PlaymoFriends
General => Trains! => Topic started by: playmofire on April 04, 2011, 10:00:43
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Where we've moved to is only a few hundred yards from the route of the former Whitby to Scarborough railway line. The line, 21 miles long, was built late on in the railway age - it was opened in 1885 - and was never really successful financially and was closed in 1965 under the Beeching Report. It was single line with passing places and ran through magnificent moorland country and near the sea. The nearness of the old railway route (it is now a trailway) plus the size of our garden inspired me to buy some Playmobil trains on eBay, originally the 4018 but then also the RC steam set, amongst other items. The idea then came of setting a layout loosely based on the Whitby to Scarborough line called the Seaport (Whitby) & Beachtown (Scarborough) Coastal Railway Co. Ltd. So yesterday I had to clear the train out of the spare room and as it was a sunny afternoon I decided to try it out in the garden round the pond, the first (trial) run of the new company. The track runs round three sides of the pond so the layout is terminus to terminus and runs along the coping stones of the retaining wall. Here are some photos, starting with the track layout.
First, looking towards the Seaport terminus:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Seaportend.jpg)
Here the coping wall is very narrow and only a single track is possible and chive plants sometimes get in the way.
At the end of this section as the track bears right, it slightly overhangs the pond itself:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Overhang.jpg)
Next, the Pond End section, which has room for a passing loop:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Pondend.jpg)
Finally in this post, a view towards the Beachtown terminus showing the sharp kink in the track to allow a run-around for the the loco away from pond in case of accidents:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Beachtownend-1.jpg)
I'll post some photos later of the train travelling round and, hopefully, links to some videos.
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Blimey, that coping is only just wide enough for the two tracks! :o :o :o
I love seeing Playmobil outside, and your pond looks amazing - espicially with those great rocks at the back :love: :love: :love:
Just hope that there's no a huge gust of wind! :0
Damo :)
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Blimey, that coping is only just wide enough for the two tracks! :o :o :o
Yes, I'm planning to have some plywood boarding on it with the track fastened down. The boarding will be removable for storage.
I love seeing Playmobil outside, and your pond looks amazing - espicially with those great rocks at the back :love: :love: :love:
Just hope that there's no a huge gust of wind! :0
I have all the rolling stock fitted with the ballast weight to guard against this.
Damo :)
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It looks great!
If you can come up with a system that allows easily assembly & disassembly, I can only imagine the fun to be had at that garden ;).
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The inaugural journey (testing only) from Seaport to Beachtown.
Ready to go:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/SeaportTerminus.jpg)
Along the north side of the pond:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Reflections1.jpg)
Battling past the chive plants:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Pastthechives.jpg)
Leaving the Pond End section and entering the Beachtown end with the sharp wiggle:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Beachtownkink.jpg)
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Here's the train entering the terminus section with the run-around loop which you'll see in action shortly:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/headon.jpg)
It's arrived at the terminus and stopped prior to the loco being uncoupled:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Runaround1.jpg)
The loco runs into the head shunt and stops
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Runaround2.jpg)
before reversing into the run-around:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Runaround3.jpg)
and out onto the main line again behind the train:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Runaround4.jpg)
After which it's recoupled at the rear and begins the return journey:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Returnjourney.jpg)
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Wonderful Gordon!!! I love this set up!!! And I ove your pond!!! :love:
Thank you for this short but refreshing trip my friend!
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Wonderful Gordon!!! I love this set up!!! And I ove your pond!!! :love:
Thank you for this short but refreshing trip my friend!
Thanks, Panos, and there's the return trip to come!
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Well, we're on the return trip now down the south side of the pond with the loco running in reverse:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Reflections2.jpg)
I find that the loco will pull OK whether going backwards or forwards, but isn't good at pushing when going backwards - has anyone else found the same?
Now we've rounded the curve coming off Pond End and begun the climb up towards the Seaport terminus. It's quite a pull and there are one or two coping stones which are uneven to add to the task:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Almostthere.jpg)
Almost there now:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Reflections3.jpg)
And now we've arrived back at Seaport, the first test run of the layout completed successfully:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/BackatSeaport-1.jpg)
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Brilliant!!! :clap: :clap: :clap:
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Gordon, at full throttle, is there danger of the composition flying off the track?
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Gordon, at full throttle, is there danger of the composition flying off the track?
