Alignment

Himself has been giving Dduallt a going over ahead of its visit to the shows in Troon and Perth in the coming months.

On thing which needs a little attention is the alignment dowels between the boards.

As you can see the the bottom of the picture, these were simple wooded pegs - the same as you get in most pieces of flat pack furniture- and over 25 years or so the receiving holes tend to widen and the fit becomes less accurate.

So he’s carrying out the same procedure he did with Bron Hebog last year and has retro-fitted two piece metal units.

This is one on the upper fiddle yard, set nice and high up near the track to minimise any deflection.

Battle Of The Bulge

Himself has been working hard to sort out the last of the baseboard joints after some issues cropped up during the show at Bressingham last month.

Eventually, after a lot of measuring, we discovered the problem was that the boards at the Porthmadog end of the layout were ever-so-slightly shorter than the ones at the Rhyd Ddu end.

Although it didn't stop the layout being put together it was having the effect of putting a  strain through the structure (which forms a large square) with the consequence that some of the boards were being pulled apart a little.

And with the tiny wheels of 009 even gap of a couple of millimetres will affect the running. 

The discrepancy probably occurred as a result of the boards being built many years afterwards in a place where there was no opportunity to erect the layout to check how it fitted together.

The fix he decided on was too add a 9mm fillet to the joint between the lower fiddle yard and where it joins the first scenic board.

This also had the effect of moving the edge of the fiddle yard out by 15mm and so the tracks had to be slewed to match and the locating dowels repositioned as well.

The effort has been worth it, though, because the board joints at the front of the layout, in the station area, have closed up nicely and it's been tested by propelling a long rake of B wagons (the stock most vulnerable to derailing) all the way from the station into the fiddle yard.

Reverse Engineering

One of the things we understood would be crucial when we began building Bron Hebog was that on such a large layout, with a sinuous trackplan with many board joints - both end to end and side to side - was to make sure they were always perfectly aligned.

That's why Himself invested in some very high quality German engineering dowels to try to ensure that the boards would always fit together accurately regardless of whether the wood had shrunk or expanded with the season.

So imagine our consternation on the day of the exhibition at Bressingham to discover that one of the track joints, which is slightly on a skew, had moved ever so slightly during the night.

It wasn't much but it was enough to derail one particular Garratt pony truck and occasionally a bogie too.

Considering what to do about this he came to the conclusion that although we had fitted a system of dowels all around the layout they were low down on the frames, but much of the trackbed sits quite a few inches higher on an embankment.

It seemed that maybe there was still potential for this to move off the vertical?

His solution is to fit another series of dowels just below the trackbed.

However, this is easier said than done because these are supposed to be fitted - for precise location - by drilling all the way through the two pieces you are connecting.

This is not possible on a finished layout where you can't get a drill up behind and underneath.

He's just had to do it very carefully from the outside instead.

Let's hope it does the trick.

Review of 2014: Part 1

January

In the final days of the year I like to look back at everything we've achieved in our modelling at opposite ends of the country.

January 2014 began with Himself putting the finishing touches to our model of Welsh Pony which he built - after a long struggle - from a Mercian Models kit.

It looks better than it runs, which is mainly on account of some distinctly un-centred wheels, and nothing more has been done on it in the last twelve months.

We shall wait until the FR has completed the restoration of the real Welsh Pony, but as they're making impressive progress on that we shouldn't have to wait too long.

It's also amusing to look back and see that the year has been book-ended with me casting interiors for Super Barn carriages.

Back in January this was the first one I'd done.

Himself was also starting work on making our third NGG16 from the fabulous Backwoods Miniatures kit.

February

Progress was so swift that by the next month I was reporting the completion of the rear power unit. I could look at that valve gear all day...

I was cracking on with making a trio of Super Barn carriages for a client with the body parts cast in resin and the roofs cut from an empty super-sized beer can.

It's a hard life sometimes!

The Artistic Director also produced some long-awaited plans for the 3rd & 4th houses in the Oberon Wood estate which were a true work of art as always.

