Adrock

I’m finally getting round to fitting the couplings. I can’t seeen to get the front coupling to hold by itself in the hole (which would be useful whilst the glue dries) - it’s almost as if it’s not quite deep enough. Has anyone observed and overcome this? The tender one will go in fine - does it foul the operation of the tension lock? I’ve tried swapping the two hooks over, with the same results, which rules out a hook problem. I’m very pleased with my crew though (even though the drivers hand had snapped off upon arrival!) Thanks.

Hi, Ive only recently discovered your thread but I must say that I’m envious of your well structured and tidy approach to the woodwork, electrics and stock organisation! It’s something that I also aspire to, although I’m not quite as far advanced as you yet. I have a similar space in a double garage, but I’ve got one half / side, rather across the width at the back. Your control panels look very good - I like your use of Wagos. My dad is into the electrical side of things as we recently did a lot of electrical work on our house and used these a lot, so I am sure we will be taking inspiration from you here! Keep up the good work and the posting. As others have noted re comments, I’m in a similar boat as someone who reads rather than comments too much - I read RMweb as I would have done magazines in the past. Adam

For various reasons, my layout planning has been delayed recently. However, it has given me the opportunity to resolve the poor lighting issue that I’ve been running with ever since I built the half wall. I had thought about installing mains track lighting, but this was expensive and so the solution I settled on was LED tape. It has been installed over the area where the baseboards will eventually sit. The advantage with this is that I can change both the brightness and also the white colour depending upon the need in the future. I also took the opportunity to paint the ceiling, to get rid of the original, awful mat white paint used by the builders (the type that if you wipe, the paint comes off completely showing the plaster below). Finally, I’ve replaced the patch work of carpets with ones single piece. Another thing I’ve started planning is the timetable, and looking at the number of train sets that I’ll need. I’ve finally conceded 4/5 coach (rather than 7 coach) sets will have to be the standard, both for space and sheer number of coaches! It’s amazing how many you need just to run a fraction of a WTT. I’ve set up 6 sets of an eventual 9 - the main purpose being to identify the gaps in the coach types that I can now start to plug. from rear to front: Set 1: Down CCE, Aberystwyth portion, 1962 & 63 (can be re-used for Up) Set 2: Up CCE, Pwllheli / Coast portion, 1958-1961 Set 3: Down CCE, Pwllheli / Coast portion, 1958-1961 Set 4: Barmouth-Mcy (also to be re-used for Aberystwyth-Shrewsbury) Set 5: Birmingham-Barmouth (and return) Set 6: Paddington-Pwllheli (and return) Set 7: pwllheli-Manchester (and return) Set 8: York mails Sets 6 & 7 don’t exist yet; set 3 is missing 1 coach and set 8 is missing 2. This finally gives me the focus i've been needing.

This is an interesting (and timely) topic for me as I have procrastinated for years on building a layout as I have struggled to find a prototype location on the Cambrian that I can fit in my available space. I’ve recently been through my old stock of ~-100 RM magazines from the 90s and 2000s and the layout that inspired me as a kid was the late Chris Klein’s Boduan Junction. I’m going to be building a layout in the same place at the same size (a garage) and so he had clearly been through a design / compromise process of making a track plan and associated features that he wanted to model fit in the space available. id spoken with Chris for years and he knew how much I’d loved his layouts. It may be that I end up building something very similar. The bit I wouldn’t do tho would be to call it Boduan nor perpetuate the backstory he had created so well. So is the above “plagiarism”? I know Chris was flattered when I said my previous layout had been inspired by his works.

Good shout. I have sent an email to Dapol to ask this question as I can’t see the parts listed as spares on their site. Thanks.

I’m quite happy with the body and livery of my mogul from the first batch (number 7310), but I’d prefer the running / gearing characteristics of the second batch. Has anyone done a chassis swap or just generally removed and then reassembled the loco body? Anything to watch out for? Thanks.

for this part, yes. Hopefully the next section will be located on the coast. I’ll edit the title to say “Cambrian” rather than Cambrian coast!

Thanks @Robert Shrives for your input and recommendations. I will certainly have a look at the layout you have linked to. I also like your suggestions for the other section(s) of the line, which I will look into in more detail during planning. I am thinking true coast line - the only slight challenge is that trains at Pontdollgoch would be pre-Dovey junction and therefore the CCE would need splitting before hitting the coast section. All good fun though working these things out!

I can’t locate my original schematic so I’m going to start a new detailed plan. To assist me, I’ve located the section of line that a photo from 1963 was taken on which @rwcaroll has (I wont reproduce it here but if he looks in on the thread he may!). I’ve used google maps to measure the distance which scales to 11ft, which is fine for the middle section. It’s nice that this there will be no compression in the length. I will obviously need to compress the width of the scene but through use of the back scene and trees I am hoping I can recreate the look. There is a bridge over the river Carno at one end and a road over bridge at the other (bonus - I assume both still exist in their same form as in 1963!); two features that will be nice to model. Plus the embankment on a sweeping curve, with line side fencing following. What will be a first for me and an attraction of modelling a prototype is that I can use the photo to recreate the location of telegraph poles etc. - I can literally just follow the picture! I’m also going to pay close attention to the track and ballast formation and colouring, thereby creating a sort of diorama but within the context of a bigger layout (eventually). Should be a great spot to photograph trains from! The layout is to be late 50s / early 60s steam but I will “tip-toe” into early 70s blue diesels as well as I reckon infrastructure wise very little changes to that point. I could do what they do on Shap and run trains through this section from different eras - I’ve already got a green (with SYP) 101 with Shrewsbury- Pwlellli destination blinds in anticipation!

Well done @SteamingWales - that looks like a really neat solution! In fact I’m surprised that the headboard didn’t come with such a moulding on the back to allow it to be mounted. Even the Bachmann Cambrian Coast Express set had headboards that “plugged in” just above the smoke box door. I will try this out on mine and see if I can replicate. I assume the one that presses on from the front leaves a closer fit? thanks

Hi Steve, Many thanks for your detailed reply. This is really helpful as I look to replicate something very similar! A final question if possible - where have you sourced the component parts for your layout legs from? Thanks again Adam

My Dad is insistent on building the boards as that’s the bit he’s really good at, so I just need to specify how and what and he will build! im hopeful one of the other two scenic sections will be coastal, yes.

Being internal to the house the garage isn’t too bad at all - all of its walls are cavity insulated, the guest bedroom is above it. The garage door itself is well ceiling with a rubber seal the whole way around.

Thanks! I certainly have seen Geoff’s - absolutely inspirational! I won’t be able to achieve anything near that level of quality or size tho unfortunately. There was a plan originally but after the server crash I only reloaded the pictures that I still had. I’ll put the schematic up when I can dig it out.

After what seems like an eternity, I am just about to commence building the first couple of boards! I’ve decided to start with the “easy” bit - the sweeping embankment section just after Pontdollgoch station. It will go through the middle of the garage, and there will be a bridge over the stream at one end and a road over bridge forming the break at the other. im really looking for suggestions on the best way to build baseboards these days! I’m thinking three 4ft long by 1.25ft wide (given it’s running through the centre, I can’t go any wider), each with a slight angle at their mating surfaces to facilitate the sweep.