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All of a sudden the building consent comes through and the builders are off.

I marked out where the track is going so that things like water tanks don't get plopped down in the wrong place. It looks better on the ground than it does on paper. They have dug the foundations for the house and the driveway. It's looking good!

I think I am going to abandon the idea of a tunnel; it is simply proving too costly.

This video was taken by walking the future trackbed. Sorry about the bumpy ride, I now know why movie camera's have the steady-cam thingies - it is REALLY difficult to keep the camera steady when you walk across a field! I haven't chosen a name for the track yet, but Whatawhata Live Steamers is a contender.

I have just spent a couple of hours with AutoCAD drawing up the locoshed and turntable. I am sending the drawings off to get a quote.

I visited the Wimberley Blanco and Southern (a private track just outside San Antonio, TX) on our trip back to the UK. It is an awesome track and the first I have visited in the US.

 NOTICE  The Palmerston North Model Engineering Club (PNMEC) is holding their annual Open Weekend over the 5th and 6th of March, at their track in Mariner Reserve, Palmerston North. The club website is www.pnmec.org.nz

The house is making progress - though nothing on the railway as yet.

Wow. I just realised that it has been months since I wrote anything here!

The house is coming along, but the builder has been let down by a supplier who is getting something in from overseas.

It is however time to start thinking about the railway again. I have been toying with the idea of a tunnel for months and had consigned it to the "too hard basket". Then the builder gives me a phone number for someone who has three lengths of left over concrete conduit 1.6m x 1m by 1.5m long. This tipped on its side would make an almost ideal tunnel. I am going to give the guy a call and make him an offer.

21st-23rd October is the 50th anniversary of the Diamond Valley Railway (Melbourne). I hope to be going along and get to see some of the former Dobwalls locos.