GaerwenBR

Many thanks PMP...exactly what I was looking for regards Roger

Hi all looking for a bit of advice from you....I am building a rake of these tanks for my layout, Aberdaron Harbour and was wondering what would be the correct livery for them. I am planning most to convey fuel oil for export to Ireland and a few carrying petroleum. I am assuming the fuel oil tanks would be all black, with the petroleum tanks being black chassis, light grey tank body with the side frames red....my layout is set early to mid 60s.....if these tanks are incorrect for the 60s, well I can live with that......cost of new models and of course Rule 1 thanks for any info Roger

Hi Nick thanks for the interest and comment.....I did think about loco facilities but in reality would such a small station command them? I know this is fiction, but I am trying to keep fairly prototypical. My first thoughts were to have them as carriage sidings and imagine all locos travelled the 25 miles or so back to Pwllheli for servicing, or do you think that would be too far?....or I could imagine they were just the other side of the bridge (to hide the fiddle yard) I had seen the Stranraer thread but not followed too deeply....will do now, thanks for the suggestion Just back from running the dog on Newborough beach and starting to build a rake of Dapol tanks regards Roger

Morning all thanks Graham, it's going to take a while but so enjoyable.... I forgot to post the trackplan of board 2 which joins the other at left side....not sure if I'm doing this right but below should be the trackplan (Anyrail) of second board. Sitting on Anglesey today working out a rough timetable while some glue dries on goods shed. I appreciate less is more but I'm not a fan of looking at an empty station for an hour until the next train is due. Am planning a daily service of 3 coaches to Paddington (CCE), similar to Euston (Welshamn) via Bangor, then locals to Bangor, Llandudno Jnc, Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth plus the night train to Cardiff but not sure if I have the room for sleeping cars......best wait until all track laid and check platform length. Anyway, back to planning....hopefully trackplan will appear below regards to all Roger

Hi again right, baseboards......the start of all good layouts! The layout is being built in my spare room and will be L shaped. framing is pretty standard...50mm x 25mm softwood, ladder construction with 9mm plywood tops. The scenic section is 2.95m x 72cm, tapering down to 40cm, then turns left through 90 degrees, into a small fiddle yard on the other wall, 1.60m x 45cm. If I disguise the fiddle yard entrance I might just get a Black 5 + 4 Mk 1s, but we'll see. Control is DC, simple wiring in sections with some turnouts electrofrog, some insulfrog....all Seep motor controls. I did toy with the idea of DCC, but the present high cost of locos really dictated that I stay with simple DC, after all this is not an exhibition layout and with only one controller (me) and one loco moving, I reckon DC will suit the layout fine. The loco stud is limited at present, comprising of Hornby Black 5 45274 Hornby 4F 44198 Bachmann 3F 47673 Bachmann 2251 2277 Bachmann 3MT 82001 but with a birthday and Christmas coming up I can hear an 8F and a Hall coming!! Stock is slowly being built up, coaches a mixture of suburban and corridor Mk1...all maroon except for 3 choc & cream for the CCE. Goods stock is a mixture of several makers, but more and more Dapol kits. I find that suitably weighted and with Hornby metal wheels and Bachmann couplings these are as good as anything else, especially at present day costs. Finally, buildings...these are a mixture of Superquick, Metcalfe, Scalescenes and scratch built....but all the kits are being modified and covered with Scalescenes textures....trying to get an individual feel to the layout. So, that's all for today......take care all Roger

OK, backstory to Aberdaron Harbour......first, the actual history.. Aberdaron is a small village near the tip of the Lleyn peninsular in North Wales. The Cambrian Railway opened their station at Pwllheli on Thursday 10 October 1867. Manganese had been mined at Rhiw, a few miles from Aberdaron, from 1840? and 2 jetties were built to ship it out, the first at Porth Cadlan using donkeys to haul the carts and the other at Porth Ysso where a light railway was built from the mine to the jetty.Between 1840 and 1945 195,000 tons of manganese were mined, with a peak of 17,000 tons in 1906. As you may know, manganese is used in the production of steel and the mine closed early in the 20th century....but what if.... fictional history a new station was built in Pwllheli in 1873 and the decision taken to extend the railway to Rhiw to capture the manganese traffic flows, and on to Aberdaron in 1876. A harbour breakwater was built as Aberdaron is open to the prevailing weather from the Southwest. This was built to give Cambrian Railways, later GWR, a departure point in North Wales for sailings to Ireland. As a result, Aberdaron began to grow and a new station was constructed in 1907, albeit in a very confined site. Also, as the mine at Rhiw was hemmed in by the terrain, no runround loop was built so trains deposited empty hoppers in the mine sidings and full hoppers were taken the 5 miles to Aberdaron where the loco could runround. After 1945 Abersoch and Aberdaron began to grow through tourism and passenger sailings to Ireland continued alongside Holyhead, together with exports of fuel oil from a dedicated wharf. Due to the traffic flows, the junction at Afon Wen was modified to a triangular junction to do away with trains having to reverse there. So, that's where we are in 1962/3 with Aberdaron portions of London trains such as the Cambrian Coast Express to Paddington and The Welshman to Euston, plus of course the The Cambrian Sleeper from Aberdaron to Cardiff, timed to link with the arrival of the ferry from Wexford in Ireland. Totally improbable of course, but hey....it's my trainset and as always, Rule 1 applies. regards, Roger