I'm not going to try to find out! :lol:
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Here's a video link:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/th_DSCF0545.jpg) (http://s704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/?action=view¤t=DSCF0545.mp4)
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Excellent setup, Gordon! We look forward to seeing things as they progress! :)9
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Excellent setup, Gordon! We look forward to seeing things as they progress! :)9
Thanks Bill. We're having our friends Chris and Peter round tomorrow evening and Peter will bring his steam loco and some rolling stock so we can devise a system for running two trains. Basically this juts means a passing loop at Pond's End.
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Some more video links.
First, a continuation of the earlier one. The video quality seems a bit fast in places, maybe it's been compressed or something in uploading it.
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/th_DSCF0547.jpg) (http://s704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/?action=view¤t=DSCF0547.mp4)
Then a driver's eye view, there and partly back. The operation of the train went perfectly first time but the camera didn't work. This run ends rather abruptly after the engine went into "jerky reverse" mode just as it got onto the Pond's End section and partly derailed.
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/th_P1050083.jpg) (http://s704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/?action=view¤t=P1050083.mp4)
And, finally, one with a camera balanced on top of the cab. On the interest of the camera's safety this ends at Beachtown where, on stopping, the camera lurched forward and almost came off.
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/th_DSCF1891.jpg) (http://s704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/?action=view¤t=DSCF1891.mp4)
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thank you for the extra videos Gordon!
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wow! these are great! I was so scared the loco would fall in the pond at one point!! :lol: :lol:
Great Gordon!
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I don't see any video links. :eh?:
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I don't see any video links. :eh?:
Click on a photo of playmofire in post #12 or #15, these are the video links.
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Oh. :-[ Thanks.
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Great looking railway. This is one case where having the plastic instead of the powered metal tracks is a good idea.
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This is great. The sides of the pond are perfect for the tracks.
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Excellent Stuff !!!! I am going playmo train mad , bought over 40 tracks yesterday and I am really excited about it . Your work is inspiring Sire !!!!!!
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Are there any plans to expand the railroad?
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Are there any plans to expand the railroad?
I've just put in most of a passing loop on the Pond End section - it just needs one or two of the track extenders to fill the final gap. Then, with care, I can run trains both ways at once. Weather permitting I hope to try this out tonight.
Longer term, I keep thinking of a bridge across the pond to create an S.
In the front garden we have a bricked area and a lawned area which give room for a mammoth layout. I think here my friend Peter would have to come in with his track too.
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Can't wait for the updates
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Can't wait for the updates
Some coming tomorrow from our evening run - too dark for many photos but still an enjoyable hour or so.
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I love your track (and your pond) Gordon, and thanks for the video links :clap:
You were very brave sending the camera around the track too. :0
Hope that Fluff doesn't like sitting by the pond, she might not approve of your train passing by. :)
Elaine (http://www.anchoredbygrace.com/smileys/mgqueen.gif)
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I love your track (and your pond) Gordon, and thanks for the video links :clap:
You were very brave sending the camera around the track too. :0
Hope that Fluff doesn't like sitting by the pond, she might not approve of your train passing by. :)
Elaine (http://www.anchoredbygrace.com/smileys/mgqueen.gif)
Thank you, Elaine.
I don't think that Fluff has discovered the pond yet. The wall round the pond is only about a foot high and when I lifted him on to it once he just jumped down again. He (and he says it's not his fault that the old lady who fed him and all his siblings called him Fluff and he would have chosen a different name if he could and if you call him a she again he'll come round and duff your cats up, even though he is 17 next month and has only three fangs left!) is a cat that operates very much at ground level because of a problem with his right back leg which goes back to when he was living rough as a kitten.
The pond has lots of frogs in it (Diane started counting them once and stopped at 25) but having layed their frog spawn they had left before the train was set up.
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Pond looks fantastic Sir Gordon and i look forward to more pictures of the train and the rail set up etc . I am really so excited abou ttrains right now , last night i was tootooing in my sleep probably thinking i was a steam engine :loco:
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Pond looks fantastic Sir Gordon and i look forward to more pictures of the train and the rail set up etc . I am really so excited abou ttrains right now , last night i was tootooing in my sleep probably thinking i was a steam engine :loco:
Thank you, Giorginetto. Playmobil trains certainly grab you once you've held one! They are Steck in disguise!
