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Module 1 - The Board that started it all..... South Wales Colliery

Gwynraven

Entry posted by Gwynraven in Layout Blog - Module 1 (The Colliery)

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So,I thought I'd share the first board/module I created.  It is the one where the recovered colliery model was recovered from the previous 3 in carnations of Gwynraven. It did have an extensive rebuild this time though.  The plan was to make a shunting plank the layout that would better suit the enforced house moves every few years but I just couldn't resist modelling a Western Region element too.  

 

So now the Colliery sits above the Western Region Branch, hardly prototypical but I needed to disguise the 2nd radius curves needed to make the layout a circle eventually. I scratchbuilt the buildings but the head frame is the Bachmann Model.  For the  models I used drawings in the book Modelling Aspects of the Coal Industry which has all the details you need and some inspirational photos too. The whole colliery lifts out to facilitate track cleaning. The washery is made of a domestic funnel, that I thought my wife had never used...... then of course she was looking for it!  I did confess.

 

The branch goes under the girder bridge and turns sharp right.  There is also a headshunt which acts as a place to park an Engine and Brake (having brought empties to the exchange sidings) or a 64xx and Autocoach or single car DMU, representing services to Brynmawr. 

 

The screens can only hold 6 wagons.  The one that you can see in the photo is part of the scenery.  It is there to disguise the fact that the stone wall that supports the screens is very curved because behind it is the Branchline curve.  The rails for this screen run in to the wall. The 3/4 wagon is my attempt at disguising the disappearing rails.

 

The buildings need a spruce up to repair some damage during storage and moving however I think they look the part.

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Gwynraven

A close up of the 3/4 wagon.  It looks ridiculous from above however at eye level (bearing in mind my layout is 4 feet above the floor) the deceit is more acceptable to my eye.

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Gwynraven

My boards are a scant 1 foot wide! So space is at a premium. I wanted a loco shed but the only place it would go was at the very front of the layout.  I'd rather it was not so close but needs must. At eye level,it forces me to look around it and acts as a view blocker.

 

You'll notice the coaling stage.  Not a normal feature of South Wales Colliery sheds I notice but I needed to cover the mechanism that joins and unclips the baseboards with something removable.  It works but I don't like the bulk of it. I may replace it later. Why? Because it spoils my view of the locomotives on shed.

 

The loco shed was the old Airfix kit with corrugated iron"wriggly tin"liberally applied.  It has an interior too and a stonebase to add variety to the endless red brick.

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