Go Anywhere Train

It occurred to me that despite having built up a large collection of Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland 009 stock over the last 30 years or so we have very few things which we use on all three of our layouts.

One of the exceptions is this delightful little consist.

I'm sure I'm not the only one to have long regarded Britomart as the FR's most charming locomotive.

It arrived on the FR in 1965, having been bought by a group of FR staff and volunteers (some of whom read this blog) which puts it right in the era for our new Minffordd layout.

What makes Britomart almost unique among our fleet is that it has never changed colour.

Indeed, I understand it is still wearing the original coat of paint, resembling Great Northern Railway of Ireland blue, which it received when it came to the FR more than sixty years ago.

Unlike our England engines, Fairlies and Ladies which have changed colour, or some other aspect of their appearance, over the years it is perfectly correct whether it is running on Minffordd, Dduallt or Bron Hebog.

The vintage twin set 11 and 12 (I insist on calling them by those numbers!) are among the handful of inter-operable carriages we have in our collection because they have worn the green and ivory livery - or variations of it - in the 1960s but also now in the 21st Century.

Our latest incarnation of Britomart - for we have had three - is one of the super little Bachmann models which has had a DCC chip, speaker and stay alive crammed into it.

Four years ago the prototype for this conversion was given a chance to stretch its legs on Bron Hebog.

Chuffin' 'Eck

I've quite often found myself in the situation where you end up saying: "If you can't beat them, join them."

Within my family I'm often reminded that I was the person who was quite determined never to get a mobile phone, and now - like most of us - it has to be almost surgically removed from my grasp.

So it is with DCC power and locomotive sound.

The trigger has been the arrival of 4mm RTR narrow gauge locomotives in recent years.

Himself was first to crack, chipping our Bachmann Baldwin, just to see what it's like.

Then, when the Double Fairlies were released last year, he plumped for one of the sound-fitted versions of Earl of Merioneth, and a DCC controller beneath the Christmas Tree.

A few days ago I was unable to resist placing an order for a be-chipped 'Garrarway-era' Linda.

Himself's techno enthusiasm has been encouraged by fellow modellers at the Greenock club who operate many of their 00 layouts with button-pushing handsets and a cacophony of chuffs, whistles, horns and throbbing.

So it was with much excitement at Manchester that we were able to have a play with a remarkable sound-fitted Bachmann Britomart, which had been adapted by an old friend of ours, John Gay from Digitrains.

As you can hear from the video the effect is really quite remarkable - even running on DC-only - especially considering it was something the manufacturer decided not to attempt.

To achieve it John has placed a speaker in the cab, disguised by model crew who've each had to have one of their legs amputated, and a 'stay alive' capacitor has been hidden in the cab roof.

That really is something to put on the wish list.

Little Blue Guinea Pig

Himself and I are not known for being early adopters of new fangled technology, but we've finally caught up with everyone else in starting to glaze the spectacles in our locomotive cabs with Glue 'n Glaze.

Having never used it before Himself thought it wise to try it out on an old model where it wouldn't matter if he made a Horlicks of it.

Our old Chivers Britomart was the chosen guinea pig for this.

The results were encouraging and he's cracking on with the rest of the main running fleet.

There is a limit to the area the product can be used on and the biggest we've tried is the big plate-sized windows on Lyd.

It does seem to work better on whitemetal kits where the rim is quite deep, and for that reason we probably won't be able to do very delicate etched brass windows like those on the Fairlies or Garratts.

So far, so good, though.

Join The Cavalcade

Never let it be said that we are unafraid to jump on a bandwagon at Bron Hebog.

As the FR celebrates the 125th birthday of Hunslet 'Ladies' Linda and Blanche by inviting lots of other Loiners to come and play in the top left and corner of Wales this weekend we thought we'd get in on the act too.

My social media feeds have been full of pictures of line ups of little locomotives so Himself decided to do the same by posing all our Hunslets together.

This collection was made possible by Brian Madge, Robex, Roger Chivers and Backwoods Miniatures - and we're very grateful to them for their wonderful kits.

