Cwmafon

[Barry O]

nice engines ... some of them are a bit clean..

 

That last photograph does have a lurking Wee Fergie..

 

[Michael Edge]

Some of them aren't quite as clean now, and the others will be getting some attention before the layout goes out again. I've found some more old exhibition photos but no knitting needles as yet.

[Barry O]

And note the changes in wagon weathering from the early pictures...

[Barry O]

Mike Edge said..

<Some of them aren't quite as clean now>

 

like this

 

 

 

which is now  

 

 

more to be done...

 

[Michael Edge]

That brings us neatly on to the pit. Working colliery screens were an essential part of the original layout concept, the South Wales location gave a good excuse for squeezing everything into a narrow site.

 

 

View of the pit from the top of the incline up from Cwmafon, empties are hauled up the right hand track here, the Sentinel is waiting to take fulls off the sreens down to the exchange sidings. We use two locos, one on the empties shunt, one on the fulls as locos are not normally allowed under the screens (only the Sentinels will fit underneath anyway).

 

 

View from the top end shows wagons being propelled under the screens, close inspection will reveal the pile of coal going into the fitted 16T. Coed Cae only has one shaft (upcast  - cased in to prevent air entering the pit this way), the other is presumed to be a drift off scene. On the left is the fan house, over the tracks is the dirt conveyor.

 

 

This is the public's view under the screens, the operator is looking the other way and it can be quite disconcerting to see a pair of eyeballs staring back while you are trying to position the wagons under the loader. A few dim lights add to the atmosphere - they are dim because the loaders are operated with coreless motors running on quite low voltage, the lights are on the same power supply.

 

 

Another view of the lower end of the screens, these wagons should be full but empties were posed here for the photo. Although the pit is supposed to be in Wales NCB architecture was fairly universal and the prototypes for the screens and sttling tank were nearer home at Skelamanthorpe. The stone built winding house is more typical of the valleys, with the name and date of the shaft in relief. A few windows lacking here, some never made (this was long before I could etch window frames) and the ones in the screens regularly drop out. The roof of the screens lifts off to refill the coal hoppers every hour or so. The open shed with the hoist gives an excuse to run all sorts of materials wagons up here.

 

 

 

 

 

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Mike, wonderful to get an in-depth tour of the layout.  

 

Will you be showing/explaining how the coal screens actually worked?  I'm intrigued, as I've so far only seen the Happisburgh tippler and that was in 7mm not 4mm.

[DLT]

I'm really enjoying this thread, the layout looks superb, very "real" and is probably quite demanding to operate.

Do you plan to exhibit it again at any time?

Many thanks, Dave.T

[Fat Controller]

Beautifully modelled, Michael; I spent a lot of my childhood holidays at such locations, as my father's company modified the screens at several locations in South-West Wales during the mid-1960s, so that they could load the new-fangled (by local standards) 21t hoppers for Coal Concentration Depots. Welsh screens always had minimal clearances, so as to reduce the further degradation of friable graded coal.

The ground's far too clean though; even in summer (or the warm wet season as it is down there..), the areas around the screens would be covered with fine coal; these were the only places where I'd see dad donning wellies, instead of his normal polished brogues. Often, the area would be completely black, apart from the rail surface, and only if that had been used recently. I doubt that you could replicate the track in anything smaller than Gauge 1, as 'parallel' and 'level' were unfamiliar concepts- 4mm wagons, even with springing, couldn't cope with the irregularities.

I don't know how screens were organised elsewhere, but the ones I knew had different roads for different grades of coal. As anthracite was generally burnt in different types of enclosed grates, each of which could only burn fuel of a specific size, it was imperative they didn't get mixed up. The grades I remember were, in ascending order, 'duff', 'grains', 'peas'  'beans' and 'cobbles'; beyond these were the large lumps; if you look at Paul Bartlett's site, there are several shots of the internal user fleets in different locations- the ones at Cynheidre are branded for the different grades (http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/cynheidre/h217147cb#h217147cb). At pits where a lot of 'duff' was produced (Brynlliw, for example), it would be taken by conveyer to a separate stacking area to be loaded into higher-capacity wagons by tractor-shovel.

I hope this model will appear on the exhibition circuit again one day; it makes a refreshing change to see something that's neither urban grot or bucolic countryside.

[Michael Edge]

The duff road is the short one on the outside, this one doesn't work. The other two do and we do have the option of using two grades of "coal", we never have though since I think they would inevitably get mixed at some point. I agree with what you say about the area being too clean but there are practical considerations, the layout has to operate reliably. The tracks under the sreens need to be swept out regularly as spilled coal builds up all over the track (depending on the skill and experience of the operator). A long handled paintbrush is kept handy for this.

[Barry O]

I'm really enjoying this thread, the layout looks superb, very "real" and is probably quite demanding to operate.

Do you plan to exhibit it again at any time?

Many thanks, Dave.T

I am sure Mike would exhibit it if it gets invites...

[pete_mcfarlane]

I rather like this layout. One of the very first RMs I bought as a I kid had your article on the working wagon tippler, which greatly impressed me.

[Michael Edge]

The tippler was part of the original layout design, it used to be located on the inside - Cwmafon wasn't designed with exhibitions in mind. After many years of watching the public peering over the top of the traverser fiddle yard to see what was going on (tippler is a bit noisy) it was moved to the front and the steelworks re-designed. More on this later.

