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North Welsh Coast Railway - Welsh Dragon Rail


Anthony Ashley
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Ed,

 

The lights I have installed are below. They are indeed LEDs. The lights are described as "Daylight" and they are of course white, which I guess is a fairly harsh light. I have 8 of them. I increased the power when buying a replacement recently. Thanks for your post. 

402093069_FloodLight.jpg.6fbe99b3a176e3b422c8b3754367ce99.jpg

 

Regards,

 

Anthony Ashley

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Woodenhead,

 

Thanks for your reply. I have added to the vegetation around the corner of the layout. I have added minimal vegetation to the scree slope and may add more but will see how it goes. I am really undecided if I should leave it or add more. Any views? Next is to add the static grass to the avalanche shelter.

 

301734047_Phone14.jpg.710bc44d228bbc116154c77fe3879cb3.jpg

 

1501582604_Phone15.jpg.d6729b151cfed9e2d6e7b2de3465dd76.jpg

 

904369140_Phone17.jpg.117e05173958377bb990fab56eebf9a3.jpg

 

Regards,

 

Anthony Ashley

 

 

 

   

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Richard,

 

The "SOLUTION" will get covered up when I do the next wall  section. I had to cover up a hole in my cliff bank. l did not even read what was on the news paper. The hole was just long enough to capture the whole word exactly. You have lost me with the reference to the hat coat, although I am travelling to Canberra tomorrow where it was -4 degrees last night so I am taking a scarf, gloves, hat, coat, jumper, jackets and ski jacket! Queensland is no where near that cold.

 

Regards,

 

Anthony Ashley

 

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43 minutes ago, Anthony Ashley said:

Richard,

 

The "SOLUTION" will get covered up when I do the next wall  section. I had to cover up a hole in my cliff bank. l did not even read what was on the news paper. The hole was just long enough to capture the whole word exactly. You have lost me with the reference to the hat coat, although I am travelling to Canberra tomorrow where it was -4 degrees last night so I am taking a scarf, gloves, hat, coat, jumper, jackets and ski jacket! Queensland is no where near that cold.

 

Regards,

 

Anthony Ashley

 

The hat and coat reference is said when you know you are making a poor joke. Almost as if you are at a party and because of the weak humour you have to leave, hence getting your hat and coat. It can also be when you suggest something controversial in the group, eg that the railway with the best chocolate and cream coaches was not the GWR. That would be heretical in some quarters. 
richard 

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Richard,

 

Thanks for the explanation. I just had no idea. I was looking at the photos to see if I could make out a  hat or coat! I asked my wife and she also had no idea. Good to know though. I have to get her to help me with the static grass holding the wire onto the area while I tap the container. It was difficult to do both jobs by myself.

 

Regards,

Anthony Ashley

 

 

 

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A variation on the hat,.. coat, is the note, passed towards the top table at a formal dinner when the speaker is droning and the port has all gone.  Some wag scribbles a “Taxi for X” note, Mr X being the speaker, of course.

 

tends to cause ripples of mirth as it makes its way forward, and is usually intercepted by one of the committee.

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We had a lecturer destruct button graffitied on to one of the desks in a lecture room at university. If you thought the talk was bad you would look over to see if the student at the desk which had the button was pushing it. 
those chocolate and cream coaches are from the GCR, like the GWR but better.

richard 

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Dear All,

 

Thanks for the comments above. I am with Lez  clearly as I am modelling a LMS area. Crimson Lake for me!!!

 

I have a decision to make. The plan below shows the last housing I can model in Penmaenmawr on the mountain end of the layout. I do not have quite enough room with the encroachment of the mountain on the Penmaenmawr side of the mountain.  The plan showing the last 6 or so houses is shown below Under the Pilot square). The trouble is that the encroachment of the mountain means that I will have cliffs surrounding the 3 sides of the housing and getting the road down to the houses in a realistic fashion will be very difficult.  

 

878789909_HousingAreaV2.jpg.953934d5ab5b51612ccbbfe19c0a559b.jpg

 

The photo below is the actual geography of the area showing all of the row of houses.

 

145194229_HouseRowV2.jpg.e1d1dbfcc8c9a1579ea9f2793384a4ae.jpg

 

 

The plan below shows how this area fits into the wider Penmaenmawr area. The other houses further up the plan are in a much more gentle sloping area.

