In June 2025, I shall be climbing Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania. It’s 5,895 m (19,341 ft) high and it will take 7 days to get to the summit on the Lemosho route. I want to do something while I’m there that I don’t think anybody else has ever done before, operate a model railway! It needs to be small, light and simple since it will have to go in my backpack all the way and I’ll have limited time to get it running.
The layout is 120mmx120mm and fits in a small plastic food box purchased from Morrisons. It’s a 3D print with two 100ma LiPo batteries underneath, an on/off switch (no reverser) and a small potentiometer to provide some speed control. The finished layout, with integral stockbox, all stock and a few tools weighs in at just under 300g.
I’ve also made up a 3D print stock box that will fit around the front of the track, where the “scenery” will be low profile. The scenics are designed to try to match the summit itself, so that it forms a natural backdrop.
The current “fleet” is a Brian Madge Ruston LB, A 3D print of the Bala Lake Railway man rider “The Thing” and a loco that has a built in battery, in case cold temperatures cause the track to ice up (this has been put in the freezer…) with a tram style body based on the LNER Y6 (aka Toby the Tram). Add to that a Dinorwic yellow truck (my design) and a Dinorwic wagon, “borrowed” from Kathy Millatt’s Port Dinorwic (which currently lives in my spare wardrobe). Finally, there is a model of the Bala Lake Pump Trolley, I purchased the full size prototype from the original builder in early 2025, so figured I ought to take a representation of my own 2′ gauge vehicle with me!
This might work, or it might be a disaster, but I’m going to give it a go. I’ll get the layout out for a run at some of the lower camps in case I don’t make it to the top.
This model has appeared in the June 2025 Railway Modeller news pages, in unfinished form.
If you want to help propel me to the summit, please make a donation to the Bala Lake Railway Society “Presidents Appeal“.
