T.T.O.S Canadian Division

Garden Railway

2010-2011 AGM Elections

Southwestern Division of TTOS Cal-Stewart Meet - November 19-21, 2010 - Pasadena Convention Center

Red=Meetings

Gold=Shows

MONDAY, JUNE 21, 2010
the first day of summer

My friend, Ken came over to help with several things including putting on new couplers on some cars.........

.......and cleaning the track for..........

.......the very first day of train operations on the completed roadbed.
Ken helped me get this battery operated locomotive to run. It takes 6 D batteries and is then radio controlled
just like the little boats - it runs great and has a chugging sound related to the speed of the wheels.
The kids will be able to drive this train - no problem. It cost me $20 at an estate sale in Nanaimo 16 months ago and today
was the first day I had it running.

We hooked up the electric transformer and got the rest of the locomotives going.
This is the 2-6-0 pulling a short work train........

The 4-4-0 crossing the Lethbridge CPR steel bridge...........

Margaret has been very helpful - buying and placing flowers and shrubs around and
finding a place for the fake rock I bought last fall. The fake rock is going to be used as a cover
that is easily removable over an access opening that I will install when I build the big mountain and lower spiral
tunnel late this summer.

The big diesel climbing the hill.........

Next to me - the hardest workin' guy on the railroad........

This tiny little 0-4-0 is the best pulling loco of the 5.
It is connected to the Santa car by two little wires and it plays Jingle Bells over and over again.
It will be well used come next Christmas, plus the cars behind the music car will be filled with presents
and elves when the time comes.

Wave to the engineer........

I loaded it up to see how many cars it would pull - 10 light plastic ones - no problem...........

Wild animals - all of a sudden appear.........

For the children - orange juice and "Budda Milk" can be delivered.......

OJ and milk - when it is given to the little ones in our kitchen in these little Tupper ware cups
- they call it "Budda Milk"

And - wine can be delivered as well............ +

.......dessert - doesn't look like much here - but these are two delicious Father's Day brownies
from Maren - for the real dessert train there will be lots more than this..........

So - there's the little drinks and sweets sample train rounding the upper spiral.......

......going to the left - from the upper spiral to the lower spiral............

......completing the ride around the lower spiral.........
did not spill a drop - works like a charm.......

I got the idea to do this project on Friday, Feb. 27, 09. I sat in the upper window and looked
down at the garden that was there and drew up this plan.......

.......and this is the track plan that ran for the first time today!
I thought a patio and a glass wall might be a good idea at the time but I don't think so now.

This is my sketch of the elevation changes.
I found I could lower the elevation of the two cross overs to 7" instead of 8" each, thus saving
2" of elevation change which helped keep the grades as low as possible.
After 16 months planning and building - today was a BIG DAY - it works!