| 23rd May, 2005 |
|
| Work begins at Lillianville | Work began on the Lillianville module of Maybe Never Railway overnight. The second module has been set up, although it hasn't been fixed to the Brackley module yet. Legs have been attached to both modules, although another couple of sets of legs will be required for the layout to be free standing (a TV cabinet is being used to support the join in modules.). Trackwork may begin by the end of the week, but the call of college assignments may see this put off for a short time. There may be changes to the Lillianville module with future planning of the layout (when I get a nice big double garage) offering more possibilities if the staging yard sits in front of the Lillianville yard rather that behind. The possible future track-plan can be seen in the Layout section. |
| 18th May, 2005 |
|
| Major Announcements |
Since our last update, many more exciting things have been taking
place at MNR. Today saw loco 42220 assigned to the Brackley service.
The prototype loco saw service on the Griffith train after it was reintroduced
in March 1996. MNR CEO was a passenger on the first service from Griffith
to Sydney, and is therefore pleased to see this loco in Brackley. To
welcome 42220 to Brackley, all MNR locos were presented in the yard. Irish
rock group U2 provided entertainment via video link. To see photos (1,
2, 3,
4) of the
celebration, visit MNR's
Fotopic site.
Trackwork: As mentioned in the last update, a new spot has been allocated for a loco shed at the down end of the yard. Trackwork for the new loco shed is complete, and once the final plans are signed off, construction on the shed itself will begin. The road for the shed has been extended through to the turntable. The new road has been load tested, and the turntable still works (by some stroke of genius). Photo's (1, 2) of the new area can be seen at MNR's Fotopic site Locos: As indicated above, 42220 will be spending much time in Brackley. In more exciting news, all locos are at this point operational. 42211 has been repaired and has re-entered service, 3801 is still undergoing trials, but appears to be in good order. 3820 is running well, as is XP2017, which has been running more efficiently since servicing. 4897, 48125 and 8019 have been running flawlessly since their respective arrivals over the past 6 months. Work is still to begin on CPH 3. Building and landscaping: The platform for Brackley station is currently being constructed. The foundations for the loco shed and surrounding area have been laid. Plans are being finalised for the loco shed and the main station building. These plans should be ready in the next couple of weeks so that construction can begin shortly. Following these projects the goods shed will be 'dealt with'. Ballasting should take place in the next few weeks. MNR is still to decide on an appropriate source for the ballast, with a number of options being considered. |
| 10th May, 2005 |
|
| 8019 arrives at new-look Brackley |
As reported last month, the Finance Director approved the addition of 8019 to the Maybe Never loco fleet. 8019 arrived in Brackley last week, just in time to assist with trackwork in the yard. Two impracticalities with the yard area were addressed with the trackwork. Drivers were complaining about the impractical loco shed at the Sydney end of the yard. Also causing problems was the shortness of the goods siding. The solution was to relocate the loco shed between the end of the goods siding and the turntable, and to extend the goods sidings over the former location of the loco shed (did you follow that all?!). The 'about MNR' page has been updated to reflect the changes. |
