Update - No.29 - 30.03.12

 

Originally sent by email to friends and family only in Mar 2012 

 
Well hello everybody.  Just when you thought you'd finally gotten rid of me here I am again....sorry!

Corky in the Middle!

This is a significant update to the Corkscrew-Lines story for many reasons so I suppose I should hit you all with the big news first.  For the last couple of weeks I have been working away from home and if everything pans out as I expect it to, I'll continue working away from home for many more months to come.  I have changed career and I have now started an extensive period of training shared between North Hampshire and West Yorkshire.  This means I currently have almost no spare time for modelling.....sad face!  A further change is on the horizon for Mrs Corky too as her employer is looking to relocate to Sussex in a little over a years time so all in all, everything is currently in a bit of a state of flux.  It is probable we will take the pragmatic view of our situation and look to move home sometime in the next year.  With this in mind, I have reluctantly decided to temporarily halt all further expansion of the Corkscrew-Lines.

Now don't despair my lovely little Corkettes, this is not the end of our adventure, simply a time to pause and rest before I continue again in a new location on a future date with renewed vigour!.....Hellfire!!  I intend to carry on with the Corkscrew-Lines whether it be in another garage, a shed, a bedroom etc, etc, but as a house move looks likely, it seems prudent to stop further construction at this stage to avoid unduly damaging baseboards or trackwork during a move.  I will from this point on be working on modifying stock (fitting DCC chips, kadee couplers etc) and building kits and producing plans of the layout.  For this reason, the frequency of updates will inevitably slow....Hooray I hear you all cry - you can all be very hurtful at times !!!

So what is my latest choice of railway career?......check out the shots below for a few clues.......Oh My Lords!!  If things don't work out there are still a few Railway jobs I've yet to have a go at!

 

Construction Progress - The Portable Northern Loop - "Turbo Banjo"!!

The latest wacky creation to emerge from the Corkscrew Laboratory is a portable return or balloon loop.  This loop of track can be easily connected to the top of the helix to allow trains to climb the grade and return down it again without having to be run round making the layout continuous run.  The idea is as the layout progresses and further track is laid, the balloon loop, or "Turbo-Banjo" as I have christened it, can simply be moved around the layout and connected to wherever the new northern end of the line is.  I can add another few feet of main line run and then connect the Turbo-Banjo always giving me a continuous run for playing trains.....simples!

 

The Banjo is currently sitting atop of the peninsula boards and I have spent many hours already watching trains successfully ascend and descend the helix via it.  It is constructed from a single sheet of surplus 12mm plywood which has been attacked with a jig-saw to produce the distinctive snow shoe shape.  Once strengthening beams and corner brackets were attached, I laid the trackbed and track in the usual way.  Finally, I fitted another Hex Valley frog juicer to deal with the electrical issues associated with opposite running rails meeting themselves and now the short circuit is automatically dealt with totally seamlessly.

It works brilliantly and is ultra light and portable - all in all an excellent portable "Turbo-Banjo" type thingy that works a treat!  If you fancy one yourself get in touch and I'll give you a healthy friends and family discount.....Hellfire!

Regular Corkette visitors over the last month or so have been the Rooster and Napier-Boy who is demonstrating the art of speed tea drinking in the attached snaps......Dreadful!

 

 

New Arrivals on the Corkscrew-Lines...

No new arrivals on the line since the last update mainly because I've not had the time to purchase anything......Mrs Corky thinks this is a splendid state of affairs - I do not!

 

In the next thrilling instalment...
 

No idea when the next update will arrive or what it will contain but rest assured - there will be one.  Watch this space my little lovelies....Hellfire!  Life is quite lonely right now at times and I'm missing Sarah when I'm not at home so please keep in touch.  It's always great to hear from you all.

That's all for now folks!!

Oh, one final thing.  This is a message for the one and only Bob "Maybach" Tiller.  Shocked and saddened to hear you are not firing on all cylinders right now mate.  Hope the fitters get you back on the mainline again soon......all the best.

Corky