March

It didn't take me very long to get the first of the houses knocked up in styrene.

Himself sent us some 'works portaits' of our completed 138 which, unlike Welsh Pony, moves as good as it looks.

And with the deadline for our next exhibition appearance in September a big push began to try and get the layout as complete as possible.

April

Things started getting heavy, quite literally, in April as Himself began work on the rock faces in Cutting Mawr using real Welsh rock.

May

By this time I'd sent down the 3rd house which was in the process of being positioned on the layout and the landscape built up around it.

The 'Head of Steel' advanced rapidly with track being laid on another new board, the gently curving section which makes up the final part of the big S bend behind Beddgelert station.

June

I was being kept busy making another batch of Super Barns for another client, this lot had to be supplied painted but without interiors.

At the same time I was also getting on well with making the 4th house for the estate.

There are common themes to the designs but they are all different so you have to pay close attention to the plans drawn up by the Artistic Director and cross-check with my on research photographs.

This one required some corrections late on in the build process...

At the back of the layout Himself was making the last of the bridges over the Afon Cwm Cloch.

Here is a shot of him checking clearances with a Garratt and the longest carriage, the Pullman observation car 'Glaslyn'.

 

To be continued....

Layout Recycling

It's all very well building all these extra boards to complete the layout - in terms of track layout - in time for the exhibition later this month, but it still leaves the question of how to store and transport them.

And that's where the racking system comes in.

It's probably more accurate to describe it as a pairing rather than racking system, because we fix our boards front to front for transportation, as you can see below with two of the fiddle yard boards.

The eco-friendly bit is that the L girders Himself has used to make up these latest end plates come from the baseboards of our very first exhibition layout, a OO preserved branch line terminus called Wickford.

In one of his more ingenious moments Himself engineered these so the transport pieces are attached using the same clips as the ones we use to connect all the boards of the layout when it is erected.

(Although Himself being Himself he's also drilled a hole and inserted an extra bolt as well because he doesn't trust the clips not to come apart in transit.)

He also tells me that he's invested in our own personal sack barrow so we can wheel the sections between the van and the exhibition space rather than relying the team carrying them one by one like pall-bearers at a funeral though the hall and out into the car park.

Given that this is not exactly a lightweight layout this may prove to be a very shrewd investment indeed.

Nearly Finished Yard

Just the track to go now!

I say 'just' but we haven't worked out how much track and in what position yet...

Even so Himself has got these three boards built very swiftly and I think they look quite swish.

They run the full length of the back of the layout.

You can clearly see the step half way along which marks the division between the top and the bottom yards.

The difference doesn't look very much but if fact the track does dip down / rise up towards each end of the scenic section out front to reduce the differential behind and leave open the possibility of having a continuous run loop at the back.

So at some point in the future Himself might cut a 'ski ramp' into this structure to enable through running.

That's all in the future. Just now the priority is to make the layout run in a basic format at Woking next month.

There was some debate about whether we needed to fit folding legs to the middle board or whether it would be enough for it to be suspended between the outer ones.

In the end, as you can see, we did.

This was mainly because I had visions of miscommunication during setting up or break down at an exhibition resulting in one of the end boards being pulled away prematurely and the middle one coming crashing the ground.

Belt and braces as always....

It's Got Legs

Himself has made speedy progress with the construction of the lower fiddle yard.

The basic baseboard is all but finished now which is pretty impressive given that it's a brand new, back-of-a-fag-packet design so it takes longer working it out as you go along than it does to make the subsequent ones.

He tells me it took almost 2 hours to work out how the legs should be designed so they folded and fitted properly, as you can see below.

The base for the trackbed is a sheet of ply at the bottom topped with Sundeala board, which is apparently very expensive these days as it now has to be made fireproof.

Provided it is well supported it does make a very pleasant fiddle yard 'worktop' - a much nicer feel to it than plain plywood or chipboard.

Himself tells me he is a bit disappointed by how heavy it is given that he pulled out all the stops - by his rather Brunellian standards - to make it lightweight.

