Penmaenpool (Llyn Penmaen)

[Focalplane]

Some notes relevant to Penmaenpool garnered from meeting numerous vendors at Telford.

 

First, baseboards. I am still undecided but can delay a decision now as there can be no rush in buying kits before end of September.

 

Next locos. I have all the bits and pieces for the 64XX that will become a 74XX. I also chatted with Malcolm Mitchell about his involvement with the Lee Marsh Manor project. 100 will be made. The pilot model of the Dean Goods looked superb. Very tempting but all had gone from the area by 1959. The Collett Goods would be good, however.

 

Wagons and Vans. I bought a Connoisseur GWR TOAD 20 ton brake van kit. I also bought one Dapol van.

 

Coaches. I talked to Ragstone abiut the Orion kits. There were two RTR examples on display and they looked very nice. I then stumbled on the Haywood stand and thought their kits might be as good but definitely less expensive as wheels are included. I had run out of money by this time so plan to mail order two coaches, but from whom? No decision as yet.

 

Although not for Penmaenpool, the new Daerstaed Mark 1s look very good for £189 ready to run. They could fing themselves part of the Midlander Rake which is a separate project, releasing two LMS portholes for Penmaenpool excursion trains.

 

Scenery. Two useful books and some postcards give additional views of the station and shed. Every new photo seems to yield more detail. One colour photo really gives a good idea about the colour and weatgering of ballast on the main line in the late 1950s.

 

Signals. Scale Signal Supply and the Signal Record Society both helped me to understand more about the signal layout and the availability of GWR signals appropriate to the scene.

[Focalplane]

It's raining in Wales!  With a flood alert as well and that seems to be valid as the Afon Dwyfor has broken over its banks at Dolbenmaen and is encroaching on the Porthmadog-Caernafon main road.  It rained through most of the night and I had bad dreams about being back in Houston.

 

So, will I be able to get to Penmaenpool to take photos and do some measuring?  Tomorrow may be the best opportunity because it looks as though we will be leaving Wales on Thursday.  This is less of a problem in that I will be returning in October but who knows what the weather will be like then?  As I will not be able to buy baseboard kits until then that also means I can focus of building rolling stock.

 

Until I talk to Grainge and Hodder next week I will keep an open mind on baseboards, but I must say that their 1200 x 400 mm kits bolted side by side to make 1200 x 800 mm modules looks like the best solution, mainly because it gives strength down the centre and allows the front edge to be shaped to form the estuary.

[coachmann]

Raining in Wales hereabouts but it's humid and it is pleasant working in the shed. Well it was until her indoors shouted "I'm ready now"........Ugh. Gotta go shopping.

[81A Oldoak]

Raining in Wales hereabouts but it's humid and it is pleasant working in the shed. Well it was until her indoors shouted "I'm ready now"........Ugh. Gotta go shopping.

Some shopping is okay. We saw lots of happy shoppers on our stand at Telford at the weekend.

[Focalplane]

Some shopping is okay. We saw lots of happy shoppers on our stand at Telford at the weekend.

 

Chris

 

I must apologize for not coming by your stand on Saturday.  As usual I found my knees were giving way about 3 pm (the same happened at Bristol) before I had a chance to get to your stand to say "hello".  And I then had to drive over to Porthmadog behind some of the slowest traffic ever seen in Wales - less than 30 mph all the way from Bala to Trawsfyndd.  That is usually a very good road to drive.

 

The sky today looks like your Tonfanau back scene!

 

Paul

[coachmann]

Rain in Wales only means one thing during the tourist season.....The tourists are all in their cars. 

Edited September 5, 2017 by coachmann

[Jintyman]

Rain in Wales only means one thing during the tourist season.....The tourists are all in their cars.

Or worse, caravans!!!!!

 

 

Jinty

[81A Oldoak]

Chris

 

I must apologize for not coming by your stand on Saturday.  As usual I found my knees were giving way about 3 pm (the same happened at Bristol) before I had a chance to get to your stand to say "hello".  And I then had to drive over to Porthmadog behind some of the slowest traffic ever seen in Wales - less than 30 mph all the way from Bala to Trawsfyndd.  That is usually a very good road to drive.

 

The sky today looks like your Tonfanau back scene!

 

Paul

Paul,

Never mind. Will you be at Reading in September?

 

Chris

[daifly]

Paul,

Never mind. Will you be at Reading in September?

