Latest news with #Willington
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Retired rail engineer, 64, builds a £2,000 50ft-long functioning railway in his back garden
A retired rail engineer spent £2,000 building a 50ft-long functioning railway in his back garden. Adrian Backshall, 64, first started the project during the pandemic in 2020, shortly after he and his wife Ruth, 58, moved into their new home in Willington, East Sussex. Mr Backshall used scraps and found objects to create his impressive miniature railway including an old rail trolley which dates back to the Victorian era. The trolley car was rescued from an old siding and kept in his garden initially as an ornament, while the scrap track and sleepers were bought from a heritage railway in Sussex. He then built a frame and roof and mounted it on the old tracks, creating a carriage that seats between four and five people - making a fully-functioning rail line. Initially, the track was around 30ft-long, but this March, Mr Backshall extended it by a further 20ft. It now runs down nearly the entire length of the garden and has two stops: the patio and the shed. Overall, Mr Backshall, who spent 40 years working as a cable jointer for British Rail and Network Rail, estimates he has spent around £2,000 on the rail line. Mr Backshall said: 'We had this old rail trolley because it had been dumped in our previous garden - and my former railway boss Bob said we had to save it. 'So then when we moved here and had more outdoor space Ruth suggested I build a track for it. 'I did that using some scrap tracks and it meant I could just push it up and down the garden. 'But when Covid hit, and nobody could do anything, Ruth and I decided I should jazz it up.' During the pandemic, Mr Backshall built the train carriage - which is fitted with seats, glass windows, and a wood burner for winter. In his first designs, the former engineer had to stand outside his train to get it to run - by winding a wheel that pulled a cable attached to the carriage. But he soon fitted it with a 12 volt solar-powered winch which he can operate from inside the carriage - meaning the train moves by itself. He said: 'That was really quite exciting when we first trialled it. We have neighbours and friends over and I can tell them to just flip a switch, and suddenly they go, 'Oh God, it's moving!'. The couple, along with dogs Mabel and Gladys, moved into their property three years ago and, remarkably, it was Ruth's idea to make use of the garden space. Mr Backshall's most recent development was to extend the length of the rail track - meaning it now reaches the patio at the bottom of his garden. He said: 'It's fun because it's like a proper railway now. You can get on at the top of the garden and get off at the patio.' The couple's two dogs, Sybil and Gladys, are also fans of the creation. 'The dogs absolutely love it,' Mr Backshall said. 'They're in there, our friends are in there. Sometimes people call me and say their grandchildren live near and would love to try. 'It's just fun to do something quirky.' And Mr Backshall's wife couldn't agree more and revealed it was her idea originally. She previously told MailOnline: 'It was my idea in the first place, I like it, it's different and it keeps him occupied'.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Yahoo
Discovery of Walter the deer's antler brings Pullman hunt to a close
Mar. 6—A months-long saga involving a white-tailed deer, his unfortunate entanglement with a hammock and the hunt for his purple-laden shed has finally come to a close. Walter, as the deer was affectionately nicknamed, was a sight to behold as he traipsed around Pullman following a run in with a backyard hammock last September. Large portions of the violet fabric remained adorned to his right antler until the young buck shed it in February. During those five months, Walter grew a global fan base, while also being the subject of many calls to the Pullman Police Department. The police department, who were the ones to free Walter from his backyard booby trap, had to inform many a concerned resident of the crimson and gray city that the rival-colored fabric did not impede the deer's quality of life, he'd eventually drop it as all white-tailed do — and that Walter was not the victim of frat-boy hijinx, as Code Enforcement Officer Kayla Loop said last month. The treasure lost to the Palouse winter was found Wednesday, said Judy Willington, founder of a Facebook account serving as Walter's official fan page. Willington said the tattered remnants of the hammock were still attached, although time and the elements have faded the fabric into a more appropriate mix of mauve, lavender and plum. Dave Gibney, fellow Pullman resident, spotted the antler while out for a walk near Reaney Park, home to the Lentil Festival. He's noticed Walter in his neighborhood from time to time after first spotting him in his yard last fall. "I didn't know it was a hammock," Gibney said. "When I first saw him, I called him into the police too, and they told me they knew about him. Frankly, I thought it looked like a Huskie jacket." In what may have been a sign of peace offering after taunting Washington State University cougar fans with their in-state rival's colors, Walter left the antler lying near the foot of the iconic steps running from Reaney Park up the hill to the university. Gibney uploaded some photos of the antler laying in the grass, then posted them to much acclaim in the Facebook group. While a bit vague about the location, Gibney gathered up the antler and left it on his front porch for Willington to find. "I was so happy that he reached out to us, and that he was able to get it to me," Willington said. "I kind of like the way that he did the pictures, but didn't say anything about it. It kind of was, I don't know what to call it, like a treasure map or something." Gibney, a now retired longtime IT specialist at the university, said it made perfect sense to pass it on to Willington. She's a big supporter of Walter, founded the Facebook group and has a plan for the antler and it's remaining fabric. "I don't have a great use for a little fork and horn antler," Gibney said. "I knew she wanted it, so why not?" Willington will mount the antler above her porch, complete with a sign declaring the locale "Walter's Place." The good news spread like wildfire through her Facebook group Wednesday, as Walter fans near and far reveled in Gibney's kindness and Willington's joy. "It'll be fun to just keep on watching and seeing how the rest of the adventure unfolds, when those new antlers grow in," Willington said. "And watching how big they grow, and how many times he'll still come back and visit. "But I sure hope he doesn't find another hammock."