Small Is Beautiful

We're only a week and a half into 2018 but already we've had what I believe will be one of the highlights of the year - the announcement by Bachmann of a second series of ready-to-run 009 locomotives.

This time the subject is the iconic Quarry Hunslet - the so-called 'Alice class' small ones including the FR's Britomart.

This is phenomenal news for 4mm narrow gauge modelling.

I had heard from very good sources that this was in the offing, but I dared not believe it until I saw the confirmation which came at the weekend.

Rather strangely, you might think, this provoked intense debate on some 009-focussed social media groups.

Not because of the choice of prototype but just the fact it was happening at all, which I have to say I found very puzzling and also rather regrettable.

To me this news cannot be seen as anything other than a good thing.

How could we possibly object to 009 getting exposure and support from one of the big four beasts of the UK model railway scene?

(By which I mean, in no particular order, Hornby, Bachmann, Heljan and Peco - please don't write in.)

This is what many of us have been crying out for.

I suspect for a lot of us we hardly dared to believe it was possible.

Yet now we find that people are complaining that it is a bad thing, that it will damage 009, that it will stop people modelling.

I'm afraid I cannot follow the logic in that argument.

No one is born into this world scratch-building or constructing intricate etched brass kits.

Every single one of us started our love affair with model railways somewhere and I think it's a pretty safe bet to say that for the vast majority that began with a ready-to-run train set - and probably a OO one at that.

We have all followed our own paths and 'play with trains' in a way that makes us happy.

Some of us will have gone down a road that leads to us making our own kits or building from raw materials and others won't.

And that's all there is to it, when you boil it down.

It is a hobby for goodness sake!

As a group - as 009 modellers - to complain that we don't get any manufacturer support, and then when, at long last, we do, turn round and say it's a bad thing makes us look for all the world like a spoiled child who whines that they're hungry and then when they're presented with food turns their nose up at it.

I'm not aiming this at any individuals. Before anyone sets the comments section ablaze, this is not aimed at you.

However, being January, Burns Night will soon be upon us and I think it would be wise to take inspiration from Scotland's national poet:

O wad some Power the giftie gie us

To see oursels as ithers see us!

(If ye cannae understand that then just Google it!)

Of course, I suppose if anyone had legitimate reason to be peeved by the announcement and curse his luck it would be Himself.

Months after completing the very intricate task of painting and lining out our kit-bashed Brian Madge Britomart we could have waited and saved ourselves the bother.

But that would take the fun out of it, wouldn't it?

We're delighted about Bachmann's move and will undoubtedly be buying more than one of the new models - the variants without cabs - because both of us would like to have models of some of the other wee engines which have made guest appearances on the FR and WHR over the years, but with Brian Madges kits having become like the proverbial hen's teeth it was not looking like a realistic possibility any time soon.

Now all that has changed.

So we say thank you Bachmann!

I hope you will too.

Review Of The Year - Part 2

April

At the start of the year Himself had begun painting our Britomart, a few months later it was finally lined out and had its name and works plates fitted.

The finished effect was terrific!

He was also making the finishing touches to another model which featured in our January review, the service car 125, which had received a coat of varnish and was ready to join the fleet.

I had made rapid progress with the latest house for the estate scene which was looking pretty much finished.

Or so I thought.....

May

Yes, I spoke too soon.

I had to pull it to bits in places because I'd come across an aerial picture of the estate which showed me aspects of this house which I had never noticed before, including an entire extension on the back.

Fortunately with styrene it's easy enough to splice in new bits.

Yet another long-term project came to fruition this month when our model of observation car 150 had its (very complex) lining finished and the glazing added.

It was so impressive I had to take some portrait shots on Bron Hebog.

June

Our attention in the early months of the summer was all about the estate scene.

The house which you saw me building earlier in the review was ready to be tried out in place on Bron Hebog.

Around the same time I was already well on the way to filling the gap site at the top of the picture with one of the more interesting houses on the development - which is saying something given the unconventional shape of many of them.

We'll begin looking at the second half of the year next time.

Review Of The Year - Part 1

Let's face it, there's not a lot of modelling gets done in the run up to Christmas, so I've got into the habit on the blog of taking stock of what we have achieved over the course of a year.