 

Chris

Will you be at Reading in September then Chris? Most of us that are going will be there in December!

Dave

[Focalplane]

We did go to Penmaenpool this afternoon and the sun came out at the end of the day.  While taking photos with my Nikon on the shore where the boathouse used to be I slipped in the mud and fell down, my camera landing top down in the mud!  My rear end probably looked as bad as the camera.

 

It still works but I am not going to attempt to remove the mud just yet as I don't have the best tools for the job and I don't want any more water on it.  The iPhone took over and I will post some photos later.  Meantime it's fish and chips from the shop on Snowdon Street (Port).  Delicious!

 

One thing I will record is that the manager of the George III Hotel has given me permission to measure up the Station building (now their annexe) at any time.  But I think I will check in again when I do, otherwise I could be arrested as a trespasser, voiyur, or plain simple railway modeller!

 

So, supper awaits!

 

(Edit to change ###### to voiyur.  You'll have to work than one out for yourself.)

Edited September 6, 2017 by Focalplane

[Focalplane]

Chris,  I hope to be at Reading but it will be there or Bristol in early 2018, not both.

 

Paul

[coachmann]

You have my sympathy slipping on the beach. I hope the Nikon survives the dunking.

 

Telling my wife a joke is a waste of time, but when I showed her the railway viaduct over the sea at Llanfairfechan, I slipped a$$ over tit on green slimy whatever and it was up my back and in my hair. So where was Mary? In a heap laughing! 

Edited September 5, 2017 by coachmann

[Focalplane]

Three photos from the iPhone (fast becoming my preferred camera!)

 

First the Signal Box in its present state.  It is 4.6 meters wide, the rest of the front elevation can be scaled off.

 

 

Next, two photos on display (in glass cases) at Reception in the George III Hotel:

 

The first shows two locomotives on shed, Nos. 6303 and 5801.  Good to see a 58XX/14XX on shed, but also note the small ash pits on both roads with a pile of ash between the tracks.  Excellent detail on the shed front as well.  That brass thing is a drawing pin, by the way!

 

 

The second is a poor photo but it does show the track alignment to good effect, with the main line climbing away to the right:

 

 

It looks like I need a Y off the main line; the catch point and ground signal are also visible.

 

In comparing with other photos, it would appear that the two home signals at either end of the shed were modified during the last ten years of operation.  The signal at the front of the shed is missing on some photos and in this case it looks as though it has been added to the other post but lower down.  This will obviously need to be resolved.

Edited September 6, 2017 by Focalplane

[daifly]

The first shows two locomotives on shed, Nos. 6303 and 5801.  Good to see a 58XX/14XX on shed, but also note the small ash pits on both roads with a pile of ash between the tracks.  Excellent detail on the shed front as well.  That brass thing is a drawing pin, by the way!

 

AshPits.jpg

 

If you want one of these photos of your own (without drawing pin!) there's one for sale here.

Dave

Edited September 6, 2017 by daifly

[Happy Hippo]

If you want one of these photos of your own (without drawing pin!) there's one for sale here.

Dave

As an aside, I often see photos on eBay that have appeared in books and magazines in the past.

 

One has to wonder about the provenance of such?

[BG John]

If you're modelling 5801, it still had GWR on the tanks when it was withdrawn (if you didn't know already).

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7573/15907699485_08aa05dc89_b.jpg

[Focalplane]

If you're modelling 5801, it still had GWR on the tanks when it was withdrawn (if you didn't know already).

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7573/15907699485_08aa05dc89_b.jpg

No, the 0-4-2T is already to run on Pemaenpool, it's 1459, an Oswestry loco on loan to 84J while the regular pannier is in for repairs. 1459 was in storage at Oswestry Works in 1959. I do use a bit of license wuth my locos, they are quite likeky to be 89A, not 84J, for reasons of nostalgia.

[daifly]

As an aside, I often see photos on eBay that have appeared in books and magazines in the past.

 

One has to wonder about the provenance of such?

 

I think you'll find that the photos existed BEFORE the books or magazines were published in the vast majority of cases!

Dave

[Focalplane]

The photos I took with the "muddy Nikon" have been downloaded but they are all raw and need to be processed.  However, I thought this one was worth doing a screen capture of:

 

 

Yes, the Engine Shed Office/Mess hut is still there, though camouflaged!  It's is on the land now owned by the new house that stands where the front of the engine shed was.

