ChrisN

Alan, Thank you. I may have know that at some time, but of course I had forgotten it. It also means I can put the right wagons on the right trains. I assume that 'Evans and Bevan', (lovely name), and Hedleys both Collieries in Neath would have supplied anthracite?

Thank you, that seems a really useful tool, and er, a good rabbit hole to disappear down.

Jonathan. I think I have seen that picture before. Fascinating. I wonder how far down the colliery it was; was it dug out especially so she could stand up? I have a POW sides Black Park Colliery, Ruabon, and there could be a second. I do like the look of yours, well done, Was the Coal and Coke Co. a Factor, merchant or colliery?

James, Thank you. I did know about this, and in fact this is how I know I have the size of Mr Price's house correct as the side I am not modelling, in the recent past has put in a planning application for a balcony. (I think it is more to have doors open to let in the sea air than to sit and watch cars in the car park.) This is a good reminder as there are buildings I need to know the exact sizes of, or rather it would be better than doing it from my photos and measurements. (Criccieth Chapel for instance.)

Shaun, Thank you. I think it appears big next to the Airfix Inn, but it is also larger than 'Sportsman's Cottage' which in real life is larger than the cottages next to it. This is the prototype of Sportsman's and yes, that green next to it covers a cottage. Mr Price is a local and has Welsh as his first language so I think he would have no problems with the older locals. As for the contractor, he just needs an interpreter, full stop.

Nick, Yes, I think it looks more like this one.

Yes, and of course we have the refreshment rooms, which must be a rich source of material. How about Owen? How is he getting on with the doctor's daughter, or has he found someone else? Who knows? (I think the ladies in the refreshment rooms are too old for him.)

Yes that is the book. I think sometimes, although it may be someone different he is referred to as Mike Morton-Lloyd. I am working from a memory that is not as good as it was. Yes, there is still hope. Eventually I might build my own, but in the meantime.............

Yes no one really photographed much on the Cambrian, let alone wagons. I have the Morton book, (?) and I have a a list of the POW sides wagons that correspond, some of which I have waiting to be built. What we really want, is some wagons from around Wrexham, or Ruabon, or into Cheshire. I do mention this on the Rapido thread in the hope that someone might take it up.

Thank you. I think most people would find it very boring. Just normal everyday life. People working hard and trying to get on with each other. Not much industry, plenty of hotels on the sea front, lovely beach, (of course), a boy's boarding school, and a girl's boarding school, whose pupils are rigorously kept apart, half a dozen churches, (not counted them up really), a happy little community with two or three gossips so that everyone knows everyone else's business, and no TV cameras trying to rake up things to keep people from switching off as it is ordinary boring life. I had thought of writing a blog of interviews with locals, but I have not done so, 1) because I want the layout to look more like the town before I do, and 2) I think it would probably be misunderstood, as the people would speak with the mindset of 1895, although written in a way to poke fun at some things, ( "What is the point of giving bursaries to local girls to go to Lady Gwyneth's school. What is the point of educating girls anyway?)

These look very good, well done. I am probably biased but figures are generally the poor relations on model railways, yet the railways existed for people. I think the Stadden figures are the best. You have to be careful though as sometimes you might find them posting on your thread. (Trust me I know, 🙂.)

"Hello, I am not sure that you know me. I am Mr Parry, the Traeth Mawr Coal Merchant. Now you see my wagon at the end there. That has proper buffers, not like these two. Now you see these are nicely painted, not like mine, I am still waiting for the contractor to finish it off! Now where is he, you may ask? That is a good question. He is around somewhere, but not here which is why I am speaking to you. Last time I saw him he was making windows, and not doing a very good job of it. 'Working it out as I go along,' he said, 'once I know what I am doing I will be quicker.' It makes you want to cry. These are windows for Mr Price's house, poor man. I feel really sorry for him. He is a nice man, a bit pompous at times but really nice. The contractor has had him locked up somewhere, just to stop him complaining. His poor wife has had to go and live with her mother in Dolgelly, took four of her children as well. Young Owen mind, I think he is enjoying it, says he is Acting Station Master, or some such thing, even when there are more senior staff members around. He sleeps in the Station Masters office, except on Saturday night when he catches the last train out, stays with his Granny and his family, and then comes back on the first train on a Monday morning. He sits in the guards van, jumps off as soon as it stops, runs across the tracks, no footbridge yet, opens everything up, and sells tickets for the first train in from Pwllheli. The Foreman Porter Mr Richards is not happy about this as the station is supposed to be open from 6am, so he comes in a six and open the goods shed. Me, I am glad I live further out in Traeth Mawr, as I have my house, and very comfortable it is too." "Now why am I here? It is these two wagons. What are they doing here? In my siding? I only hope they do not make me pay 'demurrage' on them." "Why are they here? I heard someone somewhere say they came 'quickly', or something like that. They are a bit far away, I mean we usually get our coals from the North Wales coal fields, or maybe Cheshire, so maybe they could not get the right contracts. They seem a bit clean to me, but still. As one has no coal in, well not much anyway, lets turn it over and have a look." "See, brakes on one side, and stuff for the buffers I think. Let's take a look from the other side." "Well, not sure why they are here but I need to get the coal out of the other one before it disappears. As he says, 'If you have been thanks for looking'"

