Anthony Ashley

Dear All, Avalanche shelter is underway as shown below: Each of the upright ribs was individually super glued. I need to add a lid and then another stone section above the lid. Some of this is already cut. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear Bogie, Thankyou for your kind words. I agree that there are challenges working in N gauge. I do have a little advantage as I have been painiting 15mm Napoleonic figures for the last 50 years. My most challenging figures included 4 battalions of Scottish Highlanders. The kilts were tiny but generally included 5 colours. I have provided a photo or so to show the painting done many years ago. Gordon Highlanders of the British Army Cameronian Highlanders French Dutch Guard Lancers French General Lasalle with pipe Fantasy Knight Figure I have done some work on the curved avalanche shelter. Photos to follow. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Adrock, Thanks for your very positive contribution to the blog. If you go to the first entry on page 1 I have a summary of the basis of the layout. It is set in 1960 so yes the road viaduct is dual carriage way and will include 3 stations - Conwy, Penmaenmawr and Bangor. Regards, Anthony Ashley

John and Simon, A step closer with all of the track between the main platforms and towards Penmaenmawr have been wired to the plastic terminals. I have about 40 more pieces of track to go from dropper stage to the plastic terminal stage to join up to the previously wired track to the north of Bangor with the up and down mainlines. Once this step is done laying a number of power lines, creating the Bangor scenic switch board and wiring for the plastic terminals to the power lines will complete the Bangor wiring. I taught my wife Sarah to solder today, as I needed to be under the layout with someone above. She cut the wire to length, soldered on the copper pin and screwed the pin into the plastic terminal strip. My job was to connect the dropper and other wire together under the layout. We completed all of the flexi track pieces between the main Bangor platforms (14 pieces of track in all) This is the blue and green track in the picture below. Good work and support by Sarah!! I think we will both continue tomorrow. The family that lays track together stays together!!!! I still need to wire from the droppers for the orange and yellow track on the outside of the platforms and then lay all the goods lines in Bangor. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear All, I managed to complete the final sections for track laying with droppers. I now have the whole scenic track done minus the goods yard in Bangor. I also have to do the two 34 track storage yards and about one third of the hidden loop around the inside walking area of the layout. None of these are critical to getting a loco running around the scenic area. Will continue the wiring to plastic strips for Bangor and the connecting area from Penmaenmawr. This will be difficult without 2 people, one for above the layout soldering copper ends to the wires and the other under to connect that wire to the droppers. My son may help me tomorrow so I might get a lot done. Seeing a train run all the way around would be an achievement after 8 years!!!! I shall then continue with the lower cliff faces between the mountain and Penmaenmawr. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear All, Been busy with work commitments for nearly 2 weeks but all finished now. Back to the train layout tomorrow and more wiring. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Simon and Wooden Head, The size will make the layout more inspiring in the end, but unfortunately everything takes so long to finish given the size of it. Nevertheless being satisfied with incremental advances is the way to go. I appreciate both of the comments. Caz I am happy to get comments from those modellers living locally in the area, as your reinforcement of the work so far is the best endorsement I can get. I hope I can get to northern Wales maybe next year but who knows with current travel restrictions. With a digital camera the opportunity to take 1,000s of photos is available once I am there. I just saw a program on scenic rail journeys from Pwhelli to Shrewsbury. The scenery was really spectacular and a worth while option for a possible rail journey. I had 4 days up the coast with Sarah and my Border Collie Darcy. Lots of beach walks but no train modelling. I now will be busy with some work for a week or so starting next week. I have Sat and Sun to start wiring the droppers for the end of Penmaenmawr and the Bangor Platform tracks to the plastic terminals and then to the power bus lines. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear All, Have finished the wiring to dropper stage for Bangor platform lines very nearly. I just need to connect it to the rail in the Penmaenmawr section. I need to lay 3 more pieces of track to mange this. Photos are below. It has taken me about a week to complete the track laying and wiring wiring to the stage of droppers in this area. Photos are below. View from the western end of the Bangor train station. I have inserted a metre ruler in the platform area to give a sense of scale. There is also a coach off in the distance on the main line. The unpainted cork on the right of the track work is the start of the good lines. The goods line will cover the whole of the green support board. View from the eastern end of the train station at the bottom of my layout. The carriage is more obvious from this end and the metre ruler is reflecting the light Eastern end of the rail lines in Bangor. I need to finish the last few pieces of track at the bottom of the photo. I shall connect Bangor and Penmaenmawr and then focus on wiring from the droppers to the bus line at the bottom of the Penmaenmawr area and the Bangor platform area. All comments are welcome. Regards, Anthony Ashley

