Bron Effans

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...

I have finally got round to constructing interiors for the 3 Liliput carriages that I bought last year. I wanted to fit them out in a similar manner to those that operate on the Welsh Highland Railway. They are set out in a 2 + 1 formation with two seats on one side and 1 single seat on the other. In Ffestiniog and WHR parlance this is known as the clock side. I had originally aimed to build the interior for the pullman carriage today, however I was unsure how to build high backed chairs that are on the WHR. I took the decision to fit out the "Brake" coach for this rake and set about the process of building the interior with the plasticard. I cut three identical flooers for the three coaches and went from there. The basic interior was driven by the need to have a toilet cubicle at the rear end of the carriage as it travels up the line. I started with that as my basis and then worked from there to try and keep the seats the same size and level.  I then added small str...

I have completed the paintwork on the new GWR Buffet car. It has turned out very well and I am pleased with how I have managed to relivery something without wrecking it.  I still need to find some suitable lettering to bestow this carriage it's proper GWR credentials. It will be added to trains during summer running as additional coaching stock of high season trains.  I am envisaging running a rake with this carriage included alongside the WHR set with the Pullman Dulas. The rolling stock rota still needs some work.

As part of my work to bring the Vale of Rheidol and NWNGR Carriages to a good standard, I have had to overcome some issues with bowing in some of the carriages. It was worse on VoR No.2 where the lack of seats had produced a severe warp along both sides of the body.  I have attempted to remedy this by adding in the benches to reduce the warping, which seems to have had a positive effect. Howver, I seem to have misplaced 3 benches for this carriage, which means I will need to source some new benches once funds become available.  In other news the detailing on 24 and the other VoR Carriage has taken a pace with the construction of their seating and a refreshed paint job.

I set out my vision for this year on New Years Day where I mentioned that my fleet of 15 carriages needed attention. To that end I undertook work to finish some detail on one of the VoR carriages and also my copy of Coach 24. I must confess I am a little annoyed with myself for the way that I have treated this model. I bought it with every intention of doing a good job and it has unfortunately languished by the side of the layout for at least 5 months with only the basecoat of paint on it.  I have taken my detail brush to the droplight windows and have touched up the drab brown and made it look more like wood on the frames. I think they’re looking a lot better now and I have also turned this new colour on the interior of the carriage. I hope this will look better on the layout. 

I have reached the point of finishing the exterior of my first Zillerbahn carriage conversion. This one is my interpretation of Carriage 2060 from the Welsh Highland Railway. This carriage was originally from Romania I believe and needed some alteration for use on the Welsh Highland Railway. I have created my own homage to this carriage using the Carriage with the rounder windows. It is longer than 2060 so I have given it the moniker of 2070 and will build an interior in the future. Carriage 2070 on the right of the picture before conversion and relivery. I have tried to replicate the livery of the Welsh Highland using Indian Red and Cream to mimic their livery. I started the process off with my traditional undercoat using Games Workshop layering paint as a primer coat for the new livery. The Carriage in it's new base coat using paints from the Games Workshop paint range.   I then began the process of applying the new livery which was a very time consuming process...

Happy New Year to each and everyone and welcome to the new decade! In the last post I promised that I would give an update on the carriage situation and explain what I intended to do with the burgeoning fleet of carriages that I had acquired over the last few months. As I explained in a previous post, I was planning on running carriages in fixed rakes so that there would be a theme for each train that I ran. At the time of writing I own 15 carriages in varying stages of completion. They can be formed into 5 rakes that can be accommodated at Effans Uchaf. They are named: VoR Set. Consisting 2 Dundas Vale of Rheidol style carriages. NWNGR Set. Consisting 1 Dundas Vale of Rheidol carriage and a Bro Madog Observation Carriage.  Short Bogie Set. Consisting of 3 freelance bogie carriages. Bug Box Set. Consisting of 5 Bug box style carriages of various builds.  WHR Set. Consisting of two Liliput Carriages 2070 and the new Pullman Carriage( Name TBD) The hitherto unnam...

After the successful conversion of 2070 I decided that it was high time I converted another member of the new arrivals into another carriage based around the WHR livery. I liked the difference in window style with them being large single panes much like those on the Winson carriages on the WHR.   I started the conversion process by basecoating it with the usual red base paint and attempted to try my hand at freehand painting. Ultimately it yielded mixed results.  Freehand basecoat Tape blocked basecoat. I replaced the windows and it looks like it belongs on one of the WHR rakes, despite it's European pedigree. This carriage will be known as 2080. 2080 and 2070 together. Both carriages together in Effans Uchaf.  Next week I will be turning the third Liliput example into a mock Pullman carriages. All three carriages will need interiors building, which I will be attempting in the new year.  

I watched the latest episode of moving pictures today. https://youtu.be/zS2YtEPVZwk  I was inspired by the site of the newly restored Baldwin 608 and it’s run from Porthmadog to Beddgelert. I have always been an admirer of the Baldwin’s and made it a priority to get one for myself on Bron Effans. I chose a rendition of 590 just because I loved how it looked in its livery and it’s connection to one of my favourite narrow gauge railways.  I decided it would be a bit of fun to try and recreate some of the sites seen in the video with my own carriage rake and Prince locomotive. Here are some photos of me trying to capture some of the magic I saw in the clip.