Lovely specimen Shaun. It is a bit close to the house so you will need to be careful it does not undermine its foundations. 🙂

Shaun, It takes a brave man to do an actual scale size tree, as most people are worried that it will look too big and overpower the layout. Yours looks really good, and I like the way you have changed the colour of the grass underneath the trees. I hope the dof does not miss its bed stuffing and comes to look for it.

That is interesting. The Cambrian were using 4-4-0 for their passenger expresses from 1878, but express might be typed 'express' as they went nowhere very fast.

Great work Mike. I assume your original one has bogies that pivot, or does it just sit there looking pretty?

I find it interesting that they went for bogies but retained a single driving wheel. It would be interesting to know their thinking. Still, the Pearson one is quite beautiful in its own way.

Well done Mike. I can see why they were not adopted as a standard design. I can also see why they were not express engines, as the stress on the boiler could have been disastrous.

I have a new laptop which runs Windows 11. I have kept an old Windows 10 laptop going as I knew it worked with my machine, Cameo 2 I think. I thought I would try my new one on the cutter and much to my surprise the cutter saw the laptop and it all worked as it should. The Silhouette Studio I am running is 4.5.738

Well, as no one else is posting, (not much anyway). You may have wondered what has happened to the progress on the platform, well it has stalled. First some pictures. The idea of making my own paving slabs seemed a good one before I started, well cheap anyway. The slabs have not laid very flat, but worse they are all slightly different sizes. That is cope-able with, but I have compounded it by starting at the ends and not the middle. Real people, that is 1:1 people in the real world start in the middle. That also may be mean that I can make it work. More worryingly, is that I assumed that the slabs would be full length and half length so that you got interlacing. Having got almost this far I had another look at paved platforms and found that they are laid with full length and two thirds length slabs. What I have done so far is not redeemable. I could continue with different size slabs but the most obvious bit is wrong. I could live with all of this except that sticking down an infinite number of paving slabs is not the most riveting of pastimes. That coupled with the above has meant I have come to a halt. I may continue when the warmer weather comes and I can model on the dining table and get the whole lot on there together, and sort the front where the porch and the steps are. I normally only post on one topic, but not today. Mr Price's house. Did I say that the random stone I have used seems to make the stones too small? I will need to look at '0' gauge stone for other builds. Looking at the pictures I realised that every lintel was different. They had not used a standard size, so I had to do each one separately. I have tried to make them visible but I am not sure I have succeeded. The top and the sides were lined with 10 thou plasticard stuck on with tacky glue. Both PVA and tacky glue worked on the trial piece but PVA has not done well here. Tacky glue not much better. Window sills next. Lintels are quite clear now. The large window will have a bow window in it so no sill. The doors may have a step at the bottom, but that is more of a modern thing so I will have to think how I cover the foam. The doors may look large but they have a transom over the door. Talking of size, it looks a little big. Sorry for the lighting in the picture. If I could set the layout up permanently in the extension the lighting would be perfect, but as it is our main room for living in I think I would get a certain amount of resistance. These pictures of course do not show it up that well I have just noticed, but it does look big against everything else. My defence is that I have measured it, and it is two houses, and the prototype looks big. That is a three storey house next to it. My grandson says it looks large because the station building behind is single story. The buildings behind are a Metcalfe cottage and an Airfix Inn, both of which might be under scale. The half finished cottage, although the prototype is a large cottage is still smaller than it, height wise that is. (This is a semi-detached, so two houses really.) Magic you will say, nearly finished. No, stuck together with Blu Tak for when we had the invasion of grand children on Easter Saturday, which never happened as we all went to my eldest son's house. It is in the right position though. So, a long post about not much at all. Modelling may commence again soon. If you have been, thanks for looking.

There is a Pay and Display machine in St Helier Hospital in South London, well there was for a number of years up until 2019, which had the notice on its display, 'Change is possible'. Just what you want, an optimistic Parking Machine.

Apparently. so I was told, that originally Bread and Cheese hill got its name from when there were lots of Dutch living in the area. The locals, got fed up with this, and dragged them up to the top of the hill, where they asked them to say, "Bread and cheese". If they said, "Brot." they were thrown down the hill, as the Dutch did not pronounce 'bread' the same as the locals..

Shaun, I do like the ash tree covered in ivy. The brambles are good, but I think they need to be a little denser, they see a little to open.

Again very interesting. I wonder how many other models actually replicate how the prototype was built?

Fascinating Mike, That is a big driving wheel if it really was for a branch line. A fabulous looking engine.