Latest Updates  

JULY 2010

Half way through the year, where has the time gone? This month has been one of bits & pieces, mainly try-ing to sort a few things out on the site to make things flow a bit easier so you may notice a few changes. I have finally got 

From the Workshop up & going, this will be a page of different ideas & techniques being applied to projects. The F chassis will be the 1st to feature here with other little projects to follow.

Above; 2006 being test run on a sunny winters day, just a few tiny touch-ups resulted on this otherwise trouble-free run!

Monthly Updates are as follows,  Rolling Stock I have listed the different forms & Countries, this section now features the Freelance section, click on the {AFR-LOCOMOTIVES} to view the 2000 Class up-date, also 

{NZR-WAGONS & VANS} has been bought up to date.

Hope the changes aren't to bigger problem, I am still try-ing to get use to them!!

Until next month when a new project will be announced, Happy modelling!  

JUNE 2010

Well this month brings us winter weather, wet & cold so nothing getting done outside. The garden has really lost most of its colour & the leaves from the trees are everywhere! Any way updates are  Layout Construction with details of the new inside loop being added, Structures a new bridge, Links a site promoting the 'Trains on the Plains' Ashburtons own train show. 

This month I have been busy with lots of small catch up jobs mainly changing couplings, track work & chassis work!

Above Left; Have converted a MDC ore hopper to NZR Chopper couplings so the AFR Freelance locos can be rostered on the ore trains, the Garrett was converted with the English Ten-Mille brand of Choppers.  Above Middle; A test trial of coupling, the reason for this is that the ore hoppers are always coupled as a train so why waste good factory couplers when a simple tounge coupling will do! (Hopefully it will last the distance, will keep you all posted) Above Right; Well it has finally happened F72 is in the workshop under going a chassis rebuild, a first for us, as all scratch-built locos have been built on a ready to run motor blocks. Work on this is progressing slowly, as everything is a learning curve. One fall back is that it has delayed the 2000 class completion but I assure you all that there will be pictures of the completed unit with the commissioning of this new loco next month!

Below; 3 of the Yj hoppers in there finished livery.

Next month will update F72s chassis progress with some pictures, until then keep modelling!

MAY 2010

 Well this month has see more progress on the 2000 Class in the Freelance section, we are very happy the way 

this loco is turning out, we still have the wiring to do & which is not my strong point! 

The Picture Gallery has also had a few more pics added to keep the interest up, this time looking back a year or two to see how things have changed around the Railway.

This month we also had our first charter, the Railway was visited by a family from Timaru who found us on the net & arrangements were made for a visit. The day was gloomey but that didn't matter because as soon as the 2 kids (2 & 4yrs) saw the trains everything else didn't seem to exsist, it was good to see that an old hobby can still hold the attention of the younger generation. The oldest of the 2 had earned his driving rites & was controling the trains like an old hand so he was given a certificate stating he was an assisitant driver, a great deal of fun was had by the both of them & that is what we are all in the hobby for.

Above Left; Brother & Sister enjoying there visit getting to know there favorite character. Above Middle; Young fella earning his drivers ticket, in charge of the GP-7 heavy freight. Above Right; Thomas enjoying a relaxing run.

Extenstions are starting in the shed with an extra loop going in on the main line as a storage siding for racks of wagons & a put-on track for visiting rolling stock, more on this next month. Also check out the Links page for a site of interest in Preservation in the Philippines. All the best in modelling.

APRIL 2010

Last month saw the completion of ballesting the outside track, which is one big job out of the way! The 2000 class also received some attention which can be seen on the Freelance page. The AFR for the 1st time in its history sold one of its locomotives, it took a bit of doing but common sense won out in the end. We bid a fond farewell to the USA Trains Southern Pacific SD-70Mac which was the biggest loco on the railway, but it was just to big!! It gave great service when rostered on but the good news is it will be a regular visitor to the AFR as it was sold to I.D.K RAIL here in Ashburton.