 

 

13T coal wagon carefully positioned on the tippler, this is the only part of the layout which has to be set up level. The setting of the locking bar over the wagon was the subject of much experimentation to tip anything from this size of wagon (and a bit smaller) up to 21T. The bigger 24T wagons won't fit, nor will most of the loco fleet. Locos are not normally run across the tippler though, the wagons are shunted across until the siding at the far end is full, using more as reach wagons if necessary, then the empties are transferred to the next siding. A 4wh Sentinel is usually kept for this duty since it's low enough to go across the tippler if necessary. Underneath the baseboard there is a large plastic tub (or should be, accidents have been known) to collect the coal for transfer back to the screens.

 

 

Same view with the wagon tipped, the locking bar fits neatly on to this height of wagon, smaller ones rock a bit but it still works.

 

 

Close up from the other end, CISC locos are not normally seen on this job, usually NCB steam although they have to run through the steelworks to reach the tippler sidings now. The tippler was damaged slightly when Cwmafon returned from its last show and needs some repairs and perhaps improvements.

 

 

 

 

[Ray M]

I`m sure i remember seeing this brilliant layout at the 

Leeds shows , many many years ago. 

When it used to be held in the Corn exchange in the city center.

[Barry O]

I`m sure i remember seeing this brilliant layout at the 

Leeds shows , many many years ago. 

When it used to be held in the Corn exchange in the city center.

See the photo of the gravity yard earlier in this post - it was taken in the Corn Exchange.

[Michael Edge]

Cwmafon has been at lots of exhibitions over the years, not just Leeds. Doncaster, Hull, Nottingham, Warley, York, Bremen and South Wales to name a few from memory.

 

 

One more photo of the tippler in action, this time an old one at the operator's side of the layout. The counterweight for the locking bar proved inadequate so an additional lump of lead had to be suspended on wires to keep the wagon in place. Our old club couplings (SJR Mk 10?), basically an upside down hook and bar, magnetcally operated, are seen here.

[LNER4479]

We need a 'wow' button. Working mechanisms such as these in model form are very impressive.

[Barry O]

The tippler is great if not always the easiest thing to operate (much better now we don't have permanent magnets which used to get steel axled wagons to move to and fro on the tippler). It always gets people watching - and so long as you make sure you have the catcher "tub" in place underneath great fun.

 

The more adventurous among us have been known to tipple 21T minerals (not the NE Hopper type) - don't suppose you have a photo of one of these in the tippler Mike?

[Michael Edge]

I can't find any photos but they aren't too difficult to tip. The permanent magnets did make life more difficult though. I'm still thinking about a rotary tippler for the iron ore wagons, I think I know how to make one but need to work out where to put it.

[Michael Edge]

Three more photos of the pit before moving on to the next development.

 

 

View from the tip end, too many clean wagons in those days!

 

 

Pit buildings from above, the whole of the screen roof lifts off to refill the hoppers.

 

 

Full end of screens

[Barry O]

Luckily most of the minerals are a lot dirtier now....

 

[Donw]

That has a nice feel to it. My experience of Colliery layouts was with Owen and John Gibbon in7mm using real coal and getting told off for putting wagons from different valleys in the same train.  I must look out for this one at exhibitions.

Don

[Michael Edge]

Cwmafon was at the last Leeds exhibition in the Corn Exchange, Mike Cook was one of our operators and complained that the layout was too narrow. In view of the fact that a house move had left me without the 28ft loft space I said I would widen it, whereupon Mike said "can we have it for York next year then?".

The two end boards were sawn in half and two new 4ft boards inserted, at the steelworks end the corners (where it used to fit into the loft window) were filled in as well.

 

                                                                      

 

With the fleet rapidly expanding, loco sheds seemed the best use of the space. For a modern looking steelworks shed the relatively new BR one at Pwllheli was chosen as a prototype. This is a two road shed with fuelling facilities, one road runs through a workable roller shutter door at the back.

 

 

There was space at the side of the shed for three loops, seen here rather full with wagons (the Trestrols have since been fitted with trestles, one empty and one with a large steel plate on board). Nearest the camera is the Ebbw Vale branch at a lower level, this forms part of the seldom used continuous run.

 

 

This is perhaps my favourite photo of Cwmafon.

The filled in corner made room for a short slag tip siding and a lagoon. On the left is the old CISC shed, now disused with the track disconnected. the board shows the boundary for NCB locos - this is a more recent addition, connected with the relocated tippler. The two slag ladles are scratchbuilt.

 

 

At the other end there was just enough room for a small LNW loco shed, these were of a highly standardised design so no particular prototype was followed although there was something similar at Tredegar.

 

 

Cwmafon Junction has an allocation of two LNW 0-8-4Ts, typical of the MT&A, one 0-8-2T for the marshalling yard and a few 0-8-0s etc. The 0-8-4Ts are scratchbuilt, the 0-8-2T is a Jidenco kit.

 

 

The push-pull train from Brynmawr to Cwmafon passing the shed behind a coal tank, this is not double track, the line at the left is the yard arrival road.

 

 

A view from the balcony at the 1989 Leeds show (Armley), there are five busy operators in this view, which means that one control position is not manned. This should give exhibition managers a guide to why we take seven operators with Cwmafon now - and also why it needs to be seen all round. We have had a long tradition of lady operators at the pit ( Hilary Oliver followed by my daughter Gwyn and now Judith) but this seems to be an exception. At least I'm wearing an appropriate shirt.

[Barry O]

Two very young looking Edges.a Nuttall, Kryten... but who is operating the shed??

[Barry O]

Ambler or Motters ... and where's the next instalment???

[Michael Edge]

Patience Barry, new shed arrived at 7.30 this morning.