He's now going to start working on the other end - the Rhyd Ddu exit of the layout - which will be much taller and therefore even heavier.

After that it will be time to think about a track plan. If I were you I would be seriously considering investing in shares in PECO right now.....

Yard Work

The current top priority in getting the layout into a fit state to show at Woking in a few weeks time is to get the fiddle yards built.

Up until now the layout has only been run with temporary ones at the 'head of steel' but the time has come to construct the proper ones which will be positioned at the back.

The first photo shows the basic frame for the lower bottom end. The other end will be a bit taller because the line has climbed all the way around - as the real one does.

There are a few of changes from the scenic board design.

There are no L girders and they are only 2ft wide instead of 2ft 6 mean it will be less far of operators to reach to handle stock and, in theory, less opportunity to knock them off the track or damage stuff in other ways.

They are  open plan underneath and quite thin so as to save weight and be easier to store and to get to the point motors and other ancillaries.

The section which juts out at the right hand side is where we intend to mount the control panel.

There will be a couple of cross pieces to put in when we have worked out where the point motors are going.

In total there will be three boards and the  middle board will be the last to get built.

It will be a split level arrangement and in future there is a possibility there might be one track at the back that runs on a gentle slope for continues running.

Backscene Boosting

Himself has decided he made an error a while ago and the 'hill' on the Cemetery Crossing board is not going to be high enough, so before he goes too much further on this last board he's taking action to increase the height of the scenic former at the back.

In this series of pictures you can see how he has marked out the shape of the existing plywood and marked it out on a fresh sheet.

You can see in these two shots below that he has done such a neat job it's hard to tell where the join is.

The last bit of progress to report just now is the cork track bed has been cut out and glued in place around the curve into the lower fiddle yard. Once again you'll notice the scenic break is placed at an angle.

A Few Centimetres To Go

We have almost completed the track laying on the layout.

Himself has turned his attention to the other end - the Porthmadog end - and the last base board to be tackled.

This is the one that was used as a temporary fiddle yard but is destined to be the section leading from the southern end of Goat Tunnel and across Cemetery Crossing as the railway heads for the Pass of Aberglaslyn.

He has cut and mounted the plywood track bed and started work on the crossings.

In the picture above you can see Cemetery crossing in the foreground with road and footpath leading off p the hill.

The entrance to the fiddle yard, with the scenic break on a diagonal, can be seen in the background after the unnamed foot crossing.

And this is the view from the over direction.

As you can see there is but a few centimetres of virgin track bed left on Bron Hebog now. What a tantalizing sight!

It also serves as a reminder how huge this layout is going to be by 009 standards.

Many of them seen on the circuit are no longer than the run from this point to the start of the tunnel around the corner out of shot.

That's not meant as a criticism or a put down because you can see some amazing modelling in small spaces, it's just an observation to put the size of this project into context.

At The Other End

I've been telling you a little fib for all these weeks when I've been describing the boards at the back right corner of the layout - the Rhyd Ddu end - as the last ones we've got to build. In fact there is one more, at the other end beyond Goat Tunnel and heading for the Aberglaslyn Pass.

It wasn't a complete lie because this board has been in use on the layout - it was at the show at Dinas last year - but that's only because it was being used as the temporary southern fiddle yard.

Now the track and the plywood sheet has been pulled off and its ready to be transformed into the final scenic board.

This one will have a simpler 90 degree bend into the fiddle yard rather than the 180 degree U turn at the other end.

When this one's done the basic structure of the layout really will be completed.

Honest!

Would I lie to you, dear reader?

Plaster & Paint

There's been more work done on the northern end of the layout in recent days.

The river bridge board has just been given a coat of plaster. The next job here will be to complete the bridge which at the moment is just a deck of plywod.

The other board which sits in the back right hand corner and includes the exit to the top fiddle yards has had it first coat of paint, and now Himself is working out where the wall have to go.  The big square area in the foreground is where the farm house will go.

The Final Bend

We've decided on a strategy of getting the trackbed and the scenic base of Bron Hebog finished first rather than doing each board in turn.