Quite often I end up surprising myself with how much has been done, because progress on a model can be such a haphazard affair that you sometimes don't realise how many things you have been working on over the period.

January

At the start of the year Himself was putting the finishing touches to our scratch built model of the new FR service car 125.

A few miles down the coast I was starting work on one of the more obvious missing pieces on Bron Hebog - the ruined barn which sits in the middle of the S bend.

And after many years sitting in primer Himself got around to painting the exquisite model of Britomart which was built up from a Brian Madge Quarry Hunslet kit  (which are sadly filed under H for Hen's Teeth currently, more's the pity.)

February

There were other locomotive loose ends which Himself set about tidying up earlier this year, including the long-standing issue we had with the wheels on our Welsh Pony.

This model was built - with extreme difficulty! - from another now unavailable kit  (do you spot a trend here?) and the problem was that one of the wheels on it was slightly less than round.

Our little pony ran with a nasty limp.

Fortunately, one of my contacts who knows the manufacturer was able to obtain a replacement set of wheels, for which we are most grateful.

Himself pulled the chassis part and replaced them, with the result that it now runs much more satisfactorily as you can see below.

Which is more than can be said about the real Welsh Pony! (Patience is a virtue...)

As milder weather arrived he ventured into the garage and began scenic work on the layout again, making a start on the scale miles of post and wire fencing alongside the line.

I was very taken with an overhead shot he took of the farmyard area, which I think showed off the subtlety of the scenic work he's been doing.

March

While that was going on Himself had been painting the old barn which was ready to be tried out in position on the layout, and looked very effective.

We'd also taken a radical step into a new technology: 3D printing.

For his birthday I bought him a copy of the Robex design for the unique Quarry Hunslet Lilla which I had been admiring for some time after seeing pictures of models which other people had made.

Until now all our locomotives have had brass or white metal bodies.

Himself found that bits fell off this one from virtually the first time he held it, which didn't do much to endear him to the medium.

On my workbench I had begun another stretch of house building with the intention of finally finishing the Oberon Woods estate scene.

To be continued after Christmas.

The Faerie Queene

Our Britomart is finally complete.

The name and works plates have been fixed on and she's been reunited with that wonderful little chassis.

You only really see just how dinky the loco is when you see it lost in the middle of the expanse of Bron Hebog and sitting next to one of our NGG16's.

The project has been a slow burner but I'm really delighted with how it's turned out.

Tool Box

Here's a closer look at Britomart, one of the models which were being given a coat of varnish in the previous post.

Himself has fixed in place a couple of the finishing touches including the oil can on the back corner of the running plate and the rather natty wooden tool box which is perched on the top of the saddle tank in front of the cab.

The final job is to fix on the nameplates and the Hunslet works plates which have been etched for us by Narrow Planet and then slot in the chassis.

It's a beautiful little model and I look forward to it appearing on many special charters and 'jollies' on Bron Hebog in due course.

Soft As Satin

Himself has been saying for months that he would wait until the weather turned warmer to catch up on his backlog of painted models which require a final coat of satin varnish.

Now the clocks have gone forward he's decided it's time.

The models you can see here - split into their constituent parts - are the new Britomart, the service car 125 and the observation car 150.

The latter is an interesting case.

I have restrained myself from posting any pictures of it while it was being lined out because I intended to do a big reveal when it was finally finished.

That was around Christmas time, though, and my resolve appears to have weakened.

The one thing preventing us from considering it properly finished is that Himself needs to think of a way too represent the curtains in the window of the rear saloon.

All suggestions appreciated, I'm sure.

Fine Lines

Britomart is edging closer to completion with Himself working hard on the fine white lining.

It's not a job that can be rushed so it's taken most of the week to get to this stage.

The nameplates and rather small  Hunslet works plates are on order from Narrow Planet.

Incidentally, if you ever wondered about the brass band which adorns its distinctively tall chimney, it's not just baby Hunslet bling.

The story goes that after the engine's arrival at the FR, following it's purchase from Pen y Orsedd quarry by a group of volunteers, it was discovered that at some point there had been a very rough repair to the chimney and the band was added as a colourful way of covering it up.

