Llanforen, GWR in South Wales

[MrWolf]

Just remember that the man who never made a mistake, never made anything.

Or my preferred saying: If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing wrong several times....

 

I still can't believe how often I can plan, draw and measure, then still cut and fold two parts for the same side when I wanted a handed pair...

[88C]

There are always plenty of frustrations when modelling, getting over them gives a sense of satisfaction. I have been modelling for over fifty years now so this is not the first mistake that I have made and I doubt it will be the last.

 

Brian

 

 

[MrWolf]

If it was easy, we'd soon be bored with it, that's why I think we set ourselves challenges to make things.

[88C]

Not a lot to report in the way of progress on any front, the 2021is making a little progress, the first whitemetal kit I have done for ages so a bit of re-learning, recent efforts on the loco front have been brass.

 

I won't be doing much for the time being as we have decided to do some long overdue decorating which has also taken my indoor track out of action. Not all negative though, I have been thinking about the future. First of all I have long wondered what to do with one corner of Llanforen, at the moment it is filled with inferior trees but seeing The Johnster's Cwmdimbath with a row of cottages, something similar would fit the bill. I now need to check measurements and look for something suitable.

The next thinking is about this set up in the spare bedroom, I won't call it a layout, it is just somewhere to stand engines rather than have them hidden in boxes.

Yes I have got too many and you can't see them all! However I have been at this game a long time and a lot of what you can see are kit builds or modified RTR. My thinking has been to replace this with something with more operation as it is not always ideal to go into the garage with Llanforen. First thoughts were for something like the Forest of Dean, but more recently a parcels goods yard has looked more appealing. That would give the new panniers somewhere to play.

 

Time spent doodling track plans is never wasted.

 

Best wishes to all especially those of you have been hit with the virus no matter how careful you have been.

 

Brian

[MrWolf]

I for one feel much better after reading your post, I was thinking that I have too many locos. Clearly I don't have enough. 

If it helps, even though I am less than halfway into building my current layout, I am already sketching ideas for a couple more. 

Then there's the wagon kit mountain...

[88C]

Well, having said in my last post that I have too many locos another one has arrived today, a 94xx late crest. Also, in the emails was an invoice for a 16xx. Need to get some number plates ordered.

 

 The layouts are not very accessible at the moment due to decorating, a new sofa and chairs plus a big loft clear out but a skip is being delivered on Monday so I will get chance to do some running in. In the meantime plans are taking shape for the re-use of the shed layout board and track to something with more operating potential.

 

Brian

[88C]

A long time since I last posted, some progress to report today. After Christmas I lost my mojo and confidence in modelling so I put the 2021 kit to one side and decorated the two spare bedrooms. The two panniers have arrived and I have had chance to run them in, what good models they are and in time they will get renumbered. Because these are both British Railway locos and the fact that I have built quite a few wagons for this era I decided that the shed scene would be remodelled and recycled into a goods yard. A track plan was devised, which is probably not very plausible, but it does give operational interest. The scenic side is very much make it up as I go along and much use is being made of Metcalfe kits, which are helping me get back to something practical without being too challenging.

I have started with retaining walls as a means of getting to the fiddle yard which is really just a plain track. My claim is that there is the main yard through the bridge/tunnel and a few wagons at a time will be tripped in. Progress so far is shown in the next picture although not everything has been fixed and I do need more walling.  Under the walls there is a coal yard and I still don't know what to do at the top of the walls remembering that I will need to access the fiddle yard. 

The other end of the layout will be for general goods and I will need to change the track to fit in the building.

 

The room does get used for visitors occasionally so the railway does have to get taken down, another factor to bear in mind. As of now I do not know how far I will go with the scenics, after all this is a secondary layout that is available when a bit too cold to get into the garage to operate and work on Llanforen but it is helping me get back into the swing of things.

 

Thanks to everyone who takes the time to post their layouts and work on RMWeb, it does inspire me to try and do better myself but it must be enjoyable as well. I did buy a weathered 16xx and come the better weather it is something that needs doing with my other BR(WR) locos, uniform black just doesn't look right, a few cheap bodies from an exhibition or swap-meet are needed to practice on, so no rush.

 

Best wishes to all.

 

Brian 

[MrWolf]

Thanks for the update, I think that you are managing to make progress in several directions, some of which may even keep the peace within the house, as in not looking like all you do is good around with trains, which is a good thing - life balance or keeping them guessing or something. 

I don't know about losing the mojo, just realising that there's priorities. Now you've earned some railway time. I like the look of the goods yard model, particularly the retaining wall area. Does the top of it need to be complex? How about it being a (non working) upper yard? The road up the ramp running parallel up the backscene and the end of several sidings towards the front. The siding nearest the centre of the layout could be filled with spare box vans and the rest of the upper surface either not modelled or a lift up hinged panel with cobblestones and a couple of lengths of track on it.