RJS, A great idea but would be very difficult to implement given my construction technique for the viaduct. The base is made of 8ml ply with 8 ml ply supports between each arch. The under arch covers are well and truly stuck on. I understand the road base can only be .5ml for magno rail. The only way to do this would be to put a new road base over the top of the existing road base to create a pocket for the magno rail components. This would mean raising the wall height. Not sure I want to undertake that tasking but it is a great idea. I shall plan for another opportunity elsewhere on the layout. Thanks for the idea it is greatly appreciated. I have progressed with the wiring for the eastern end of Bangor (top of the layout). I have also finished laying the cork for the rest of the western end of Bangor. Photos are below. Eastern area has been wired to dropper stage. A forest of droppers. Bangor so far. New area of Bangor with cork laid. Next is to paint the newly laid cork and go on with the dropper insertion for Bangor. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Howard, Thanks very much. Your photos of the hotel are the best I have seen and show an entirely different aspect on the second photo. Very valuable and will greatly assist. I have researched the internet again but will little success. I sent an email to the Penmaenmawr historical society but no response as yet. I will need to closely compare the 4 photos I have to try to sort the aspect of each. Thanks again a fantastic contribution. I am proceeding slowly with droppers on the top section of Bangor. It is slow as I am properly cleaning each section of track prior to laying as it has not been done for 5 years. I am using 3,000 grit sand paper and Innox. Regards, Anthony Ashley

John and David, Your comments are very helpful. I agree that I need to consider how the building will look with the space available, although I think there will be enough room on top of the hill top It will be wide but not very deep. I have finished installing the track and droppers around to Bangor. Photos are below. Next I shall work on installing the track work at Bangor for the main lines and platform tracks. Regards, Anthony Ashley

David and Lez, I looked for a ground measurement system on the old online maps but could not find one. Perhaps you need to subscribe. I might split the difference and go for a round 80 metres. Given the size this will be close enough and given the building no longer exists it is unlikely I would be criticized for an incorrect size building!!! Even in N gauge this makes a very large building of 548 mls, which is situated at the top of a hill. I have finished off cutting. painting and fitting the underlay cork up to the end of the rail viaduct. All of the rails are weathered and now ready for laying as the next job. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Lezz thanks for your positive comments as they are always appreciated. Richard I shall research further based on your suggestions '. Thanks for the options. I have already tried the Penmaenmawr Historical society but no response as yet. David I am not sure how you worked out the dimensions of the Grand Hotel, as I find it impossible to really understand the actual on screen scale when working with the scale maps you suggested. I am not sure how to ensure the screen version is actual size. Your suggestion did give me an idea though as I have an electronic version of part of one the the maps mentioned. I used a different technique to determine the length of the blue line. I went to Google earth and measured the distance by using their ground measuring tool to measure the length of a large block of houses opposite the railway station in Penmaenmawr. That gave me a ground distance of 60,830 mls, or 60.83 metres. I divided this distance by the length of the building on the 1:2500 map of Penmaenmawr ie 60830 divided by 33mls meaning that each ml on the map I was using was equal to 1,843 mls of ground distance. I then measured the length of the front of the hotel off my map, which came to 44 ml and times this by the 1,843 for a total ground distance of of 81.092 metres. That is relatively close to your 79 metres. In N scale that will be 81092 divided by 148 = 548 mls. This appears to be a much larger area than I was expecting. Thanks for the work on your calculations. I am finishing painting the cork underlay and track for the track to be laid to Bangor station. Paint should be dry tomorrow ready for laying the cork and track. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear All, I have completed the top of the mountain apart from a little more vegetation around most of it. The track has been laid with droppers from the Pemmaenmawr end of the layout to the point work hidden in the second avalanche shelter just before the rail viaduct. This section still needs the wiring from the droppers to the bus lines, including the plastic connection strips. Photos of progress are below. The brown areas are dirt in which I shall add some vegetation, although most is just rock and scree. This photos shows the mountain top and recently laid track with the City of Coventry on the track. I need to finish the track laying to the Bangor section and finsh the wiring process. This should be a relatively quick job, although I need to get the wires in one section through 8 mls of ply, 100 ml foam and another 8 ml ply at the bottom. I shall probably cut a large circular hole in the bottom layer of ply from the bottom. As an aside does anyone know where I should go to get the floor plan of the Gran Hotel in Penaenmawr? This would alleviate the need for more photos of the hotel, which seem to be hard to come by. Regards, Anthony Ashley