I've always thought it rather suits it and completes it's rather cheeky character.

Black And Blue

In modelling - as in much of life, I suspect - the secret is to cheat where you can get away with it.

Which in this case is the black lines which divide up the blue panels on Britomart.

Why free paint them when you can use some nice, thick black waterslide lining?

This devious plan means that we get perfect straight edges to put the white lines up against to complete the little beastie's Great North of Ireland Railway livery.

Of course, at exhibitions, it is almost invariably identified as 'Thomas' by some of the younger visitors....

Little Blue Engine

It's been waiting for a couple of years but finally our favourite Quarry Hunslet is getting painted.

The loco is built from a Brian Madge kit and it's an absolute beauty with it's accurate outside frames and very smooth running.

Leaving aside the Double Fairlie, I think it is fair to say that these little work horses are the quintessential Welsh narrow gauge locomotives and I know I'm not alone in having a very soft spot for them.

Although it's little more than a toy in terms of the FR locomotive fleet it has got all over the system over recent years giving us plenty of opportunities to bring it out for a play on Bron Hebog.

Ironically, the real locomotive is currently stripped down and the boiler is in the process of having it's 10 year inspection.

Mastermind

Himself says he is itching to get back to doing some modelling after more than two months of enforced abstinence.

Getting settled after a house move is not the work of a moment, of course, so I'm doing what I can to get him back in business.

In this house his modelling den will not have to double as spare bedroom so he's spreading out, and I spent some of an afternoon at the weekend assembling this fancy chair he's bought.

It reminds me of the one Magnus Magnusson used to interrogate contestants in.

The quizmaster's famous catchphrase was "I've started so I'll finish", which is very appropriate because Himself still has a drawer full of stalled projects to complete including lining the new Conway Castle, painting the Brian Madge Britomart, finishing off models of carriages 15 and 19 and rebuilding our Backwoods Darjeeling Pacific.

Let's hope it's a comfy chair!

A Very Special Special

A couple of weeks ago the Bron Hebog team lost a dear friend - designer extraordinaire and raconteur Steve 'Stefco' Coulson.

At the Hull show last week we paid our tribute to him by running a special train formed of the rolling stock he had a special connection with.

For those who aren't aware, Steve was a part owner of Britomart, a Quarry Hunslet locomotive bought from the Pen-yr-Orsedd quarry in the 1960's and brought to the FR where he helped care for it.

Britomart was a 'toy' on the FR in the days when the railway wasn't so open to such indulgences.

This model is our 2nd Britomart, which has been built up from a Brian Madge kit. The exquisite outside frame chassis is connected to the motor not by gears but by a miniature rubber band, just the sort of practical engineering solution Stefco would have approved of, and I'm sure he wouldn't have minded that it's still running around in primer.

The second locomotive is the Funkey diesel Vale of Ffestiniog which he was responsible for redesigning to fit the FR.

It wasn't merely a case of hacking the body about, he had to completely re-engineer the machine, moving many of the components and adapting it to have a cab at each end rather than just in the middle.

That he managed to achieve all this and for the result to be so aesthetically pleasing speaks volumes for his talent as a very intuitive engineer.

The last vehicle is carriage 122, a radical prototype he designed and helped to build in the early 2000's applying modern road coach-building technology to a narrow gauge carriage and making maximum use of the railway's' kinematic envelope.

It looks destined to remain a one-off but that's no criticism of the design which has proved very popular with passengers.

I recall that Stefco was very chuffed when we produced this first model of his carriage and, as ever, offered all the assistance he could.

When I asked for a drawing to help make the model he didn't just hand me a basic outline but instead a complete set of the design documents.

All of us on the Bron Hebog team will always treasure the hours we spent listening to his stories as he held court with a pint in his hand and another lined up ready on the bar.

Until our paths cross again some day,  perhaps in 'the embassy', we hope you appreciated our tribute train, Steve.

New Toys On Test

The show at the weekend was the first chance to give our newest locomotives a proper test run.

The one that did the most mileage was our 3rd Backwoods Garratt 138 which went into regular service straight 'off the workbench'.