Hi all well, is this fourth time lucky? I have started 3 previous threads but due to many circumstances they haven't reached anything like completion. They were Port Dinllaen in 2012, Chester Northgate in 2013 and Cemaes Bay, Anglesey in 2018. I've always enjoyed seeing ex GWR and ex LMS locos working together (goes back to being a teenager on Chester station in early 60s) and wanted a layout to reflect that interest.....also I enjoy all the scheming and planning that "might have been" layouts bring. So, Aberdaron Harbour is another might have been had the line from Pwllheli been extended along the coast to Aberdaron, which lies near the tip of the Lleyn peninsular. Below is the loose trackplan and although quite busy, I hope it conveys a small but busy port station built in a confined space, any of you who have visited Aberdaron will know just how small it is. Anyway, here it is, a full rationale behind the layout will be uploaded shortly.... Roger

Hi Lissa and Dan, thanks for the comments. Just to clarify as my track plan is not quite clear, the layout is on 3 baseboards, working from right to left. 1 is 48" by 24", 2 is 72" by 15" and 3 (L shaped fiddle yard) is 60" by 15". Not decided yet which uncoupling system will be used but as I have quite a lot of stock from 1960s and 1980s (all Bachmann except Grange, Black 5 and 8F) changing couplings will be expensive but we'll see. The layout sits on top of a row of kitchen cabinets from the B&Q sale in the spare bedroom which doubles up as hobby room ( flightsim computers as well as layout, and books.....lots of books!!!) Progress is rather slow at the moment but as I said earlier I am taking my time getting the track layout just as I want it before committing to fixing the track down. Today I am adjusting the track to keep any turnouts clear of the baseboard joints, just for ease of wiring etc. The layout is analogue with sections switched out, again to keep the cost down......lots of locos against a few sound DCC locos, just my preference. Anyway, back to it, hope to start fixing track today working from left to right. What I would love is if any signalling gurus out there could cast an eye over the track plan and suggest where any ground signals would go I would be really grateful. regards to all Roger

Happy New Year all, trust you all enjoyed the festivities? I have spent quite a while playing around with the track but it didn't look quite right, so I have removed one siding from the goods yard....I think I was making the old mistake of trying to cram too much into a small space. Also, I have altered the turnouts at the station throat, making them right hand instead of left hand, thereby converting the approaches to double track. I know the branch was and still is single track (old trackbed still in place) but with my level of intended service I need two tracks. I think it looks better and have spent a few hours with trackwork getting the feel for it. I have also introduced a small parcels platform in the bay. I am still not decided whether to use Scalescenes or Metcalfe for my buildings.......I think Scalescenes look more realistic but do I want to spend hours cutting out card and getting all the angles correct.......or shall I use the Metcalfe and alter them with Scalescenes papers? Anyway, here's the altered trackplan, any ideas or comments welcomed regards Roger

Hi again, yet another wet day on the island!!! Now the boards are complete I have been laying out the track before fixing it down, as you know better than me what works on a plan doesn't always look right when laid out. So I have been making a few changes to give me more room for vehicles in the goods yard and the addition of catch points between the yard and the running line. Still got to figure out what signals and where, apart from the two platform starters......I have never really understood what ground signals are needed and where they go, so if any signal experts are out there please offer any advice as apart from being really appreciated I need to have all the info before track laying commences after Christmas. regards to all Roger

Hi all, pouring down with rain on Anglesey so a few quite moments here with the computer. All cork now glued down onto baseboards but still not totally happy with the track plan and what possibilities there are to model. I have altered the track plan as shown and am thinking of having a brewery (Anglesey Brewing Company?) at the right rear, allowing grain, botanicals, botttles etc to come inbound in hoppers/vans and gin outbound in vans. This idea came about after buying a bottle of Aber Falls gin made in Abergwyngregyn near Llanfairfechan.......mmmmmmmmmm, you should try it!!!! Anyway, still not totally happy with ideas but it would allow traffic from 1960s as well as 1980s so from that point of view it works. As Christmas is coming I have treated myself to some locos and stock from Olivias Trains in Sheffield, as I have an idea of having a portion of the Cambrian Coast Express splitting from the Pwllheli train at Afon Wen and termination at Cemaes behind grange class, also a Manchester bound train to join with a portion from Llandudno at Llandudno Junction. Isn't history fantastic when you can take part of reality then bend it to your will? OK, that's all for now, here is modified tyrack plan, any comments most welcome Roger