Hopefully this means we can guarantee we'll have a full run to show off at the exhibitions we're attending in the autumn.

It seems a long way away but once you take into account summer holidays and Himself's regular trips to volunteer on the FR it suddenly seems a lot sooner!

As a result Himself has been pressing on with the back right hand board where the track curves around into what will become the fiddle yard.

The first of today's pictures shows the plywood base of the fiddle yard being glued into place - that old iron chair coming in handy again.....

Quite what we'll do with the fiddle yard is still up for discussion. The track will enter at each end at different levels and so the question is whether to have two completely separate yards or to have a linking track - in the style of the Nantmor 'ski jump' - to connect them and enable continuous run operation?

This is not prototypical, of course, but it is quite practical when one considers that Himself and the Artistic Director are, quite frankly, a pair of old women and like nothing better than to spend a considerable amount of exhibition time gossipping with the punters. Consequently there can be long periods where there is nothing moving on the layout until I give them a metaphorical, and sometimes even a literal, jab in the ribs.

Our next picture shows all the chicken wire in place. This is a new batch and Himself tells me it is not as good as the old stuff because the wire is only twisted together as opposed to being soldered on the stuff he was using previously.

Once the wire was all in place Mod Roc was spread across. I guess you know how this works by now...

The flat square area in the foreground is where the farm house model will sit.

You may also notice, on the far right hand edge of the board, a small dip which is our representation of where the unused PB&SSR trackbed heads off, at a fearsome gradient, in a cutting towards Rhyd Ddu.

The next stage will be to brush on a coat of plaster followed by our 'interesting' shade of brown emulsion.

Looking Down The Track

A little more of the trackbed has been fixed in place over the weekend.

Here's a view of the latest progress seen from the viewpoint of Bron Hebog crossing as we look down the road towards the farm.

The flat area on the left is for farm house with the lorry park on the right.

This is one of the parts of the layout where we're having to cheat a little to fit everything into a nice, exhibition-friendly rectangle.

We have had to bring the crossing much closer to the farm house to squeeze it in and so the track can swing around to the left into the fiddle yard.

This view from above shows how the scenic break will run at an angle and also note that the first of the wooden supports for the chicken wire are in place - drilled aerospace-style for lightness. (It's one of Himself's little jokes....)

Onwards And Upwards

The top right hand corner has progressed in the last couple of days.

The upper section of track bed is now in place, teetering on its stilts. It climbs just as the real railway does all around the S bend.

The roadway has been added and the base for the continuation of the river bed has been cut out and placed in position but its height has not been set yet.

A flat area has also been set aside for Cwm Cloch farmhouse.

If you look closely in to top right of the shot at the edge you can just make out a cutaway which is where the abandoned PBSSR trackbed came in on the original proposed steep route into Beddgelert.

Stepping back to take this shot from the front of the layout gives a good impression of the depth of scene we're creating as well as the gain in height from the station.

I can't wait to see the first Garratt snaking its way all around the layout.

Taking A Wrong Turning

Himself has turned his attention now to the missing link at the Rhyd Ddu end of the layout.

This is the part where the layout finishes and the track heads off into the forest cum fiddle yard.

It also includes a baseboard where the trains pass twice travelling in opposite directions.

As you can see this board is half built already.  This is as far as the line went when we exhibited the layout at the WHR Super Power event last year. We've come a long way since then.

The scenery here is quite complicated because the river is crossed for the second time in the top right hand corner and then immediately after the board joint the track passes over the level crossing called Bron Hebog, inspired by the layout may I add.

At this point it should then swing to the right and off into Beddgelert Forest.

However, this is as far as the journey takes us and instead our trains will charge around a sharp left hander. (15" radius for those who are counting)

As you can see from the picture below the boards are aligned in an offset pattern here, with some running across the way and the end ones up and down.

You cannot see the left hand end edge of the layout in the picture which, for those of you who've not had the chance to see it in real life, will give you an impression of just how big - in 009 terms - it's going to be.