Bron Effans

Work continues apace on the DMU with the arrival of the second Kato chassis for the second car of the unit.  It was very apparent, even on the ambulance bogies, that I would need to rethink the coupling situation and come up with something more effective. Fortunately, there was some brass rod left over from the Vale of Elan build which I created a basic bar coupling between both power units. This was attached to each of the N Gauge couplers to allow the bar some movement when traversing the sharp bend on the points.  I am happy to report that this has proven successful and the two power units provide a fairly rapid acceleration and steady crawl. The next step is to finish the bodyshells. I have had to order a new roof for car 2 as I have damaged the original but that’s only a minor issue.

I have been continuing to work on the DMU as it has been a really interesting project for me. Both cars are now more or less assembled and the first few layers of paint have been applied. I have had issues with the Railmatch BR Green paint owing to the fact that it is water based and has taken several layers to get right.  Both cars are shown below. The few people that have seen it have been impressed with the initial efforts, some commenting that it has the look reminiscent of a Class 319. There is still a long way to go with this model, as I am waiting on delivery of the second Kato chassis so that it will have a consistent look and will be able to fully move under it's own power with ease, Car A is currently on an ambulance chassis. I need to sort out some front skirts for both cars to replicate battery boxes and form snowploughs for the front, just like a BREL sprinter which is the look that I am aiming for. The lead car is currently on an ambulance chass...

I have begun construction of my third freelance rolling stock project for my layout. I took the decision to retire the banana and repurpose the chassis for another project. I had purchased the bodyshell for the 009 gauge railbus from Budget Model Railways and had swapped some components around so that I could create a two car DMU for the railway.  I began the construction process in a slightly different way to aim for some uniformity of the two carriages. I painted all of the components in their base colour before assembly to make sure that the two carriages would look identical. Past experience with these 3D printed kits has taught me that they are very simple to construct.  I used my regular method of applying a base coat of cheap acrylic before using railmatch colours to create the final finish. At the time of writing this is how the model is looking. I would like to pass on my thanks to both Mike and Douglas at Budget model railways for all of their ...

I have been focussing on the rolling stock and electrics, much to the neglect of the scenery of the layout itself. I have been watching some tutorials on Budget model railways on how to achieve a good standard of scenery without breaking the bank and I have been working it out during a bout of the flu. The redundant space before. I wanted a hill towards the west end of the station so that there is a feature for the trains to run under into the fiddle yard. I have used parcel packing to fill out the redundant space and have added a layer of plaster over the top of it so that there is a proper surface to add some buildings on and possibly continue the mine railway in future. The packing behind the retaining wall. I have added more packing behind the retaining wall and will cover it in plaster once I am satisfied with how the hill has ended up.

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...

So I have nearly finished my work on the two Budget model railways carriages that I bought in May. I have to admit I am struggling a little bit with the roof on one of the carriages. It has warped a little bit and does not fit snugly into the cavity at the top of the roof. I am pondering employing my wife's hairdryer to remedy the issue and it should sit more flushly with the line of the roof.  In terms of painting, there has been some good progress made. It has taken several coats of paint to make it appear as solid as I want. The bodyshell is quite porous so a lot has seeped into the gaps. Overall it has been quite a straightforward kit for my railway and they do look quite good. The picture below is from a couple of days ago but it does show how I have started to line the detail on the carriages. The mock "Carmine and Cream" livery looks quite effective from a distance. 

After my jaunt to the Rainford, meet the other week, I procured an old Graham Farish 08 chassis. It took me a while to find a suitable kit for the chassis, as most people have beaten me to the really elaborate ones. In keeping with my railway's theme of tourism, I have elected for a loco that would look suitable pulling passenger stock. To that end I have purchased the bodyshell for a Baguley style 0-6-0 Diesel locomotive.  Picture courtesy of Ebay. My first diesel locomotive on Kato 103 Chassis. I don't think that it will be as large as the other diesel, but I am keen to show a different style of locomotive with connecting rods. I am also thinking it would benefit from a lovely BR Blue Livery. However, that is possibly destined for another locomotive down the line. For now five locomotives is enough for my layout. I must concentrate on getting it built.

This weekend was rather mixed. I went to my first ever meet up of the 009 society in Rainford. I loved meeting new people and managed to get hold of a lovely looking Lilliput steam engine and a Graham Farish 08 chassis. I have also purchased some points and some flexitrack. Quite a successful Saturday. When it came to Sunday I discovered some limitations of the products that I had bought. The Lilliput, as lovely as it is, is old. It needs a lot of tender loving care to make it serviceable. The motor appears to arc when it is moving forward. I am hoping that this is only a minor setback, as I have painted it in Southern Green to emulate the Manning Wardles of the Lynton railway.  I have also decided, unfortunately, to sell my three Langley carriages as they are too big for any of my fleet to manage. I am instead going to concentrate on the aquisition of Dundas Kit carriages. I have seen the Bro Madog carriage kit and some VOR carriage kits that should fit the bill, so there is ...

I've begun to  build my very first building for Effans Uchaf. During my most recent venture to Hattons, I noticed a Wills kit for a small ground level signal box... Perfect! I've gone for a yellow and red colour scheme, similar to the carriages and also as close as I can get to the colours of the signal box at Bolton Abbey on the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. This is another throwback to my childhood and one which I thought appropriate. There are a few more flourishes around this theme that I am working on in my head. More to follow...

So I haven't made the greatest amount of progress until now. This weekend I had the opportunity to visit the famous 'Hattons' near Liverpool. I had initially gone in with a list of things I would want to purchase, and ended up with quite a good deal more than I had bargained for. However, all of this is for the best as there has been quite a shift in terms of the whole project taking shape.  Track  I have finally secured some 009 gauge track for the layout. This is quite a coup for me, as I had experienced a bitter defeat with the old N gauge track that I had used on my old layout. The Peco track really is something to behold. I hadn't realised how good it could potentially look on the railway, but I am a convert. So far there is about a full metre of 009 gauge track on the layout. I am going to bite the bullet and get the mainline points as a Manning Wardle is just too gorgeous to pass up.  Rolling stock The rolling stock side of the layout is where I am maki...