Bron Effans

My previous post described the rolling stock and an outline of the rakes that I was planning to run on the railway. I mentioned that I was tempted to replace one of the Budget Model Railways carriages and acquire a Dundas observation carriage with a guard's compartment. Well I bit the bullet and bought it and have begun the process of constructing it.  I love Dundas kits but there is something especially charming about these smaller freelance kits. They give me the look that I am seeking and allow me to develop my own fleet of rolling stock without fear of causing offence at interpreting something in my own way.  So I present to you the latest of the passenger fleet. I have adapted the kit slightly so that it would fit in with the rest of my carriage fleet. I am not a fan of carriages with balconies. I have just never warmed to the concept. The issue with removing the balcony was that there would be no access to the guard's compartment.  To that end, I cut dow...

In the previous post I began to outline my ideas for the passenger fleet on the line. At present there is enough rolling stock to create three rakes that can be matched with an engine, run on the full length of the layout and sit comfortably in the platforms at Effans Uchaf. I have tried to keep the rake sizes similar in terms of length, so that they can be operated in either platform on the station. There is only one set that is a bit tricky to accommodate on Platform 2, but it is possible to time it so that it only really needs to use platform 2. In my head at any rate.  The Vale of Rheidol set The Vale of Rheidol set (VOR set) is the most complete set on the railway. It comprises of two Dundas VoR carriages and the VoR brake van. This set can be operated from both platforms, but fits more effectively on Platform 2. The livery is a fictional combination of Cream and Brunswick Green. This is the standard Bron Effans Livery and Iam tentatively planning to build more carria...

I have espoused the virtues of the Dundas Vale of Rheidol Carriages for some time now. I had decided that the third one would be a rough representation of Coach 24 from the Welsh Highland Railway. This smartly presented carriage boasts a wonderfully deep red livery, which I have tried to replicate.  Fresh from the paint bench I have finished the layering stage of the painting process and will soon begin adding the seating to the interior of the carriage.  The roof requires a few flourishes to ensure that the coat is even, but this has turned out very well. I just need to achieve a similar finish with the observation carriage and the B set will be complete for the railway. On test with the VoR set. Testing of this carriage has revealed that Platform 1 of Effans Uchaf can comfortably hold 3 of these larger carriages. I have three full carriage sets that are more or less complete and can be utilised together. I intend to focus on the completion of these ca...

The restoration of the Prince locomotive continues apace. In the last blog I mentioned that I was planning on restoring the tender and painting the whole model as one to make sure the outcome was consistent.  Reunited with the tender I have completed the first two layers of the locomotive and added a coupler and some brass handrails to the tank to elevate its look and quality.  Close up of the new details I have only added the coupling that came with the model to the front. I plan on replacing this with a Greenwich coupling soon, so that it is fully compatible with the rest of the rolling stock fleet.  During the first running test after painting. The restoration of this ugly duckling is coming on a treat. I commented the other day that it may not be the best kit in the world or the best build but I love how this little engine is coming on and can't wait to get it finished to a satisfactory standard. More to come soon...

You may remember that, a few months back, I had made the decision to convert the A1 diesel locomotive into a Perma-quip style vehicle that would be used on permanent way workings along the railway. I did not like the outcome of the first time I painted it. The yellow looked disgusting and I was not at all satisfied with the overall quality of what I had produced. So I took the decision to strip this paintwork off and start again. Research and discussion led me to the conclusion that yellow is a very tricky colour to get right and I could not rush into it.  I stripped the paint back and have made use of some basecoat paint from Games-Workshop, which would act as a good primer for future coats of yellow. Below are two pictures; one of the 'primer' coat and one with the first layer of yellow. I think you will agree that it looks better already. I have also began the process of transforming the N-gauge wagon chassis into a trailer vehicle for the main ve...

When I started the restoration and completion of the Prince model I was aware that there were no real running issues with the locomotive itself, but I could tell that there may be some issues with the tender on the pointwork as the flanges on the wheels were far too large for the frog sections of the points.  The new wheelsets in place. I tried to sand them down a little but there was still an issue with the tender derailing so I have replaced the wheelsets on the tender and tested it. So far there have been no issues navigating the pointwork. Finally behaving herself. All that remains to be done with Prince is a coat of paint on and the brake pipes to be added. There is a bar on the tender that needs straightening and it will be a finished and functioning locomotive. I plan to run this with the main two carriage rakes. However, there are some four wheeled Ffestiniog kits that have cuaght my eye to run with this engine...

When I purchased the Green Arrow observation coach off a well known website, I knew that it would require some restoration work. I have so far, strenghtened the sides of the carriage and managed to strip away the vast majority of the paintwork so that I can apply a new livery to the bodywork without concealing any of the wonderful detail that is on the carriage. It is going to dry overnight and I am hoping to begin the process of giving it a livery tomorrow. Another thing to note in this post is that I have added a picture of the Prince tender and the Banana permanant way locomotive after they have been treated with the stripper. I really was not happy with the yellow livery, it looked rather comical and the paint had not dried evenly, probably due to my bad painting. However, watch this space as I have a rough plan forming with regards to a new livery for this locomotive.