 

Once I have processed some of the others I will post them but it may take a week or two.

[Happy Hippo]

I think you'll find that the photos existed BEFORE the books or magazines were published in the vast majority of cases!

Dave

I totally agree with you.

 

My point was more to the fact that you can still buy copies of such photos from different sources.

 

I would have thought that the owner of the negatives might object! (As opposed to the photographer who is probably long gone.)

 

Wandering off the topic, but still of a photographic nature, we still get the occasional 'breach of copyright' when forum members post pictures from recently published books within threads on RMWeb.

 

I'm sure that most publishers do not mind this, if the due credit is given, as it may promote sales. 

 

But on a number of occasions the photos appear with no acknowledgement or credits.

 

If one can take the time to find the picture in the book and scan it, then post it onto the forum, then surely a few seconds typing out an acknowledgement of the source is worth it, as well as showing some manners?

 

However, and more importantly, I await the next Penmaenpool instalment

[Andy Y]

As an aside, I often see photos on eBay that have appeared in books and magazines in the past.

 

One has to wonder about the provenance of such?

 

The example linked to is a copy print from an original negative owned by another party, the seller's been transparent in this case. The owners of such negatives often make them available for publication, often through image libraries, at the same time as selling copies of the images. Originals which pass the copyright on to the owner are often a great deal dearer, I had my eye on this lovely one but it was a touch dear - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/35mm-Slide-Industrial-Steam-Loco-NCB-Cannock-Rugeley-Colliery-1-Marquis-1960/372039864312?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

[Focalplane]

I totally agree with you.

 

My point was more to the fact that you can still buy copies of such photos from different sources.

 

I would have thought that the owner of the negatives might object! (As opposed to the photographer who is probably long gone.)

 

Wandering off the topic, but still of a photographic nature, we still get the occasional 'breach of copyright' when forum members post pictures from recently published books within threads on RMWeb.

 

I'm sure that most publishers do not mind this, if the due credit is given, as it may promote sales. 

 

But on a number of occasions the photos appear with no acknowledgement or credits.

 

If one can take the time to find the picture in the book and scan it, then post it onto the forum, then surely a few seconds typing out an acknowledgement of the source is worth it, as well as showing some manners?

 

However, and more importantly, I await the next Penmaenpool instalment

As someone who has made some money from my "stock photos" sold or licensed to advertising agencies, i do not like to post any photos that may be copyrighted. There are ways around this, as you suggest, such as quoting the source and thus advertising the book. Another is to take a photograph of the photograph at an oblique angle. Thus the image is part of another image and is not a direct copy.

 

The best way, though, is to simply link to the photo if it is on line. I do this with warwickshirerailways.com photos all the time.

 

At the beginning of this topic I have used imagery which often bears a copyright symbol. However, the image has been incorporated into a new image which includes work by me. This may contravene the original copyright in which case I would simply remove it if requested. I think this is a grey area but would be happy for it to be proved otherwise.

 

More on Penmaenpool soon!

[Focalplane]

As promised some processed raw images from Penmaenpool, right up until I slipped in the mud:

 

The station building, much altered as an annexe to the George III Hotel.  The basic shape is still recognizable, however, and I shall be back to do some detailed measuring:

 

 

 

General view of the southern end of the bridge, the station building, etc.

 

 

 

The view west from the same location as above, showing the coastal strip that will be included along the track within the central modules:

 

 

Three views of the Foreman's House, now Victoria Villa:

 

 

 

 

A view from the headland to the west of the station:

 

 

And finally, a glimpse of the slippery estuarine mud, along with a view of present day tree vegetation which certainly would not represent what was there in 1959:

 

 

Edited September 9, 2017 by Focalplane

[pwr]

I am sure future generations will judge us foolish for closing many of these old railways

 

Paul R

[Focalplane]

I am sure future generations will judge us foolish for closing many of these old railways

 

Paul R

 

Yes, while in Shrewsbury yesterday I bought the book "The Lost Railways of Shropshire".  It is quite amazing just how many railways once existed in a rural county with few population centres.  Today Shrewsbury is served by five lines radiating in all directions, but there are very few other stations within the county.  Buses provide most of the public transport these days.  No wonder the private car is so popular.

 

On another sad note, it appears Shrewsbury has lost its model shop, one that rated 5 stars.