Peckforton Light Railway - A brief history - Part 1

After cataloguing the videos I have made of the PLR over the years, I thought it was about time I compiled a short history of its development. This is Part 1, recording how it evolved from an idea in 2003 to where it was it in 2012. Part 2 to follow shortly. For more information see riksrailway.blo... - Copyright free music provided by Corel VideoStudio Scorefitter - entitled "Pure Paradise"

[@failletceline5756]

Quel bel endroit,idéal pour un train de jardin,à faire évoluer,doucement,mais sûrement,on attend la suite avec impatience!😊 Tchuss,pierre 😊

[@rikbennett9]

Merci Pierre. Je suis content que vous aimiez mon chemin de fer. J'aime l'utiliser.

[@DiveJersey]

I really enjoyed this series - very well shot, edited and narrated; must have been a lot of work - thank you.

[@Curly472001]

Hello Rik, I use electric motors off ebay for £1.99. They are used to power wing mirrors on cars and of course being made in the millions are very cheap. The gears are these bags of nylon/plastic ones off ebay for 2 or 3 pounds. I use a crown and pinion which goes down to a final drive gear. I make a brass bush to fit the final drive with a grub screw. The actual box is made from printed circuit board and is attached to a metal plate screwed to the motor. I made one with a two stage reduction which gave me 36:1 not fast but very powerful and would possibly be okay in one of your locos. They cost around ten pounds to make. best wishes

[@alcopower5710]

Sounds interesting. Do you have any videos?

[@rikbennett9]

Sounds ideal, Graham. Very cost effective.

[@Curly472001]

Very interesting video. I have a Gauge O garden railway and and I have some of the locos running on battery power and radio control. I make my own gearboxes using cheap motors and nylon gears which increase efficiency and dont draw so much current. I dont operate it as such just make the models and just sit and watch the trains go round. Great fun though. Looking forward to part 2.

[@rikbennett9]

Hi Graham. I've not started making my own gearboxes yet. Something I intend to explore in the future, though.

[@chriswalas9891]

I really enjoyed this one. An historical perspective on the long term development of the railway is especially appreciated!

[@rikbennett9]

Glad you enjoyed it, Chris.

[@rikbennett9]

PS My mate in Australia wonders if you're the Chris Walas he used to correspond with. He regards you as a master model maker..... 🤗

[@geordieceltic2]

First time that I have watched your video's and must say that both the railway and video presentation are very professional and most enjoyable. The considerable work and level and variation of skills are impressive. You have produced a realistic working railway and a work of art. A big well done. Thank you for sharing.

[@alcopower5710]

Excellent to hear the history/backstory. Cannot wait for the next part👍

[@hsbagardenrailway]

Great video Rik. As someone newer to your story, it was really wonderful to see how it's evolved. Looking forward to the next part!

[@Waldbahner]

Hi Rik, I watched your previous history and construction videos as well, but this seems to become a master-series. Well done. I switched to RC on my garden railroads also many years ago. First I still used track power, but step by step, I converted to battery power by using Locolink. Today I switched completely to Deltang control. I enjoy battery-RC trains that much, that I even rebuild a few in 009-scale, getting rid of any type of contact issues. Keep enjoing the hobby and stay save :-) Gerd

[@rikbennett9]

009 RC is very impressive. I thought I had done well fitting RC into the Simplex.

[@Waldbahner]

@@rikbennett9 You might check out this one. This was my first conversion. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqDHpKeOoJ6go8U

[@jonlucas52]

Brilliant - a joy to see how PLR developed over the years. All the better for some thought, perseverance, determination, and a "vision" to fulfill....you should be very proud!

[@rikbennett9]

Thanks Jon. There's always something to do. One day I might regard it as finished ..... But then what? 🤔

[@sanspareil3018]

Excellent video!

[@rikbennett9]

Thanks ..... tricky to make but I'm quite pleased with the outcome

[@scott53128]

Really good! I didn't know you started with track power, I've always thought that would be a challenged in the garden ;) It's bad enough with 00. Looking forward to part 2... :)

[@rikbennett9]

Thanks Scott. It took me a few years to see the light - but I've not regretted going over to battery power as you'll see in Part 2 ....😊

[@TheSandwhichman108]

I liked to picture each loco having there own personality similar the the star fleet and other characters from the show tugs.

[@johnvine5731]

Now onto part 2 of this white knuckle ride!

[@rikbennett9]

I'm glad you've managed to contain your excitement ..... ;)

[@williamsworkshopuk]

Nice video! I'm interested in your operational patterns. You have shown 'a day in the life of' a couple of times on this channel I thikn - but I'm interested in how you derived that pattern, and how you operate it? You mention in this video 'the ore train works around scheduled passenger services' - but presumably if you're the only one operating this means you have a sequence where the ore train from stop 1 to 2, then the passenger from 3 to 2 to 1, and then the ore train from 2 to 3 i.e. sequentially?

[@rikbennett9]

Thanks for the question. The passenger services follow a sequential timetable based on that for the Southwold railway. The ore trains, sand trains and pickup goods fit into that pattern. As you suggest, a passenger train might pause at one station while one of the freights crosses or passes it. Sometimes I might have three trains on the railway at once - a passenger, a goods and an ore train and they have to take turns to run over each section or block. A bit like the real thing. The pattern of movements is slightly different in each operating session. As the freight movements are decided by my computer program, shunting operations at each station will be different in every session and so where and how the passenger services fit in will vary. All good fun.

[@rikbennett9]

There's a bit more info on my blog. It describes operation as it was ten years ago, but the principles are still much the same - riksrailway.blogspot.com/2010/09/typical-running-session.html

[@SteamLance]

Do you know if those kits you used for the first coaches are still available, as they make nice generic coaches

[@rikbennett9]

No, sorry. He didn't trade for very long so I was lucky to get them while he was still trading. IP Engineering sell some which are similar. - www.ipenginnering.com/lasercut-freelance-coach-range

[@TheSandwhichman108]

Out of curiosity do you plan to add turn tables?

[@rikbennett9]

No, no plans for turntables. I did toy with the idea when I built the Clogher Valley railcar, but in the end decided to run it with another railcar coupled back to back.

[@TheSandwhichman108]

@@rikbennett9 Well you have any plans to add any new locations like a harbor for example? Or anything in general.

[@rikbennett9]

@@TheSandwhichman108 I was thinking of creating a siding at Beeston Market for the canal basin like they had on the Glyn Valley. But by 1932, when my railway is set, I don't think it would have been used much, if at all.