Penmaenpool (Llyn Penmaen)

[pwr]

Paul

 

We just lost The Hobby Box in Uckfield too. The loss of these small specialist shops is doing the hobby no good. They can't trade on the small parts and specialist items and can't match internet retailers on volume items. A real shame

 

Paul R

[Deano747]

Paul

 

We just lost The Hobby Box in Uckfield too. The loss of these small specialist shops is doing the hobby no good. They can't trade on the small parts and specialist items and can't match internet retailers on volume items. A real shame

 

Paul R

 

 

That's sad!! I remember the Hobby Box when I lived in Sussex, and thats going back more years than I care to remember!!!

The days of just 'nipping' to the local model shop are disappearing fast!

 

Regards, Deano.

[Focalplane]

The days of just 'nipping' to the local model shop are disappearing fast!

Yes, it's almost as bad in England as it is in France where my nearest useful model shop is 80 kms away.  But they only stock HO, so I am limited to scenic stuff and electrical parts that are not scale specific.  Also, French model shops generally don't sell paints and spray cans, for that you need an art shop.

 

Paul

[Focalplane]

Now I am back in France it is full speed ahead at the workbench.  Nearly everything will be Penmaenpool related, starting with a GW TOAD brake van, the coal stage and finishing off details to the engine shed and latrine.  I also intend to build the 74XX chassis, make a start on the two Haywood coaches and weather various Dapol trucks and vans bought at Telford/Chirk.

 

Note these are intentions!

[Focalplane]

A quick mock up of the engine shed module.  I am using wallpaper lining paper which is not as wide as the actual baseboards.  There is an additional 15 cm on the right and 12 cm on the left.  The shed is in approximately the right place, with room for the foreman's house behind.  The main line west curves off to the right.

 

 

Records suggest that there were times when four locomotives stayed overnight with two outside.  This was no doubt when additional excursions ran to Barmouth on a Saturday.  The tender locomotives would be turned at Barmouth Junction ready to face Ruabon the next morning.

[Focalplane]

A quick visit to this topic while so much is going on at my workbench.  I have been relaxing with various books that relate to mid-Wales railways and it is clear that most trains that ran through Penmaenpool were pulled by tender locomotives.  Only the Barmouth Dolgelley local was regularly in the hands of a tank engine, with perhaps an occasional 57XX and 45XX being used on pickup freights.

 

Although I don't personally remember which classes of locomotive were being used to haul the Pwllheli portion of the Cambrian Coast Express in the late 1950s, photographic evidence comes up with a number of small locomotives.  Well, it was only half a train from Dpvey Junction and there are no severe inclines between Dovey Junction and Pwllheli, so a light prairie tank engine or a Collett 0-6-0 could easily handle the load.  This contrasts to the Ruabon-Barmouth line with the steep climb up from Dolgelley to Garneddwen with inclines up to 1 in 50 for nine miles.  Heavy trains were double headed though much of the time Manors and GW Moguls were the preferred single motive power until the Class 4 standards took over.

 

The other interesting aspect of using tender engines was that although Barmouth did have a turntable, the larger tender engines were turned on the triangle at Barmouth Junction.  As a result, express and Saturday only trains from Ruabon to Barmouth* needed to turn the engine by running it four times over Barmouth Bridge.  Those engines staying overnight also traversed the bridge four times as they were stabled at Penmaenpool.  The only reason I can see for this status quo is that the Cambrian built the original shed at Penmaenpool when it was the end of the line and no effort was ever made to relocate it to either Barmouth of Dolgelley once the GWR took over.

 

I have not seen anything written on banker engines being used east of Dolgelley.  Instead it would seem that the heavier trains were double-headed throughout.  This makes sense as Dolgelley never had an engine shed or even minimal facilities (other than water).

 

Happily this means that there is more operational interest for modelling Penmaenpool, with the potential for at least four light engine workings each day.

 

* Through trains to Pwllheli had the facility of a turntable (now at Minehead on the WSR but enlarged to 65ft).