John and Simon, Thanks for the comments. I have delayed the track work in favour of completing the existing mountain area with rock scree and plaster work, as I am making a mess of the track area immediately underneath. Once this is done it is on with the track work. I have attempted to create a rocky area in the gully on the Penmaenmawr side of the mountain, particularly covering the raised section inside the gully area. Photos are below. Thanks to Ross for critiquing the work and adding a couple of suggestions!! I found it difficult to get a shot that allowed for proper definition of the plaster area and the ridges involved. This area of htt mountain does not accurately correspond to the real thing but the limitations of the modelling area lended itself to a little creative licence by crating a more interesting mountain landscape. The next job is to add the rock scree and then paint using water colours the plaster rock. I shall then do the promised track work. Of course the whole mountain needs the roads to be plastered and walls added with significant small areas of vegetation among most of the rock faces. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Lezz, I think the internet is a really powerful tool for accurate modelling from afar. In addition the photos provided by Jamie were very very helpful in getting the correct detail. I hope he is OK as we have not heard from him in some time. Lezz your comments are greatly appreciated as I think I have captured the essence of the scenic area with the help form all of you who have contributed.. I have moved around to the Penmaenmawr side of the layout and done the missing chicken mesh and paper mach. Pictures are below. I have realised that the plan for the west end of Penmenmawr in terms of the included buildings will not work. The mountain has intruded too far around the corner to fit in the housing and buildings planned. I shall have to cut off Penmaenmawr some what shorter than it really is. I will show the section of my original plan and how I have modified it in this altered section. I suppose flexibility is a requirement in model train layouts despite the planning I conducted prior to starting. Original Penmaenmawr plan. Altered Penmaenmawr plan taking into account the mountain which has intruded with too much height into the Penmaenmawr side of the layout. Next I shall do 3 coats of paint on the new paper mache and then start laying the track from Penmaenmawr to Bangor. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear All, I have nearly finished the area behind the rail viaduct. Photos are below. View from level with the rail viaduct. View from level with the road viaduct Area Behind the rail viaduct. Still need to add a stairway , finish the far wall and add the track at the bottom of the road viaduct. View through the rail viaduct arches Next I shall do some more paper mache at the end of Penaenmawr to finish the mountain around the corner of the layout from the mountain. Once this has been painted I shall do the track work through to Bangor. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear All, Progress on The area behind the rail viaduct. Only one section of plasticard to add but most of it is done. Need to work on the area under the arches. I tried to get this photo horizontal but failed!! Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear All, Ross came over this evening and we experimented with the ground cover under the Rail viaduct arches. We used option 3 as discussed above. The pieces of foam were first hot glued together and then I made up a sandy colour mixture of plaster using the builders concrete pigments I have stored away. The results are below. The plaster is still damp in most of the picture but you can see the dried colour on the right front of the section. It is quite a good match for the sand in the area if I can believe the colours in the photos. This was purely experimental but I think is a great effect and will proceed to replicate this approach tomorrow with another 12 areas for coverage. My main concern was getting the foam section back between the piers without damaging either the viaduct or the section. It fitted in really well so no issue. When I poured the plaster I used two foam off cuts to create 2 walls either side of the section. I used heavy books to jam them up and ensure no leakage out the side. The lighter colour is evident in the plaster and all the plaster will dry this lighter colour. I shall rephotograph tomorrow when dry. So far success!! Regards, Anthony Ashley

