Ride on Railways

28/05/2026

Two days on and my legs are killing me. A long day assembling track for the Christmas train. 26mm tall steel rail curved to match the sleepers.
Was rather hot but at least we were in the woods. This year massive investment including a new longer route for the train.

https://christmasfestessex.co.uk/

22/05/2026

The second re designed Trojan Saddle Tank to be made. Still sorting a few bits out but this one has sand boxes and a whistle.

What ever you do this bank holiday weekend - have a good one.

16/05/2026

Supposed to do reels but I can't get them to work. Update on the A12 closure. Couple of pictures of the big bypass pipe that has caused most of the issues. Looks like they are filling it in so may be not too long.
As for access to work - one for another video.

14/05/2026

I have put up details of the grate we do for the Station Road Steam boiler. Thanks to a couple of Youtube videos we have picked up many sales.
Thanks to Dave for a great review https://youtu.be/-J9MbbPlV1w?si=Dz3EwVpPlMbWzkKo

I will be ordering another batch in the coming days.

Details on the website.

Ride on Railways are the manufacturer of 5 and 7 1/4" gauge railway equipment

12/05/2026

A lovely but hard working day a Poplar Miniature Railway. Once a month they have a maintenance day so opportunity was taken to do a few tweaks including plugging Rosie in to the computer to make her a bit more graceful.
Still odd seeing a steam outline locomotive with a laptop connected.

07/05/2026

Ride on Railway on tour. Well we pushed a pallet through The Avenue Est for a collection of a large driving truck. The Gallows Corner Flyover will open on Sunday - Eastbound only but doesn't help us yet.

27/04/2026

The next couple of weeks may be a bit messed up and we may not be too reliable. Please bear with us.
Unfortunately Drena's dad had a stroke last week Tuesday and never regained consciousness passing away yesterday.
A stressful time for us all.

24/04/2026

There is a lot of science to rail. Rounded edge and a crown on the top to match the wheel profile.

If you want to go more prototypical then PNP Railways do a chair for their steel rail which puts the rail at a slight angle.

The wheel to rail interface is important in helping reduce wear to the wheels and track. Sharp edges and flat tops can see wheel damage in a relatively short time, especially if there are sharp curves. I have seen wheels written off on a garden railway with 10' radius bar track in under 4 months.

23/04/2026

This is the kind of work going outside the workshop. These huge vacuums are used for digging around services and allows them to reclaim stone fill.
Just wonder if the operator does the hoovering at home.

15/04/2026

Ride on Railways items at work at Poplar. Re bogied with our new worm drive motor gearbox and high reduction she is proving to be as popular as ever. Driven by ever chirpy chappy Andy - Poplar Miniature Railway