It will in time be finished in the locomotive's current red livery and as running coal-fired.

Also getting a run out was Himself's impulse purchase, an RT Models kit of one-time FR resident Peckett tank Harrogate.

He was inspired to make a model after seeing the real thing in action while were exhibition the layout at Dinas on the WHR last year. It was on loan from the Statfold Barn Railway.

I believe I'm right in saying that the locomotive has yet to traverse the full WHR so this picture of it emerging from Cutting Mawr is a bit of futurology.

Even more improbable was our double heading of our new Brian Madge Britomart and Mercian Models Welsh Pony - not only because Pony is in the very early stages of a scandalously overdue restoration (in my humble opinion) but also because, as others have already pointed out, it's highly unlikely the pair of them could ever haul this length of train up the hill to Beddgelert.

Although I think I know a driver who given half a chance would give it a go!

Those there at the time also witnessed a minor miracle in seeing one of these Mercian England engine kits moving given that the gearbox, as designed, will not fit inside the locomotive.  It's taken all of Himself's ingenuity to make this model work.

I have a big soft spot for Welsh Pony - indeed I am one of the regular donors to the restoration fund - and I think this model's going to become one of my favourites.

Dinas Debuts

I've got lots of pictures to show you and tales to tell from our weekend at the WHR running Bron Hebog at the Super Power event.

I'll start with a few snaps of some of our latest models which had their first outing on the layout.

The new locomotive this weekend was our Britomart adapted from a Brian Madge Alice cab-less Quarry Hunslet kit.

She's still in primer but is ready for the paintshop.

It was my first opportunity to see it move and I am delighted to be able to tell you that she runs superbly well: very smooth, almost silent and with no stutters or stalls even on fiddle yard pointwork. Quite remarkable for a locomotive of that size.

We had a couple of carriages which require only a coat of varnish and which were included in the rakes.

Our second 'Superbarn' 121..

...and the second of my 13m long WHR saloons from the batch of 3 built at Boston Lodge a few years back. (There is a third still in virgin styrene in a drawer somewhere back at our southern HQ)

And finally the WHR tool van which spent a lot of the weekend sitting in the sitting in the station out front posed with a pair of DZ wagons and the historic - and sadly scrapped - mess coach 1000 which saw use during the reconstruction of the line through Beddgelert.

I've got many more photos to post over the next few days - and a couple of surprises - so do keep checking back and see what you missed if you weren't able to make it to Wales.

Pony Trap

Some developments to report in our struggle to mechanize our Welsh Pony kit.

You will recall our Mercian Models kit was saddled with a gearbox and motor which didn't fit, and no chassis frames to attempt to mount them in anyway.

Trevor, from Mercian has been in touch promising to send the missing etches and offering to put us in touch with other modellers who have successfully completed the kit.

It will be fascinating to find out how much they had to adapt it to make it work.

We have also had an offer of assistance from Brian Madge, who has recently brought some Quarry Hunslet kits to the market - we used one for our replacement Britomart - who has suggested ways one of his belt drive design chassis might be adapted to fit the bodyshell.

We'll update you all when we've decided how to proceed.

Britomart - Almost There

Himself has been very busy putting the finishing touches to our new Britomart.

As you can see from these pictures he's sent me the wee engine is looking pretty complete now.

One of the details he has added which make this unmistakably a model of Britomart is the small wooden box which sits on top of the saddle tank just in front of the cab.

I've dreamt for over 20 years of having proper outside frames on Britomart and I think this model looks absolutely sensational and I for one can't wait to see the finished loco running on our layouts.

Funnel Find

It's amazing what you find when you rummage about enough, isn't it?

After writing a post a few days ago saying that the one bit our new Britomart was lacking was a tall, thin chimney Himself discovered that he had one all along, languishing in a box of bits in the garage.

It just so happened that around 20 years ago a fellow modeller passed on a lot of redundant 009 bits which just happened to include most of the parts of a Chivers Quarry Hunslet kit which we have been searching in vain to purchase for the last two months.

So Britomart now has her chimney, and very good it looks on her too.