 

If it helps, I think that we have almost all had a bit of a slowdown!

[88C]

I have been making steady progress with the bedroom layout and testing has proved to give interesting operation, even if the realism is a bit unlikely, that is for the garage. 

The Metacalfe small factory kit has provided a goods office, it does sit very low as built but no problem to raise it slightly. The white paper is a possible site for a loading platform, I haven't made up my mind if one would be likely.

In the middle of the layout below the ramp is the small factory, it really is too small and I quite like the look of a Scalescenes version. I have downloaded the free coal office to see how I get on, I just need to source the suitable card but it looks promising. 

 

This little project has helped me to recover my mojo although I am still holding off renumbering and weathering new locos but I'll get there. I have also had chance to get out and operate Llanforen in the garage and plans are forming for future developments, more about that next time.

 

That's it for now.

 

Brian

[88C]

Back to the  main layout now. Whilst I have been operating recently I have also been considering what to do with the undeveloped corner and I think I have come up with a plan. I have seen The Johnster's  use of the Ancorton row of cottages which have given me the idea. Although they are half relief I believe that using two kits it will be possible to create a full depth row. It may be necessary to clad the walls with embossed plastic to blend in with the rest of the layout but a lot of cutting will already be done. The photos below show a quick mock up to get an idea of position.

 The last one certainly doesn't work but somewhere between the other two looks about right. 

 

Now I will need to order the kits.

 

Brian

 

[88C]

A long time since I have posted any updates but I have not been completely idol and I'm starting to feel a bit more confident in my modelling again. I started with a Scalescenes hut, one of the free ones as a trial, it certainly involved more work than I was expecting but I have learned a lot from it and I will be buying more. A Parkside tube wagon has also been completed, the usual quality and everything included apart from couplings, I don't count the ones in the kit. One thing I have found having built quite a few Parkside kits in lockdown is that it is best to space the solebars a bit further apart, easy to do with shims of plastic.

The final thing to mention is the 1600. Before doing anything to it I gave it a good running in, it must rank as one of the best locos that I have, then again I don't use DCC. The model needs careful handling as some of the fittings are very delicate The poorly fitting bunker isn't too noticeable but the couplings are awful. I have managed to modify a set to make them more acceptable and removing the hook helps the appearance as well. New number plates have been fitted and it is now 1600 which spent, as far as I know, it's whole BR existence  at Barry shed, an 88C shed plate is still needed. I'm also wondering what to do with the steam heating pipe(?) which hangs at a very strange angle, it was unlikely to be needed at Barry so I may well remove it

Other projects are planned but supplies are needed and if possible I want to go to a shop to get them. In the not too distant future I hope to give details on the changes I am making to the Castle I bought recently.

 

That's it for now so best wishes to all.

 

Brian

[88C]

I mentioned sometime ago that my recently acquired Abergavenny Castle was to be renamed Swordfish, well I have done it now, details of how can be found on the Hornby Castle thread. Not a very good photo I'm afraid but here it is, still needs some details and weathering.

Why Swordfish? Well my Grandparents lived in Barry overlooking the railway and our annual holiday was always spent there, in those days August Bank Holiday was earlier in the month. I was 12 then coming up to 13 and just beginning to do a bit of trainspotting although I always liked watching the trains and in those days there were plenty going to Barry Island. Every year there was a 6 a side cricket competition on the ground by the causeway, a can of beer for a four and two for a six, this was something we did most years. How does this have anything to do with Swordfish, well walking back for some reason that has stuck in my mind, Swordfish was in the headshunt waiting to back onto it's train and to a 12 year old looking up at it it made an impression. As a follow up to this I, of course, have a copy of John Hodge's book Barry, its Railway and Port and on page 142 there is a photo of Swordfish in the self same spot, checking the date it was a Bank Holiday, was I there at the same time, surely too much of a coincidence not to be. And if all of that is not a good reason  to choose Swordfish as a name I don't know what is.

 

Brian

Edited May 9, 2021 by 88C
Spotted a mistake

[88C]

Is it really that long since I posted anything? I have not been completely idle on the modelling front but not far off, this time of year the garden has taken more of my time than in the past but I usually have to work under supervision.

 

So what have I been doing, well for some years the track for my garden railway has needed attention so a lot of time has been spent relaying a large part of it. No photos I'm afraid but I now have a usable full circuit, very nice to sit outside with a drink and watch a train trundle round.

