Bron Effans

I have opted to signal my layout in a similar style to that of the WHR with the ladybird style signal boards. I am not going to add movement or lighting as the signal is intended more as a sort of warning board, than an actual signal. I have used components from an ARB ModelCraft Ffestiniog Railway Disc signal kit. These are intended to move once a train has passed. I decided that I would have it as a static signal. This is mostly because my layout will be operated on a one engine in steam principle so I don't need an excessive amount of signalling. I have made provision for two train working by using this board as a warning measure to not proceed unless the road to the platform is clear. I do need to get a point indicator signal in the future, like there are on the WHR, but that is something I need to educate myself on.  I used the cast base and the pole to assemble the signal and glued the disc onto a piece of wire at the top with an endcap to make it look more presentable. ...

I dispensed with my old Vale of Rheidol carriages a few months ago and instantly missed having the "Welsh" style stock on the layout.  In all fairness they weren't the best looking carriages in the world but they were some of the first few models that I built. I decided that the new versions of these carriages would be built and painted simultaneously and given a much simpler livery. There is not really a lot to differ these carriages from the others save the livery so cue the montage of construction images. As you can see, they are near completion. I am waiting for some passengers to add to the interiors to give them a feel of being in regular use. I am happier with how these carriages have turned out. The simpler livery really sets them out amongst my other items of stock. I am hoping to complete them before long. This will take my carriage fleet to near 20 examples. I think I have enough now.

I was very fortunate to acquire a Five79 Tattoo locomotive kit for a very good price. I have set about building this little locomotive with aplomb. I have a special affinity for these little locomotives. There are three known examples of this locomotive in preservation. There is Stanhope, Edward Thomas and the Tattoo locomotive on the Corris Railway. I had decided that I wanted to model elements from all three of these locomotives to present a 'what if' example in service on the Bron Effans Railway. The kit lent itself to directly represent the bodywork and features of Edward Thomas. I chose the working gauge to be 2ft to match my railway and a red livery to emulate that of the Corris example.  I decided to go all out for this construction and treated myself to a N-Drive chassis to give reliable performance. This also negated the need to search for a second hand Bachmann chassis that may not have been reliable due to their age. The N-Drive chassis arrived very quickly and I...

I have been experiencing a malaise of late with my modelling taking somewhat of a back-step to current events (at the time of writing 31/05/20). I have been trying to lull myself back into the comfort zone with some small projects to build my confidence back before I tackle my planned summer projects, more on that later.  I have built a few small kits to pass some of the time. First is the Rodney Stenning Corris Wagon kit. I have been on the look out for a wagon in this style for some time, as I have been dabbling with the idea of expanding the freight fleet of the railway to give a bit of variety in the trains I run.  This little wagon was unbelievably small. It is easily the smallest piece of rolling stock that the line currently has. Shown with a 5p for scale. I have had to add weight to this little wagon for it to stay on the tracks. It weighed less than 15 grams when I weighed it. I have added some scrap pieces of white metal to the floor and will fill it wit...

In April I bought a pair of Kato chassis off a friend in the 009 group. I took the opportunity that came with the lockdown to construct a new freelance diesel for the fleet. I wanted to use a pre-made cab and build the bodywork around that in order to build something that looked vaguely realistic. I found a Funkey bodykit from A1 models and began to deconstruct the kit to make the locomotive. I wanted a more central cab position to create something that was reminiscent of Castell Caernarfon. I  I drew up a rough sketch and set about creating the bodywork from 40 thou styrene.  I used the brass grills to add to the sides of the body. I added brassrod for the handrails and a few extra details from one of the Harlech Castle models.  I initially gave it a basecoat in Games Workshop paint which brought it to life as a something that could be realised in real life. There are several details that need to be added to the model but I am inte...

Work on the WHR set took a pace in the last few days. I painted the interior for 2080 and fixed it to the carriage chassis. Now that it is inside the carriage it is not too easy to see the myriad of mistakes that were made with the construction. However, I will address this some other time.  I won’t go into too much detail regarding the construction of the gangways, as I’ve already done so in a previous post. Once they were attached, I painted the same way as I did on Dulas and set the train up on the line to judge the outcome.  I am very happy with the outcome of this part of the project. There are a couple of areas that need some attention on this set but I am really happy with how I’ve turned these quintessential European carriages into something that you might see trundling around the Welsh countryside.