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 batteries underneath, an on/off switch (no reverser) and a small potentiometer to provide some speed control.
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 when they are done will 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” (unfinished) and an experimenta loco that has a built in battery, in case cold temperatures cause the track to ice up (this has been put in the freezer…). This will gain a steam-tram style body if it works! Think Toby from Thomas the tank engine. Add to that a Dinorwic yellow truck (my design) and a Dinorwic wagon, “borrowed” from Kathy Millat’s Port Dinorwic. The fleet is subject to change after testing.
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.