 

Work on the cottages is moving along slowly, the walls have been covered with embossed plastic, windows and doors fitted, walls assembled and internal walls made. I'm not keen on the windows and doors supplied, they are more suited to more modern times with a variety of different styles so I have done some bodging with the windows and used Scalescene doors. I may replace the windows at some time, then again I probably won't get round to it.

 

One of the Llanforen boards has to be removed when the gas boiler is serviced and as I get older It is becoming harder to move. It is 4' x 2'3" half covered with scenery and my initial thoughts were that  I would need to narrow it and lose the inclined track. However when I had removed it for the gas man I had the idea of attacking the framework with a drill to lighten it, it has made some difference but it is still awkward. I am working on an idea to place a removable handle on the scenic part and disguising the hole when not needed. Hopefully that will keep me going a bit longer before drastic action is required.

 

I seem to have spent too much time reading RMWeb rather than modelling so that I can contribute,. Must do better!

 

Best wishes to all and carry on being sensible.

 

Brian

 

 

[88C]

Not a lot of modelling done recently, still finding it hard to get motivated so have only done bits and pieces on buildings, not much to show really. I have spent time in the garage running trains so a couple of photos of a freight heading up the incline.

 

I think the gunpowder van must have travelled from Little Muddle.

 

The engine is a Mainline body on a Comet chassis, needless to say it runs a lot better now. It has also had the bunker modified to the earlier straight back style and it gets use a lot on Llanforen.

 

Thanks to all the regular posters who keep me interested if not as busy as I should be but I'm getting there slowly.

 

Best wishes to all,

 

Brian

 

 

 

 

[88C]

You don't always get it right first time.

Ist attempt.

 

2nd attempt

Can you spot the difference?

 

It just didn't look right first time so the only thing to do is try again. Still a lot of detailing to do but the basics are there now.

 

Brian

[steveNCB7754]

1 hour ago, 88C said:

You don't always get it right first time.

Ist attempt.

 

2nd attempt

Can you spot the difference?

 

It just didn't look right first time so the only thing to do is try again. Still a lot of detailing to do but the basics are there now.

 

Brian

 

Err, smaller chimneys?

 

Steve N

 

[88C]

I have recently had to repaint the frame for the garage door, to do this meant that I had to remove the back scene boards in order to open the door. The photos below are taken from the usually inaccessible side of the layout.

I took the opportunity to low the height of the boards so they won't have to be removed next time I open the door.

 

Brian

[88C]

It has been a long time since I posted on here for a couple of reasons. First of all I was involved in getting ready for the club show which I'm please to say was successful. After that were many visits to my 97 year old mother who started going downhill and died at the end of last month, always sad but her quality of life had gone but the end was peaceful.

 

As you can imagine, model railways took a back seat although I did fit in a little. At the show I bought five wagons which had had their couplings removed by the previous owner so that he could fit Hornby Dublo style, the original couplings were in a separate bag so the whole lot cost £12. Not straightforward because the original mounts had been removed so a bit of bodging required. Some weathering and I have got yet more wagons. I am tending to use Bachmann couplings  for recent models, especially if they are used on club layouts, plus the fact they are more user friendly than 3 links.

Just enough to keep me interested. Not the best picture, didn't use the tripod!

 

One big improvement that has happened is having new lighting fitted in the garage, the layout is now more evenly illuminated and more enjoyable to operate.

 

I feel that I now need to think where I want to go with my modelling, having completed the Barry D last year which achieved the goal of having a model of all BR loco classes I haven't really had a focus. More on my thoughts later. There is certainly work I could do to improve the layout.

 

Hopefully I will be adding more posts rather than just reading RMWeb and putting on a like when appropriate.

 

Best wishes to all,

 

Brian

[88C]

Of late I have been giving my approach to railway modelling a lot of thought. Although I have been interested in railways since I was a boy, no doubt largely influenced by holidays in Barry, my grandparents house overlooked the railway, I must admit that my knowledge remains superficial. Perhaps the fact that I should have been wearing glasses earlier means that I don't get hung up about detail differences or obsessed by lamps. My first train set arrived when I was 5, a Tri-ang jinty goods set but my first model layout was built in my teenage years and the Great Western influence was there and has remained ever since. When I married and bought a house there has always been space somewhere for a layout, I am fortunate that my wife has always encouraged me.

 

I have great respect for those modellers who stick to one theme but I have been a bit of a butterfly having dabbled briefly in 009 and later 0-16.5, however the GWR has always been in the background. Whatever I have modelled I have built models that take my fancy even if they do not fit the theme. Take, for example, my 0-16.5 layout Llanerfyl base on the Welshpool and Llanfair, in this period I also built a K1 Garratt. This layout was built at a time that I was able to get down to the railway once a month to work on the carriages and wagons.