Steve, I chose the line and three stations by going to a fellow modellers house and looking at his railway library for locations in the UK. He suggested the Welsh north west coast line. I found the stations of Conwy, Penmaenmawr and Bangor. As I emphasised in the first post both Conwy and Penmaenmawr have some amazing scenic highlights with the 12th century castle and the mountain involved with each of them. Bangor as the largest goods area on the line provides an opportunity for freight yard use. The scenic highlights of each therefore add to the whole. Secondly the line with the terminal at Holyhead and the major Port for shipping to Ireland provides options for diverse freight. In addition the line in a summer season in 1960 had 108 passenger movements, 54 goods trains and 8 parcel rakes. This is about right for me to replicate 24 hours of operation with all rakes being run. I have all of the coaches (approx 220 required) and most of the goods wagons etc. In summary the line seems just right in terms of rail traffic and scenery. Sarah and I were due to have at least 2 weeks in the area in Sep of this year, but those plans are on long hold while COVID ravages different parts of the world. Thanks for the question Steve and I hope I have adequately covered your question. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Caz, Any photos you find of the area are greatly appreciated. I have spent the last 7 years searching for more and have exhausted my avenues. I have cut all the foam . Pictures are below. The only issue I have now is how to finish the ground under the arches. i think there are 2 types of ground surface in the area of the rail viaduct. 1 is in the photo above. Which can be created by using plaster and then scattering small round stones into the plaster and pressing them down. The other surface is more like a really rough concrete, which I can replicate using plaster moulded river beds. The problem I have is how to use the plaster without damaging the viaduct. There are 3 options: pour the plaster onto the angled surface with the viaduct in situ. There is little room between the viaduct roof and the surface and I am concerned about damaging the viaduct. mark the position of the foam creating the rising area on the base board, remove the viaduct, glue the foam inserts to the board. Do the plaster work and then reinsert the viaduct. Not sure that I can be accurate enough to get the viaduct to fit exactly as the foam inserts have to be very tight and I do not think I will be able to get it back. Take the foam inserts out. Glue the 2 sections for each rise under the viaduct to baking paper to ensure they are properly glued. Use other foam on the sides of each insert to create 2 walls . Do the plaster work and let it dry and then reinstall and stick the inserts between the piers. I can then make as much mess as I like during the plaster process and can wash off the foam walls quite vigorously without effect. Once I reinstall the foam inserts I can then use a pipette to drop in tiny bits of plaster to fill in any gaps. I then have to blend in the other sections behind the piers, which will be done with the viaduct removed. I can use the same technique for the plaster river bed moulds. I think option 3 is the best one. I have Ross coming over this evening so will get a second opinion. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Caz, Thanks very much for the photo I had no idea what was at that end of the road viaduct. The photo will enable me to create this specific area. There is a hell of a lot of vegetation above the retaining wall. Well done for this contribution and thanks very much. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Caz, Thanks very much the photos will help. At 150 to 200 yds it will certainly have a presence in the layout, although I may need to shorten it somewhat. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Caz, Are you saying there is a retaining wall running nearly parallel with the road viaduct, starting at the junction of the fence line and the metal hand railing just above the corner of the niche, and lies between the 2 trees. It can just be seen in the photo. How far does it run? I would not have noticed it without your pointing it out, as it can only just be seen in the photo. How high is it and what is it made of? I presume it does not follow the wooden fence running behind the road viaduct. I do not think there will be any clear photos of it on the internet. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Caz and Howard, I enjoy getting your comments from persons who know thew area very well. Given I have never been there the assurances as to the accuracy of the model are very reassuring. Thank you both again. Caz I will be putting in the retaining walls on the way back to Penmaenmawr and towards Bangor. There are also a couple of avalanche shelters back to Penmaenmawr one of which is completed and the other only requires roof supports and the roof. I am now modelling behind the Rail viaduct. I only have one picture showing the land fall under the rail viaduct, which appears to be rising to the back. I have quite a few photos behind the viaduct. There is a flat area behind the viaduct and then another rise to the sea wall. I have added the rise next to the sea wall and the angled part of the sea wall, with a walkway on top at the foot of the road viaduct. I need to add more foam sections to get the rail viaduct rise and continue that height back to the sea wall. More foam shaping to be completed. Photos of progress so far below. View from above showing the gradient change next to the sea wall and the sea wall angle cut to create the angled sea wall at the top of the wall. Horizontal view. I shall cut a large rising section to about 20ml and then cut it up to fit between the piers. I then need to match the height at the back of the rail viaduct piers and continue the height difference back to the sea wall, with a flat section and then the same gradient as already exists next to the sea wall. This section will need a stair way and landing as show in the photo by Jamie below. This photo by Jamie really shows the walkway on the left, the sloping sea wall at the top and the stairs at the end of the niche, with a water drain through the stone work. I am a little cramped for space in this area in order to provide enough space for a real walkway around the layout. This photo also show off the ground height at the back of the Rail viaduct piers. Onto the foam cutting and shaping!! Regards, Anthony Ashley