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Well, last evening Peter and Christine came round for coffee and for me and Peter to run the trains. A bit of a chaotic start as Peter had forgotten to bring the hand control, plus both steam locos use the same chip. I had spare chips and a spare hand controller but no spare batteries for the controller, so Peter had to go back for a battery (he only lives about six doors away). Meanwhile, Diane and Christine were in the warm inside.
During the afternoon I'd got the passing loop at Pond End complete apart from two of the small extender pieces which Peter brought round. These were put in place under arc lights:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Nightworking.jpg)
and then the job finished off:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Jobdone.jpg)
I'll post pictures of the actual loop later.
We got both locos running but by now it was too late for photos and, in any case, it is far too difficult controlling a loco and keeping a watch on what a second loco is doing to take photos as well. The passing loop worked OK but is too short for anything other than a loco and two trucks or carriages.
There was some excitement which illustrates the difficulties of running two trains at once when I was distracted by Peter's train with the result that mine went through the buffers at the Seaport terminus. (I haven't used any track connectors so far, but clearly they are needed at the buffers at least.)
There was further drama at the Beachown terminus when Peter stopped a coach straddling the points and when he set off the coach tried to go straight on and right at the same time! He quickly reversed the direction of travel which derailed the coach and it disappeared over the side and into the pond! It was fished out safely (roof and carriage body had separated but both were retrieved before they sank out of sight) none the worse apart from being wet and trailing a bit of weed. Diane took it into her care, drying and washing and leaving it to dry near a radiator. A quick oil on the axles and it will be 100%.
Overall, an enjoyable and successful evening.
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Sounds like lots of fun Gordon. You will have to rope in a camera crew for next time.
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/luwerner/gif/icon_rofl.gif)
Ah, the drama and adventure of managing a railroad... :P
Out of curiosity, how deep is the pond? And couldn't you get some boats in there too 8}?
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/luwerner/gif/icon_rofl.gif)
Ah, the drama and adventure of managing a railroad... :P
Out of curiosity, how deep is the pond? And couldn't you get some boats in there too 8}?
Yes it would take boats - it's about 16' by 9', However, as there are frogs in the pond boats are out.
I'll check the depth.
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Oh come on, the frogs could be the great beasts of the abyss, fantastic characters for shipping dramas ;).
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Oh come on, the frogs could be the great beasts of the abyss, fantastic characters for shipping dramas ;).
no no no ....hidious things! I would feel that pond with dirt :loco: :loco:
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Here's some photos of the Pond End passing loop. As I said earlier, because of the length of the wall the loop will only take the loco and two carriages or two trucks, and even then it is a tight squeeze and exact positioning/timing is crucial when trains are passing. The only way around the problem is to mount the track on a wide board which would allow a straight to be inserted immediately after the point and then be follow this with a curve another straight or straights before a curve and a straight connecting to the exit point. However, here's the passing loop as it is:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Overallview.jpg)
There is another problem with the passing loop which is the result of Playmobil only offering one length of straight track, unlike specialist firms such as LGB and Piko. There is room on the passing loop for two and about a half lengths of track. This means that there is a gap to fill of about 15cm and a straight length is about 30cm and the only way to fill the gap is with the roughly 20mm long extender pieces. Something like a dozen of these are needed and the effect doesn't look well, even after splitting them into smaller groups. Here's an illustration:
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Playmobilproblem.jpg)
Anyone any ideas or experimented with creating shorter lengths of Playmobil track? (I know Walter has but as his layout is permanently fixed to a baseboard he can just trim track to whatever length he needs and screw it in place.)
Finally in this post, some more rolling stock photos. First, one showing we do goods as well as passenger traffic and then a couple showing the loco with a couple of LGB summer coaches for the tourists wanting to experience the dramatic moorland and sea views.
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Goods4.jpg)
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Summercoach2.jpg)
(http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/playmofire/Playmobil/Playmobil%20trains/Summercoach1.jpg)
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Thank you, Elaine.
He (and he says it's not his fault that the old lady who fed him and all his siblings called him Fluff and he would have chosen a different name if he could and if you call him a she again he'll come round and duff your cats up, even though he is 17 next month and has only three fangs left!)
Oops... :-[ Please apologise to Fluff for me, tell him I really think it's a very butch name ;)
I inherited a female cat called Tommie so I can sympathise :)
Back to trains, I loved the photo of the klickies setting up the track :clap:
The passenger coaches are great, they remind me of the old electric tram 'toast rack' coaches in the Isle of Man.
