First real driving day at new locationMy father had already decided two years earlier not to drive with the caravan because of his age. The possibility of moving to a new place on the campsite, further from the motorway and closer to the forest, was also tackled. For the Ferrovie dello Balconia this also meant that they had to move. The plan was to drive last year, but the new grass wouldn't allow it. The levelling of the ground was disappointing, that was more work than expected, and two heat waves in a row ensured that the new grass hardly had a chance to grow.
But even on this beautiful Sunday at the 2nd of June it did work out in the end. My cousin of the Eastern Balcony Railway was also present, and so was Ed Steam. That had an extra reason, I'm working on a project to make rails on a 3D printer, but more about that later in a separate article.
He had brought a diesel locomotive and also a live team locomotive. After first taking good care of the inner man, hospitality is written with a capital G by my parents, a railway was built and eventually we could drive. I doubted about the purchase of R2 rails from LGB, and my cousin had brought them with him. Then I could try out the layout I had in mind for a long time. Everything was fitting well, the garden is even bigger than I think, and now the R2 rails from LGB are on my wish list.
There was only one small incident on this day. Despite my father's hard work to level the garden, there was unfortunately a hole next to the footpath. I filled it with some Playmobil rails, to make a temporary trestle. Unfortunately the steamlocomotive tipped over after a few laps, which resulted in a small roadside fire and damage to the upper Playmobil rails. Fortunately everything went well. But because some children came to watch, we had to quickly clean up the hot stuff (the ash tray had fallen out of the bottom), where Edwin unfortunately burned a finger.
For the rest it was a very successful day, and we were also able to apply the railway virus to some of the children this time. After all, the youth has the future. Moreover, I have all kinds of plans that are worth developing, and now I also have some ideas for a nice railway plan.
Henk and Ed Steam have known each other for a long time, and it's nice to see each other again. Of course the coffee was already ready in the portacabin. That grass has made way for a tile. It's a bit more pleasant to walk on.On the left the diesel train of the Eastern Balcony Railway with two wooden open wagons, on the right a passenger train of the Ferrovie dello Balconia.Ed Steam was busy with the diesel train to get coal for the steam engine. That's quite a job.Tell me yourself, a steam locomotive like that is a mighty beautiful thing.Oops, little incident. Henk and Ben inspect the damage to the Playmobil rails. Luckily everything went well.Children are always a grateful audience, and there are childishly simple solutions for everything. The lack of a tunnel is solved in this way. And hopefully we have made some children enthusiastic again for a nice hobby. I soon lost the remote control.Hard work gets you warm. But Billy-Jo, Betty-Jo and Bobby-Jo do know how to cool down in hot weather.A narrow gauge railway has its own charm. Everything in this picture has been made by Edwin, and that should be said.