Thanks Joe so here is the proposed trackplan at the moment, but no track has been laid yet. I am conscious of not putting anything in place that is definitely 1960s or 1980s, except items that can be easily removed....like water cranes, vehicles etc.. I am still not sure if this is possible but as I have quite a large collection of stock from both eras I am determined to do it. From the track plan you will see that three lines lead to the small fiddle yard, the main line to Gaerwen and onto Bangor or Caernarfon, the second to Port Cemaes and the third to Wylfa power station. Construction of this started in 1963 so the layout timescale is around late 63/64 giving me the oportunity to bend history and have materials brought in by rail, both from Northwest England but also cement from Padeswood Flintshire and steel girders from South Wales via Cambrian lines. WE'll see how this pans out but I am deliberately taking my time before track laying to ensure I am clear in my own mind what I am trying to achieve and ensure that I provide room/facilities for the traffic flows. Just received an 8F and Black 5 from Olivias this morning so it's off to unpack those. Any comments on track plan or projected traffic flows would be hugely appreciated guys Roger

Evening all, can someone jog my memory as to how you transpose a trackplan constructed with the free version of AnyRail to a jpg file then upload it onto here? Any info would be appreciated while I continue gluing down cork with PVA. Thanks, Roger

Good morning all, thanks to John and Joe for your kind words.......it is very hard on the run up to Christmas. Boards have been constructed and layout will measure 10' by 5' in an L configuration, the 5' being the fiddle yard. Gluing down the cork this morning and trying to remember how to add the trackplan!!!!! It is based roughly on the original Amlwch plan with the addition of a bay platform and larger yard. I am not planning any loco facilities as I don't believe a small station like this would warrant them. Still toying with facilities and thinking of introducing ABC, the Anglesey Board Co which will allow OTA timber loads inbound and finished board outbound....anybody know how timber was transported in 1960s steam era? OK, back to PVAing and trying to upload the trackplan regards Roger

Hi all, it's been a couple of years since I posted. My previous layout Chester Northgate didn't progress past track laying due to my wife's illness, as she needed full time care. Sadly she passed away in October leaving a huge hole in my life. As part of healing I am picking up railway modelling again as the research and planning, as you all know, takes up quite a lot of time. Northgate was dismantled and this layout will be all new track and stock. First, a little history. As part of railway expansion in North Wales, the Anglesey Central Railway was planned in 1858 to run from Gaerwen to Amlwch and onto Cemaes Bay and Valley, to rejoin the main Holyhead-Bangor line, but only the line to Amlwch was built. Another attempt was made to construct a Cemaes line in 1890, but once again it was not to be. In my world, the line from Rhosgoch to Cemaes was built (Rhosgoch is a few miles short of Amlwch) and the town developed as a seaside holiday destination, as it has indeed done. As part of railway development, once the main line joined the mainland after crossing the Britania Bridge, a junction was constructed to allow traffic to travel west towards Caernarfon and onto Afonwen, thereby giving the GWR access to Anglesey. This proved most useful in the 1960s when Wylfa Nuclear power station was built (started 1963) as steel girders and plate from South Wales was brought direct to the site. But my interests are 1960s steam and also 1980s blue diesel s when 25s and 40s reigned supreme on the North Wales main line. What I am planning is to construct the layout whereby I can run both steam era and diesel era stock with minimal changes. The main differences I can foresee is locos and stock, road vehicles and possibly signage. 1960s would see traffic for Wylfa as steel, cement, sand and aggregates while passenger movements would see locals from Llandudno Junction and Bangor with Western region from Aberystwyth and Pwllheli, further traffic from Manchester Central and Leeds as holiday specials. Town freight would see the normal items like general goods, fertiliser etc. 1980s traffic would see FNA nuclear flasks, general equipment etc while town traffic would be the usual items. Both scenarios would see fuel tankers for the small fishing fleet that would have grown due to rail access. So, that,s the basics. A trackplan has been done via AnyRail and as soon as I have labelled everything I will post it. If you have any comments, ideas etc for further traffic flows or thoughts on running two timescales then I would be most interested to read them. regards to all as you prepare for Christmas Roger