Elaine (http://www.anchoredbygrace.com/smileys/mgqueen.gif)
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Oops... :-[ Please apologise to Fluff for me, tell him I really think it's a very butch name ;)
I inherited a female cat called Tommie so I can sympathise :)
Back to trains, I loved the photo of the klickies setting up the track :clap:
The passenger coaches are great, they remind me of the old electric tram 'toast rack' coaches in the Isle of Man.
Elaine (http://www.anchoredbygrace.com/smileys/mgqueen.gif)
Thank you - I was very pleased hoe well it came out.
I'll pass the message one, Elaine.
You're right, they are similar to the IoM ones; I hadn't really noticed that before. I had a good few holidays as a schoolboy in school parties at Howstrake Holiday Camp (now covered by a housing estate with only the stone name sign to show where it was). Diane and I had a holiday there in 1990 or 1991 and rode on every type of public transport - horse tram, mountain railway, steam railway and electric railway and for good measure visited the motorcycle museum, watched some of the Manx GP (motorcycles), a classic car rally and a Velocette owners' club rally. Quite a busy week!
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Great looking set up Gordon. I so envy you for setting up an outdoor garden rail way, I am too chicken to set one up for now.
I would have to agree that that pond needs some boats and subs in there exploring. The frogs can use the boats as resting spots.
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no no no ....hidious things! I would feel that pond with dirt :loco: :loco:
Frogs are the gardener's friend, Gaston!
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Great looking set up Gordon. I so envy you for setting up an outdoor garden rail way, I am too chicken to set one up for now.
Thanks, Ras, and my advice is go for it!
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F A N T A S T I C !! :omg:
i love it when you see the train in the water - that looks awesome. would love to add some photoshop to that pic. would you mind ?
i look so much forward for my first summer with the playmo train and the family outside - can´t wait.
thanx for these great pics !!!
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Frogs are the gardener's friend, Gaston!
I have a fobia.... I freak out when I see them Gordon! :lol: :lol: :lol:
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My mom does too. She almost capsized a boat once when a frog jumped in!
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hehe working overnight to fix the line... sounds like a southeast line on a sunday evening :lol:
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F A N T A S T I C !! :omg:
i love it when you see the train in the water - that looks awesome. would love to add some photoshop to that pic. would you mind ?
i look so much forward for my first summer with the playmo train and the family outside - can´t wait.
thanx for these great pics !!!
Thank you, Skywalker, and I've no objections to your doing some photoshop on it. :wave:
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My mom does too. She almost capsized a boat once when a frog jumped in!
:0 :0 :0 :0
the new set up is great gordon. have you thought of a bridge crossing above the water!?? That would be awesome!!! (and dangerous but so exciting!!)
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never heard of a "frog fobia" :picsplz:
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??? Pics of what? Him screaming like a girl when a frog jumps on his shoe? :lol:
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??? Pics of what? Him screaming like a girl when a frog jumps on his shoe? :lol:
Yes your absolutely right, we want a video of that instead ;D
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Yes, that would be great! :giggle:
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:0 :0 :0 :0
the new set up is great gordon. have you thought of a bridge crossing above the water!?? That would be awesome!!! (and dangerous but so exciting!!)
Thank you, Gaston. I keep thinking of having a bridge across from side to side forming an S but to be really effective that needs a "circular" track layout rather than an end to end one and the Hedge End has no clear way for any track. It may be possible to put a route through the ricks and stones at that end, which could be good. I shall investigate.
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I have a fobia.... I freak out when I see them Gordon! :lol: :lol: :lol:
They're lovely, quite warm and dry to pick up.
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They're lovely, quite warm and dry to pick up.
Oh I can not wait for ours to grow some legs. I dug a pit in the back40 and now we have thousands of tadpoles
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hope you like it :wave:
(http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g334/Skywalker1170/Reflections1.jpg)
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You even got the reflection good :o :clap:
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??? Pics of what? Him screaming like a girl when a frog jumps on his shoe? :lol:
certainly you won't find any pic of me near a frog!
anyway... gordon I hope you can make it. how would you make the bridge. is there any playmo part? is there a playmo bridge? that would be cool!
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I really like frogs and people should respect more such animals , I get really annoyed when i see people driving over them , when i go to my mountain house , there is a part of the road there where are frogs whenever after rain, i will always drive there at 5km/hr and see for frogs, if i see one , i will grab him and move him out of the road . Frogs are really cool and i love ponds !!!!! An essential part of a british garden indeed is also ...