Aberthaw B Power Station

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

In an effort get my son interested in model railways we’ve decided to go for broke and build an exhibition layout ready for the Cardiff Model Railway show in October 2024. 

So, here it is well the start of it anyway modular baseboards with a eye on a potential extension later on, turntable storage area to allow freight trains to be turned without lengthy point work or hand of god interventions. 

Really pleased with how the boards went together, glued and pinned to ensure they stand up to the movement and rough and tumble of potential show transit. They’ll need to sprayed painted prior to track laying though to ensure they keep any moisture out of them.

 

The plan is there’ll be no back scene board so it can be viewed from both sides if desired, although the scenic will be built up to provide a nice transition.

 

Here are the boards under construction:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

Second instalment of the baseboard construction, straight and curve boards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

Overall look at the concept, some minor alterations to do but more or less happy.

 

 

 

 

 

[Graham T]

Looks interesting.  I hope your son is enjoying it!

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

After some gentle guidance he cracked on and assembled all the boards, I’m more a guide than the lackey doing the work on this one.   

 

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

Little more work on the layout before we start to lay the track, I’m determined not to make mistakes which tarnished previous layouts so it’s slow but steady to try and get things right this time, but working to a deadline of August 2024.

 

Work today centred on printing the boards, marking out where track is going and the laying the cork before we temporarily lay the rack to make out dropper points and point motor holes etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

A little bit of track down today, wired into the bus and the required board joints fitted.

 

All being well, we’ll have a crack at pushing the track laying to completion next week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Goodnight Sweetheart

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

Today track laying is almost complete, just a short length to link the scenic and turntable together and the turntable itself to finish. The first of two electro magnetic uncouplers installed, I’ll need to wait until the relay board arrives before we can test it though. 
 

Next job, which I’m not looking forward to is cutting the rails across the joints - although we’ve used the new track alignment sections ensure “perfect alignment, a every time” we’ll see……

 

The boy made a little video of the testing this evening, even at this stage it looks good in our opinion anyway.

 

The electro magnetic uncouplers, although we’ll need to fit keedee couplers unfortunately.

The hole cut for the second uncoupler on the headshunt.

Nice LED lite switch the operate each one.

Mainline which needs another few lengths to complete (right), flask transfer siding (left).

Station (left) with the yard loop (right).

37607 & 605 sit (just) in the head shunt,

 

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

A little taster video of how the terminal will operate, it’s set up to allow different formations of flask train which also include trains with barrier and brake vehicles.

 

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

92003 in the platform with a route learning trip.

Accurascale’s finest Class 92 and 37 share the terminal area.

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

Track laying continued towards, and onto the turntable this evening. All board joints have been cut and checked to ensure alignment, huge relief to find they do align !!!

 

The boy did the best joint on the layout as well. 

Before work started this evening, the other boards where taken down to allow us to walk freely round what we where working on.

The mainline now curves away to the right onto the turntable.

Turntable joint fixed down, we’re just waiting for rhe pva under the cork to set before we push further onto the turntable, and try to align the other end. 

Turntable with the first joint in place.

I

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

Final sections of track laid onto the turntable today, just need to wire the bus up then it’s onto the scenic works.

 

 

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

As we push forwards to getting the layout fully wired. I’ve been finishing off the dropper, bus and inter board connections.

 

We’ve also fitted a Accurascale friction buffer stop to the end of the mainline, the sidings will have traditional rail built stops.

 

 

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

It’s been a long time since we did any work on the OO project, so with school work complete we decided to crack on with spraying the track it’s base colour, and laying the ballast which will now be left for a few days to dry before additional colouring it added to the track.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

The chinchilla sand ballast has fully dried out and set solid, with a little more work it’ll look very good and much much cheaper than any other model ballast.

 

I took the opportunity to spray the Peco bullhead stop blocks, using Halfords sprays as again there so much cheaper than model railway yellow paints.

 

 

 

 

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

1990s style formation with barrier, and brake vehicles because we all know 20ft of wagon will protect you against radiation poisoning …really looking forward to the Accurascale Mainline blue 31 at some point this year.

 

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

I wanted to add a feature to the layout, so I’ve decided to lay a disused portion of railway. The idea is the compound for the flask transfers was built over the rest of the formation with the rest just left in situ.

I laid out the track to the desired alignment.

 

A bed of ballast was the laid for the track to be laid on top.

 

The the usual PVA mix to glue it all down.

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

The disused branch formation more or less completes in its basic form, some rail removal needed before the land forms are complete.

 

 

 

l

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

The new order make an appearance on a trial / gauging run.

[saxokid]

On 19/11/2023 at 16:18, Goodnight Sweetheart said:

Overall look at the concept, some minor alterations to do but more or less happy.

 

 

 

 

 

This looks bizz im now following as were building 00 gauge club layout at mo around this era..

cheers neil

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

The boards are the business to be fair, extremely light and easy to move about single handed. There also extremely robust as well, which is ideal as eventually the plan is to take it to shows locally.

 

if your OO gauge id recommend the alignment track sections, 100% non alignment failure rate can’t fault them. 

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

A few little bits ongoing pushing the layout along, no big bang stuff just little side jobs.

 

 

 

[TravisM]

Awesome work and will be following with interest.

[Ravel]

Looks great!

 

a couple of questions if I may, are these the “400mm wide” Grainge and Hodder boards?

 

Also, are the platforms a custom build or a kit?

[Goodnight Sweetheart]

16 hours ago, Ravel said:

Looks great!

 

a couple of questions if I may, are these the “400mm wide” Grainge and Hodder boards?

 

Also, are the platforms a custom build or a kit?

Yes the boards are the 400mm ones from Grainage & Hodder very light and strong really pleased with them definitely my go to firm now for boards.

 

The platforms are from West Hill Wagon Works range, a standard and an extension kit.