[Focalplane]

Also mentioned on the workbench thread, I now have 6 baseboard modules to assemble.  The laser cut 1200 x 400 mm baseboards fit together nice and tight and will be completed when I remember to buy some white glue.  The trip to collect the kits from near Dudley was fraught by a broken down truck on the already restricted elevated M5 at West Bromwich.  Road works will continue until late 2018.

 

This morning I sent Grainge and Hodder a custom design for the baseboards that will contain the shoreline embankment and estuary edge.  This is what I want:

 

 

 

I am not yet sure how many of these I will need, but probably 5 is a current guess.  The engine shed area does not have the shoreline embankment, in fact the railway is in a cutting.

 

Next week I hope to visit Penmaenpool again to do some more detailed measuring of buildings and other remaining infrastructure.

[Greengiant]

Geoff Taylor recently sent me the link to his new website which features his version of the station in 4mm.

www.geofftaylormodels.com

 

Martin

[Focalplane]

Geoff Taylor recently sent me the link to his new website which features his version of the station in 4mm.

www.geofftaylormodels.com

Martin

I have already sent Geoff a PM, so far no reply, but since I have nasty stomach trouble I can wait a while!

 

In other news I have received the patter makers dowels and the cork sheeting but again, not much is happening.

 

Paul

[Focalplane]

Good news from Geoff Taylor - he can make 7mm platform supports.  I just need to work out how many!

 

I have started to put the first baseboard together.  So far so good!

[Focalplane]

I have completed what I thought would be the first two baseboards, front and rear of Module 1a which will contain the foreman’s house and the engine shed. Module 1b will have the turnouts and shed roads, together making Module 1, measuring 2.4 x 0.8 meters. This can be considered a stand alone diorama but with no operational interest.

 

Unfortunately, by the time I went to connect the two completed baseboards, I found I had messed up the fitting of dowels, etc. and have actually completed half of 1a and half of 1b! Nothing needs to be undone but to make any sense in a photo I now need to finish the other two.

 

I have enjoyed putting them together and the result is a lightweight but strong and stable base with plenty of room underneath for Tortoise switch motors, etc. I have no hesitation in recommending laser cut baseboard kits. In fact if I do go back to Shipston on Stour in 4mm scale I will replace my home made boards, which are as light but not so strong.

 

The next two boards will go together much more quickly! Then I will take some photos.

Edited November 7, 2017 by Focalplane

[Focalplane]

Although I have had a lot of other priorities, I have now constructed the first four baseboards and have temporarily bolted them together.

 

 

The two halves of Module 1 will be separated for transportation to France where they will be assembled with a full complement of bolts and washers.  The 2.4 meter by 0.8 meter (engine shed) module will then be temporarily mounted on top of the Legge Lane cabinet (it has already been prepared for this) so that track laying can begin sometime next week.

 

Each baseboard is light to carry and I plan to use styrene insulation sheeting for the terrain, which will not add too much weight.  The shed and other buildings will not be fixed to the baseboards so although half a module is quite bulky (1200 x 800 x 300 mm with scenery) it will not be heavy.

 

The Stanley clamps have been most useful and are strongly recommended.  B&Q charge a lot for the 6mm bolts so I only bought what I needed during the construction.  I can get over the counter boxes of bolts in my local bricolage for a very competitive price.

Edited November 9, 2017 by Focalplane

[Focalplane]

Module 1 work begins:

 

 

Safely arrived in southern France and the two half modules are positioned on top of a stripped down Legge Lane.  The approximate positions of the shed, mess hut/office and turnouts have been placed, though more accurate measurements will be the first priority before marking out the track.  I also need to purchase more bolts to fix the front and rear baseboards together - they will not be separated once track laying begins.  The half modules will be separated once the track has been laid.

[Focalplane]

Starting with the point entering the engine shed I have added and glued down the cork underlay to one half of the engine shed module:

 

 

The next step will be to prepare the baseboard for the point motors, etc., as well as some narrow brass screws to support and protect the ends of the tracks on the module.  The tops of these screws will be soldered to the rails at the module ends.  This will help to protect them but additional protection will be required when shipping the modules from France to England ()or wherever they will eventually be sent).