 

Back to 4mm, it was back in the 80s that I saw advertised a meeting of the  Welsh Railways Research Circle and this got me into modelling the Barry Railway as well hence Llanforen Shed. There was a long time before I came back to this, spurred on by the availability of a B1 kit, several other classes had to be scratch built until I had at least one of each. Completing the D started me thinking of where to go next.

 

At the point in life when we had both retired the garage became available to build a permanent layout, Llanforen, this is set in South  Wales with influences from the Barry Railway but buildings are painted GWR style. There are anomalies for sure, like an A35 van but on reflection the purpose of the layout is to run trains and it can cater for different moods. I can just let a train run round, I can run a loaded coal train down, unload the wagons and send the empties back or I can shunt the yard with the pick up goods. There is still a lot of detailing to do. Ideally a station on the Vale of Glamorgan line would have been perfect and I could justify running anything apart from Kings and 47xxs but 10'x10' just isn't big enough. It is also true that I have enjoyed building models perhaps more than running them.

 

Where do I go from here? Well I still want to build models, can you have too many? More and more I am beginning to collect models of the BR era that remind me of my youth so anything that brings back memories is fair game whether or not it has GWR origins. I will be looking out for second hand or bargains, like the 5 Mk1 coaches that I found unexpectedly in Sheringham, they will go nicely behind Swordfish. There is also work to do on club layouts so I won't be able to say I have nothing to do.

 

We all have our own approach to model railway, the important thing is that they give us pleasure and if other people enjoy our efforts as well, so much the better. There are lots of inspirational layouts on RMWeb and modellers who can put a story to their little world add that little extra.

 

 

Well those are my ramblings, please feel free to comment.

 

Brian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[88C]

I recently mentioned buying some second hand Hornby Mk1 coaches, James at Smiths Model Railways was keen to point out that the couplings had been modified and some weathering had been done and showed me what he meant. The modification was removing the NEM box, for want of a better word, and gluing the tails of the coupling into the housing keeping the coupling height the same.

The photo is not that clear due to the glue that was used.

The effect is to close the gap between coaches. The photo is taken on a 2' radius curve on the entrance to the fiddle yard.

Unmodified coaches.

Finally Swordfish on the train.

 

Brian

[88C]

The latest loco being run in.

There is no tender because the loco-tender coupling is the worst that I have come across, it will have to be modified!

 

Brian

[MrWolf]

Nice looking loco though, what make is it?

I take it that the tender coupling has been over designed and under engineered in some way?

[88C]

It’s a Bachmann model and a nice runner. The coupling couldn’t be more basic, a simple bar with two holes from the loco and a very small peg on the tender. Nothing inherently wrong with simple but in this case I have found it hard to get the bar engaged and get the loco and tender onto the track still joined. Not sure yet how I will change it, I tend not to rush into changes when a model is still covered by a warranty.

 

Brian

[88C]

No progress on the layout recently, most of my modelling time has been spent on the early stages of building a stable block for a club layout. The other thing is that there is some work that needs doing in the garage towards the end of January which will involve partially dismantling the layout. It was designed so that this would be possible but not as easily as a portable layout, needless to say space under the layout has been filled.

 

Despite telling myself that I didn't need a Manor I have succumbed and ordered a Bradley Manor from Hornby Magazine. I don't remember seeing Manors working at Barry, most of the specials I recall were hauled by Halls, Granges and the occasional Castle but I clearly remember Bradley standing along side the goods shed awaiting it's fate, I have a photo to prove it. I must have seen some working because not all of the ones that I have underlined have been preserved.

 

Finally can I wish you all seasons greetings, keep safe and let's hope that things do get better, I'm sure that most of us have had to change plans recently.

 

Brian

[88C]

Well that's another year done and looking back  I have made some progress. On the layout itself the cottages are nearly finished but now need  placing properly with paths, gardens etc to do, that will have to wait for warmer weather.

 

I have also made a start on getting stock for the BR period partly prompted  by building wagons for club layouts. Lucky enough to buy some good second hand Mk1 stock but locos, surprisingly, have not been forgotten.  A Castle and modified Hall at reduced prices, a mogul and a couple of panniers, a 16xx and a 94xx. Nearly all of these need some work doing, renumbering and weathering to make them more realistic.

 

What for next year? Well more to do on Llanforen and the bedroom layout, work for the club, hopefully visit some shows. 

As for purchases, a railmotor and Manor are on order and we will see what else turns up. Having experiences the quality of the 16xx and 94xx, both superb runners what I would like is a 57xx/8750 to the same standard. My current 8750s are both K's, they were built long ago and it shows.

 

Finally may I wish you all a happy new year and, hopefully, a return to normality. Thanks to all of the regular posters whose reports I regularly read for inspiration, no names, I don't want to miss anyone.

 

Brian