Above Left; Same shot as Feb update but this time ballesting is finished. Above Middle; Bridge No1 needed some attention on its guide rails. Solution was to drill a hole in the bottom of the rail & screw a self tapper in to secure, works like a charm as you can see in the Structures page update. Above Right; SD-70Mac hauls its last train under AFR's ownership this loco now resides at the I.D.K Rail Depot in Ashburton.

Above Left; GP-30 hauls empty ore train over freshly ballested track. Above Middle; The driver of the SD-70 must have thought he was seeing things when Thomas was waiting on the loop! Above Right; More was to come when Percy clattered through anouncing there arrivals at the AFR.

One of the last jobs for the SD-70 was to haul a track measuring train, this was done measuring from the front headstock of the loco to the back head stock of the caboose & see how many times the trains length fitted around the track. The result is!!! A mainline run of 109.3metres! Until May, all the best in your modelling projects!

March 2010

Not much to report this month as we have been busy out in the garden with plants & removing fences so we can view the railway from our lounge, which looks great I might add! The Freelance page has been up dated with new happenings on the 2000 Class. And yes ballesting is still being done on weekends with steady progress. Until next month Happy Modelling!

February 2010

Well January has gone & summer still hasn't showed up! So there is not much happening outside but ballesting is still being done when weather allows. To date the main-line is complete from the East end of the shed to the begining of the passing loop & is looking not to bad. Below left; The loop is being prepared for re-ballesting with the old being removed & the base being cleaned, this is how it is sitting at present time as we have had rain every weekend.

Above right; Well, the designers have been using the wet weather to there advantage & have come up with this! They have designed a short, modern looking & pratical loco, the  New 2000 Class!!!! Work will start on this project very soon & will be posted in the Freelance section.

This month the Locomotives page has been up-dated with all new photos so enjoy.

Ash-rail has made a major decision over the last couple of weeks in the form of modelling another 1:24 Railway. We are currently researching locomotives & rolling stock of the PNR (Philippine National Railway) so this should be a great project as there are only a few in the world who are modelling this system & it would be nice to preserve some of there items if only in model form. Here is a link to an interesting site to give you a bit of a taste of things to come.      http://philippinerailwayhistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/ 

Until next month all the best in modelling..

January 2010

Well 2010 is here, I hope everyone had a great Festive season & got plenty done on there railways. Progress on the AFR is steady-ish but no matter how slow, it is still progress.

The main job on the go at the moment is ballesting, this is not the first time we have tried this but hopefully we will be more successful this time. We are using a dry mixture of crusher dust, mortar, cement & blk oxide, above left is the first step where a product called CE-MIX is brushed on. This is an industrial bonding agent for giving better adheasive strength when bonding to existing concrete. Above right the mixture is sprinkled on & brushed to clear flange ways, below left. The final step is to wet it using a garden sprayer, below right.  

I hope this method will give the lasting results I am looking for, I have read alot of articles on this but with fingers crossed & a couple of winters under our our belts, time will tell. 

Ash Rail has a new adition to its loco fleet, it is an Aristocraft FB unit (below) for some time now we have been thinking that a free-lance diesel is needed for the increasing freight traffic. Now the designers have the job to come up with a double ended unit to serve the railways needs, we will keep you posted!

Last of all there are some updates on the web site in the  Structures  &  Picture Gallery  sections, until next month Happy Modeling!

December 2009

    The weather has been great the past couple of weekends so have been outside doing some unfinished jobs in the     garden. Above left; At last the capping has been added to the top of the raised garden which makes a great seat while operating trains. Above right; Just in front of the back fence has also had some attention with planters being added with shrubs being planted to hide the fence in the future. 

There has been a Picture Gallery page added so the odd running day, special occasion or visiting rolling stock can be recorded for every one to view. 

Another short video clip has been added to Youtube. Ab730 is the star this time hauling a short goods train under No2 bridge.