 

190515137_Housearea3.jpg.e911159886aed153ea67083673686f78.jpg

 

I clearly can not fit any houses above the row of 12 or so and the mountain makes the geography by including the houses completely unrealistic.  I have put in a flat board and cut the chicken wire to accommodate the houses but on reflection think that I can better recreate the geography by removing the 6 houses and making the slope to the rail lines much more gentle and realistic. The chicken wire is currently stapled to the back of the board but could be attached tp the front therefore reducing the slope to a much more realistic degree.  IMG_6199V2.jpg.0735b03aaacffa1f36e903ba68428582.jpg

 

IMG_6197V2.jpg.c6a3376d446d945f0b0c67193ae2a67b.jpg

 

 

Just above the houses on the plan is the light rail and associated buildings The questions is therefore leave the 6 houses or make the slope more realistic, providing a logical if not entirely realistic end to Penmaenmawr.    

 

Your views would be appreciated on this issue, but at this stage I am inclined to remove the houses and create a more realistic geographic look.  

 

I have been working in Canberra thus week and had little time for my modelling.

 

Regards,

 

Anthony Ashley

 

 

 

 

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If you lift the houses up an inch or two you can reduce both the encroachment of the mountain and the steepness of the road down or will that not work? Maybe you can also reduce the depth of the houses as well or build them at a reduced scale say 1.6mm to the foot which will give you a slightly forced perspective.

Regards Lez. 

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Anthony

 

I'm afraid you've put me in an impossible position . I was born in the last house !!! .

Obviously my solution would be to retain my house, move the whole mountain around the corner and flatten Bangor.

 

No pressure then !! 

 

Les's idea to lift the houses may help. On the sea side of the house the garden was very steep down to the railway which runs in a very deep cutting at that point. If the road you are concerned about is the Esplanade up to the main road, again that is very steep in reality. The small road immediately in front (mountainside) of the houses was quite a bit higher than the houses and access was by steep steps. There was no vehicular access to the sea side of the houses in the 60's.

 

Your alternative to soften the slope may be a better aesthetic and simpler solution. 

Whatever you decide I'm sure it will be fine.

 

Kindest regards.

Howard

 

 

 

 

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Lez and Howard,

 

Thanks for the ideas. Lez I think in light of the passionate response by Howard I shall need to include the first 6 houses of that strip of houses. I do not have room for all 12 and 6 was the most I could fit in. The best way to do this is to lift the section as you have suggested. On the other hand that section does seem to have a fair degree of slope which will help in connecting the roads, as they are obviously much higher than the houses.

 

Howard I was really amused to hear that you were born in one of the houses that I am modelling. I have told many people about your reply to the blog and all have been very amused that we are dealing with "living history". I mean no disrespect as I am 62 and could have also been born in that house. It really adds a lot of interest to  the blog to have such comments added.  Howard I was wondering if you have any photos of the houses or the gardens and slopes in the area that you are willing to share on line or in a private message to me. That would help me more accurately model the area. I think this picture shows the houses in question. Can you please confirm this. 832313565_Taid017-Penmaenmawr.jpg.358ae6912f7b584af4074a4f2476b8a5.jpg

 

Can you remember about approximately how many steps were between the road above the houses on the mountain side and the houses.  On the plan above I have a second road immediately behind the road just above the houses. Was that also on place in 1960 do you know. 

 

I will not be able to model the houses behind those in front and which Howard has such a connection. There is simply no room with the encroachment of the mountain around to Penmaenmawr. 

 

I have the following heights off google maps:

Top road at 25 metres above sea level

Road next to the houses at 22 metres

New road below the houses at 18 metres ( not in existence in 1960 but give the height of the base of the houses - 18 metres 

Rail line 8 metres 

 

This gives the following vertical scale measurement between the heights as follows:

Between the 2 roads 18ml

Between the lower road and the houses 24 ml

From the house base to the rail line 60 ml 

 

I usually increase this height difference by 50% so that you can see it in N gauge with the following results:

Between the 2 roads 27ml

Between the lower road and the houses 36ml

From the house base to the rail line 90ml

 

I have had a really busy work week so not much progress.

 

Regards,

 

Anthony Ashley

 

 

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I'm pleased that my ideas are proving useful Anthony. I'm always happy to help mate and although distance precludes any physical help I can at least wade in with ideas and suggestions where appropriate.

Regards Lez.    

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  • 2 weeks later...

Dear All,

 

It has been a busy three weeks with work intruding into my train modelling again. I have at least sorted the construction of the roads in the 'Howard' housing area. Photos are enclosed. 

 

I used my paper technique to cut out the pattern for the roads. The use of a simple stapler to join the paper sections allowed me to change the angles of one piece of road to another and worked really well. I undid a couple of them and rejoined at a better angle. The picture below shows how I plan to cut the ply using the pattern created, which I have tested in situ. Originally when the first photo was taken I was using 35 ml timber at the back riser. When I checked the road fall I decided it was too much and reduced the height to about 20ml. I also raised the end of the lower road by using a little foam and gorilla glue. IMG_6200V2.jpg.5dbaa4aaed787f2c52d83824e87e6c26.jpg

 

The next photo clearly shows the use of staples as a connector, which can easily be detached and reattached as necessary when you have not got it exactly correct. 