 

 

The track has been cut to fit but will not be glued down until I have found a source for rubber cement.  Which explains the slight crookedness!

[BG John]

Have you seen this colourised photo of the shed, that might be useful?

https://flic.kr/p/Hw1xew

 

From here.

[Focalplane]

Have you seen this colourised photo of the shed, that might be useful?

https://flic.kr/p/Hw1xew

 

From here.

 

I have a copy of the original black and white photo but I hadn't found the colourized version before.  Looks realistic!  The tinges of rust on the corrugated panels is something I am planning to add.

 

5801 is an interesting resident here, it was presumably standing in for one of the regulars on the Barmouth-Dolgelley local service.  My ex-Oswestry 1459 will be a "look a like".

 

I have looked through the photo set and there are some gems!

 

Many thanks, Paul

[coachmann]

It always struck me that Peco's 0 gauge points always look more prototypical than their 00 bullhead counterparts. Probably something to do with the throw or frog angle.

[Focalplane]

A small hitch - no Copydex or equivalent available locally, but Amazon.fr have it, so I will have to wait until Tuesday to start laying track.  So the plan continues with laying cork underlay for the main line west, then cut the slots for the ash pits and, maybe, the inspection pits inside the shed.  There will be no cork underlay for the engine shed and its roads, a short ramp down being prototypical.  This will be made from layers of sanded card.

 

In other news, it looks like the Parkside 6 shelf coach storage box will be sent next week.  This will be for coaches used on Penmaenpool, the existing one is for my Midlander rake.

[Focalplane]

Some progress made over the weekend, with the slots cut for the ash and inspection pits and more cork underlay.  The shed roads drop down on the prototype so I have mimicked this with a short ramp of card.  The sleepers will be embedded in the usual engine shed mix of ash, clinker, coal dust and oil.  Everything now waits on the rubber cement, scheduled to arrive on Tuesday.

 

 

 

The inspection pits inside the shed will not be to a scale depth as they will hardly be visible.

[Focalplane]

The rubber cement which should have arrived yesterday is delayed, so no track laying has been possible.  The parcel has been tracked starting in Madrid, then to Brussels, last night in Lyon, where to next?

[Miss Prism]

I hate rubber cement for track. It comes off in uncontrollable strips when trying to tidy ballast slopes or dig holes for signals and point stools.

[3 link]

I hate rubber cement for track. It comes off in uncontrollable strips when trying to tidy ballast slopes or dig holes for signals and point stools.

I agree, and if you try and drill through it, like supposing that you want to place a dropper, the rubber spirals around the drill bit and pulls most of it back up. A bit like candy floss on a stick, yuk!

 

Martyn.

Edited November 22, 2017 by 3 link

[Focalplane]

I have used Copydex on both Shipston and Legge Lane with good results.  I do agree about the candy floss problem but I have already drilled the holes!  What I like about the rubber cement is that it offers some flexibility in a climate which can be 40ºC in summer and below freezing at times in the winter.  The conventional wisdom is that the South of France is warm in winter, a suggestion often quoted by so-called travel writers.  It isn't.  I have photos of the coastal lagoons between Narbonne and Perpignan completely frozen over, while the Canal du Midi was also frozen.

[coachmann]

Every time I look at the BBC News24 forecast, that land across the channel is always sunny and dry while this puke of an island gets all the crap.

[3 link]

I have used Copydex on both Shipston and Legge Lane with good results. I do agree about the candy floss problem but I have already drilled the holes! What I like about the rubber cement is that it offers some flexibility in a climate which can be 40ºC in summer and below freezing at times in the winter. The conventional wisdom is that the South of France is warm in winter, a suggestion often quoted by so-called travel writers. It isn't. I have photos of the coastal lagoons between Narbonne and Perpignan completely frozen over, while the Canal du Midi was also frozen.

I lived in dept 23 the Cruese for 3 years, and we couldn't believe it when the first winter we had temperatures down to minus 23 !!! Although the locals did say that was exceptional, the next two years the average was still minus 10-12 !!

 

Mind you, we are talking the centre of France, and it's what you would call a " dry cold "..

 

Martyn.

Edited November 22, 2017 by 3 link