, as the originals was a bit more high capacity than the one on the previous loco. When finished I gave it a coat of umber looking paint and lined it pale brown, which is pretty much the colour I remember it from Hastings
The original steam locos were converted white metal kits from ages ago when reliability was never guaranteed - and so it has proved. I started by removing the motor from the Scot and building a new tender housing my trusty KATO mechanism. I then found that whilst the tender ran beautifully the valve gear on the Scot created so much resistance that it caused the tender to slip badly no matter how much adhesive weight I added. There was only one thing for it and that was to cut back on the valve gear until the chassis would freewheel.
This was drastic enough but not as drastic as scrapping the entire body and building a completely new one! At present it is still 'work in progress' and this is the only photograph of the loco at the moment. Hopefully it will be fully operational by the time of the next exhibition at Deal on August 2nd. If this works then the green steamer will probably meet the same fate.
The 'diesel' fleet remains the same except that the Meteor is now fully finished.
RAILCAR
Every railway needs a quick start railcar for the early trains, specials and those periods when it is not worth firing up a steamer. The new Downland railcar unit is a two coach diesel hydraulic, with duplicated controls at both ends. Although limited seating it is proving very useful for the first couple of trains
The power car is slightly longer than the driving trailer to accommodate the Kubota diesel and hydraulic pump. Each bogie is fitted with hydraulic motors giving good acceleration and controllable braking.
COACHING STOCK
The April exhibition showed up real problems with my articulated bogie design with several embarrassing derailments - so much so that I hid the artic sets and used only the bogie coaches. After completing the railcar I turned my attention to the artic bogie and completely redesigned it to an easier system. It has so far proved very reliable and all artic sets are now fitted with them.
To go with the latest Firefly I thought I needed a new set of Hastings style coaches. These coaches were used with Firefly in its original pannier style on the short 10.25" gauge line at Dymchurch in 1938. They were used again at Dymchurch in 1946/7, then St Leonards in 1948 before moving to the current Hastings site. Unfortunately they have all now been recently destroyed. I think they are such a unique design that they deserved a better fate than that, and although the good folk at Hastings have built a couple of replicas for their portable line it isn't quite the same as an original. So this three car artic set is my tribute to the originals painted in a livery they carried at Hastings in the good old days.
The Downlands version is the chassis and running plate off a Lima Fowler 0-6-0 with a scratchbuilt (3D printed) boiler, cab, smokebox door and tender body. The chimney was something I found in my scrap box, while the dome and safety valves were salvaged from the remains of the Lima body. The tender body disguises a KATO 4w mechanism and a few bits of lead for weight. It runs extremely well and made its debut at a small exhibition in Maidstone in April, where it put the rough running of our other two steam locos to shame. With the success of the first Firefly 2 class I decided to have a go at building a second with a bit more of the original's look. 
The original steam locos were converted white metal kits from ages ago when reliability was never guaranteed - and so it has proved. I started by removing the motor from the Scot and building a new tender housing my trusty KATO mechanism. I then found that whilst the tender ran beautifully the valve gear on the Scot created so much resistance that it caused the tender to slip badly no matter how much adhesive weight I added. There was only one thing for it and that was to cut back on the valve gear until the chassis would freewheel.
Every railway needs a quick start railcar for the early trains, specials and those periods when it is not worth firing up a steamer. The new Downland railcar unit is a two coach diesel hydraulic, with duplicated controls at both ends. Although limited seating it is proving very useful for the first couple of trains
To go with the latest Firefly I thought I needed a new set of Hastings style coaches. These coaches were used with Firefly in its original pannier style on the short 10.25" gauge line at Dymchurch in 1938. They were used again at Dymchurch in 1946/7, then St Leonards in 1948 before moving to the current Hastings site. Unfortunately they have all now been recently destroyed. I think they are such a unique design that they deserved a better fate than that, and although the good folk at Hastings have built a couple of replicas for their portable line it isn't quite the same as an original. So this three car artic set is my tribute to the originals painted in a livery they carried at Hastings in the good old days.