 

IMG_6201V2.jpg.072de5f510b82cbde58fe4e25bc7e13c.jpg

 

 

The other end of the roads. Not quite flat but close enough and I cam trim as required.

IMG_6202V2.jpg.d1bf851d8c88312f5e288a4eecb3841a.jpg

 

 

Gluing the foam riser into position to help with the road connection

IMG_6203V2.jpg.62a73d0bb2c84777856bf4e04d502985.jpg

 

 

You can see the lower back section makes the road connection much easier, also assisted by the foam riser. I need to cut a small piece of road section on the left to properly connect the bottom road and the road to the left. I cut the road section on the left with the grain running largely across the piece. This should make it easier to bend down to screw onto the support pieces, but maintain a reasonable good drop going down. You can see the section is sticking up in mid air. Hopefully screws along its length will bend it to the correct shape. I added another supporting piece of timber running back from the higher road section to the mountain road section just visible under the road piece.

IMG_6205V2.jpg.fb3131d40c2977a024b80993df87264b.jpg

 

I need to secure these road sections into position with screws and glue and then paint it. The house outlines are drawn on the lower ply section. The chicken wire has been secured with a staple gun and so paper mache is also the order of the day.

 

Regards,

Anthony Ashley

 

.  

 

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Hi Anthony,

Sorry I'm slow in getting back to you- my wife and I managed to get away for a short break .

 

I'm afraid my memory is rather patchy as I was only a toddler when we lived there. Funny where this hobby takes you - I have had real longings that my Dad was still alive - he would have been able to answer all your questions. What your doing looks great. I know I have some old photos somewhere - I'll try and dig out.

 

One bit I do remember is the plank footbridge over the railway to the beach . It was situated a short distance to the right of the house (looking from the sea). I doubt I'll be able to find any images but I'll speak to my older sister who my be able to throw some light. 

 

The houses at the time comprised a self contained  apartment on the lower floor with a two storey house on top. My Grandmother lived in the lower floor flat in the 7th house but I'll forgive you for not including her !!!  

 

Best Regards

Howard

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Howard,

 

Thanks for the reply. Whatever info you can provide will be greatly appreciated. I finally realised that I did not have an accurate plan for the granite loading facilities on the coast. My rail plan only has one shown closer to the centre of the town, and despite photos showing 2 I did not pick up on the discrepancy.

 

I think the second is further around the mountain.  I can fit it in but with the two pier facilities much closer and will need to run a road from the road junction just next the the houses I am currently planning, instead of directly from the road running around the mountain.  The road will need to go below those houses and while not accurate I can not fit it further around the mountain due to the elevation differences. I shall have to compromise on accuracy I have compacted the town to get the mountain and down in height. I have inserted the new plan in red. The new road is not on the plan above by way of comparison. 

 

962903676_Graniteloading.jpg.4bb32bdf59351b8793f9252cd4c1049f.jpg 

 

Regards,

 

Anthony Ashley

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Anthony

After talking with my sister last night.

 

looking from the sea. The loop of road behind the houses was not continuous. The lower one ended in a tree surrounded clearing just where it starts to turn up. The significant height difference between the two roads on your loop was mainly accounted for by a wall which I think ran against the bottom edge of the top loop road. 

 

My sister has a sketch of our esplanade house that I did many years ago. Unfortunately it’s looking out to the sea so may not add to the topography. She’s promised to dig it out. 

The close by footbridge over the railway by my old house was quite a rickety affair and you could look down between the planks to the trains. I can’t find any pictures but I may be able to do a sketch from our memories if you like. 
Howard

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Howard,

 

Thanks for the info, anything I can get form local persons in the area is really helpful. . I spotted a wall behind the road near the houses on google earth. I am sure this would not have changed ad is consistent with you description of the road area. I am really happy to receive anything else you can remember about the area. 

 

I decided to focus on the Grand Hotel, as I thought it would interact with the roads I a positioning. I have cut the next 2 roads running north south  form the one already cut, and have cut the road running next to the train station. There is another road running east-west which borders part of the hotel, hence the need to determine the floor plan. Based on a 1955 map of Penmaenmawr  I measured the distance from the road crossing the tracks and the underpass on the other side of the station on my map  including the Grand Hotel . This was about 8 cm. I then measured the  distance on google earth to determine how far the actual distance is. By dividing the actual distance by the number of mls on the map  I was able to work the distance per ml on my Grand Hotel plan. It worked out at 1.846 metres per ml. Using the conversion I then measured the walls of the Grand Hotel, converted them to actual distance and then converted back to N gauge ie 1:148. The frontage of the Grand Hotel in my scale is 591 mls and the depth is by coincidence exactly the same at 591 mls.

 

I then spent the afternoon drawing up an N scale floor plan on card board which I intend to mount on ply wood. I have photos below of the road system, cut in paper to date, and the cardboard floor plan.   

 

The cardboard floor plan is in position as close as I can get it. The hotel touches one of the north south roads already on position. There is a second road running off that road already in position, ajoining back sections of the hotel. As you can see they are aligned in a straight line. I am going to have to play around with the heights in the area to get the hotel to fit onto a flat area.  As I said I intend to mount the hotel on ply wood.

 

Howard or anyone else local to the area, was the hotel white stucco. I know it was white and imagine stucco  is the only logical finish  can think of. 

 

IMG_6206V2.jpg.7e3fba1a57568f0ebd8f28875b8630e0.jpgIMG_6208V2.jpg.6c15aeeb0524fa24d4838779335b4882.jpg

 

I will now continue to map out the roads using paper templates. The next will be behind the Grand Hotel. Once I have mapped out all the templates I shall ensure all of the heights at the roads are correct, and if not adjust the risers to the correct heights. The riser on the far left of the photo has already been adjusted with a piece of ply at the front of it.  

Regards,

 

Anthony Ashley         

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Dear All,

 

I have cut a ply baseboard. I only had one piece left that was large enough to do the job. I shall need to do another ply run to our local hardware store  chain called Bunnings to get some more. I saw on the plan that the road running behind the Grand hotel run adjacent to eh back buildings of the hotel. Accordingly in the photo below I cut the road next to those building so it was already included. That is the piece of cut ply in the picture below. Unfortunately when I checked google earth again after many many views I noticed peeking behind the two buildings in the same position occupied by the grand hotel back buildings there was a wall between the road and those buildings. Obviously this means a different height for the road and the buildings, which I had not accounted for. One of the problems in modelling Penmaemawr is the whole town is on the side of a hill and sloping upward. The difficulty is in identifying where the slope is constant and where there are walls for greater height increases, but minimising the other slopes. 

 

Photos are below to show what i am talking about. 

Cardboard floor plan with all of the surrounding roads that I thought were at the same height. The curved lines around the floor plan are areas of the same height, so there are more cuts that need to be made to the ply. There is a big height drop to the area on the left of the building. The parking area at the front fits in well with my plan in terms of height, as there is a steep slope down to the rail tracks just beyond the parking area. I think the curved area in the bottom left corner is a one way road as there is another at a lower height to the left of of it.  

IMG_6210V2.jpg.4fab329aedcf6787259b7275493443aa.jpg

 

Close up of the two building sections running alongside the road.

IMG_6211V2.jpg.82f53ca6f01ac51fe2d057cc2ebc38d1.jpg

 

Google earth with two building towards the top of the picture that appear to be the same position as the Grand Hotel buildings. You can just see the wall between the buildings and the start of the wall at the start of the street. This wall means that I can decrease the slope of the area that the Grand hotel is build on which will be more realistic. If the heights in the Goggle earth picture have not changed since 1960 the Grand Hotel rose in elevation a little from front to back. This will also help in being able to see it form the edge of the layout. 

2049735930_GrandHotelarea.JPG.d573ae139791b31ba084dd67ba5c6fb1.JPG

 

Front  of the Grand Hotel.

1669687120_GrandHotel2.jpg.c458274b0315d718616dde217c0d8966.jpg

 

I shall need to trim off the back road to in order to elevate it at least 40mls and put a wall in front of it. By placing the Grand Hotel in position I have really assisted in determining the road layout on the area.

 

Regards,

 

Anthony ashley   

 

 

    

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  • 2 weeks later...

Dear All,

 

Road work at Penmaenmawr has commenced in earnest in between work distractions and my wife's birthday celebrations.  have cut some of the ply to fit the road system. A few mow to go though. I think I will then use chicken wire and paper mache again. I need access under the layout in this area for the storage yard but there is plenty of space to get between the 2 areas. 

 

Photos below.

 

The first section secured and nicely lining up.

IMG_6212V2.jpg.b93703eded3c0d9f8088d3dcdba93c73.jpg

 

A view looking to the east along part of Penmaenmawr but down the layout for me. The pen marks show the station platform area and station building. I was really happy with the elevation change form the main road down to the housing area. The sweep of the road achieves what I was after.

IMG_6213V2.jpg.271bd98fccae468896374a7b0f85017d.jpg

 

 

The road next to the rail and the hotel run in parallel. The hotel car park in the bottom left area has  two single lane roads running up the hill, which will need to be fitted inbetween the one shown.

IMG_6214V2.jpg.729955e3f18bc343a644743443fbb010.jpg

 

I have more roads to cut and secure. Once done onto the chicken wire.

 

Regards,

 Anthony Ashley

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