Joined-Up Thinking

Recently one of the followers on our Facebook page posted a comment asking if we'd ever considered connecting together our two Festiniog layouts Dduallt and Minffordd.

It's an interesting question, and the answer why we probably won't includes a number of hurdles we would have to overcome, so I thought it might make the basis of a decent blog piece.

I have to say it's a beguiling idea, and one I've often toyed with while daydreaming.

Long before we embarked on the Minffordd project I would often think wouldn't it be nice to have the space to set up Dduallt as a home layout, and instead of operating it end-to-end between fiddle yards - as we do at exhibitions - make it into a continuous run.

My daydream was always that we could have Dduallt on one side and Tan y Bwlch at the other, perhaps with an exit to a storage / fiddle yard as well, perhaps making use of the truncated route to the disused Moelwyn Tunnel behind the signal box.

That plan has never gone any further than a daydream, however.

So, now that we have two layouts, why not try to connect them now?

Here are the things you'd have to overcome.

HEIGHTS

As you would expect for model of Dduallt Spiral the layout is not flat!

Therefore the entry / exit points to the fiddle yards at each end of the run are at different levels.

Having never compared the measurements it’s also entirely possible that the height off the ground of the FR mainline on Minffordd is different yet again.

To connect them would inevitably involve some degree of ‘ski ramp’ at each end and the height that would have to be climbed by ascending trains would dictate how long these ramps have to be - which would have an impact on the viability of the idea.

CONTROL

As it stands the two layouts are using different systems.

Dduallt was built for plain old DC whereas Minffordd is all-singing DCC with sound.

It wouldn’t be impossible  to lash-up a way to make them work together on either control system, but, you couldn’t use both as once, nor would the stock be interchangeable.

And that’s an issue because Dduallt and its steep gradient was built assuming we would always use heavy white metal or brass locomotives with the traction to pull reasonable trains up the hill.

The latest ready to run locos - lovely as they are - really can’t cope with anything other than  flat layout with our stock.

ERAS

The other consideration - albeit the one that’s easiest to overlook - is that the layouts are set around 20 years apart.

Minffordd is depicted in the generic 1960s and Dduallt at the end of the 1980s with stock that’s anything up to the present day.

ORIENTATION 

The logical thing would be to have the layouts positioned back-to-back.

Unfortunately, that would see Up trains leaving Minffordd emerging on the Deviation on Dduallt as if they’d just left Tanygrisiau,  and the same in the opposite direction.

To be prototypical the connections would need a crossover at some point, making them much more complicated to build.

SPACE

Of course, the biggest obstacle is simply where we would ever find the room to put it all together to test and play with it.

Unless anyone wants to donate a large, secure, space somewhere on the west coast of Scotland to us? No, thought not…

Model Train Movies

As part of the process of reawakening this blog from its recent slumber I've updated the page featuring videos of our layouts filmed over the years.

There's some cracking footage which has been lovingly filmed, edited and posted online.

Some of the films are fifteen minutes long, and you could certainly lose a happy hour watching all of these films in their entirity.

You'll find them all on the Layout Videos page.

2019 - Part 3

The summer saw us taking Dduallt for its third showing in nine months, after receiving an invitation to represent the Greenock club at the show in Perth.

This was is up there among one of the best in the country and we're very much looking forward to returning with Bron Hebog in 2020.

June also saw an unexpected opportunity to purchase another Backwoods double fairlie, which Himself duly snapped up and straight away began starting work on a James Spooner, being careful not to get ahead of the real one under construction at Boston Lodge.

The Gladstone Car was also finished with transfers and the illusion of curtains in the central saloon now in place.

August

We didn't waste any time starting on the next of our WHHR carriages.

Himself soldered up a Worsley Works kit for the buffet car and I was given the job of knocking up an interior in styrene.

James Spooner now had its bogies and firebox (motorbox) complete.

Hot on the heels of the Buffet Car was another brass body shell for the Ashbury corridor carriage in its original form, which we're doing up as the replica built for the WHHR.

September

There was a little more scenic work done on Bron Hebog ready for its next outing in Greenock in the autumn, with more trees being planted.

By now the WHHR carriages were already being painted.

And Gelert was in the final stages of painting and lining with a lot of extra details being added to the 3D body to really set it off.

2019 - Part 2

The next instalment of our review begins in April when I was making the interior for another 'bowsider' which was destined to become number 20 in Col. Stephens green.

Himself was being challenged with building up a prototype chassis for Gelert which we had been asked to test, seen here beneath the Robex 3D printed body.

Some finishing details were being added to observation carriage 152.

May

Dduallt was back on show just down the road from us in Troon.

I was puzzling out how to fit an interior into the Gladstone carriage while still allowing for the floor to be removed for painting and maintenance.

Carriage 20 was swiftly painted and made its debut on the layout at the show.

June

I was embarking on a project to create a kit of parts to build the P Way van 51 in its current condition - shown here are the first of the castings for the body.

The chassis on Gelert was progressing with the motion now in place.

And carriage 152 was taken for a first test run on Dduallt.

Fortunately, this time I'd drilled the holes for the bogie pivot bolts in the correct position and it didn't foul the rockface in the cutting beneath Rhoslyn Bridge!

Genesis

I discovered a real blast from the past while checking with in Himself yesterday - my orginal concept plan for Dduallt I made when I was still at school.

It was a proper, scale, 3D model made using very sophisticated materials - cardboard and millput!

It was a very useful exercise because there were a couple of major revisions we made when we built if for real.

At the front we chopped off the left hand corner which was just empty scenic space to give the layout its distinctive wedge shape which draws the eye to Rhoslyn Bridge.

We also revised the fiddle yard plans so have two separate yards at right angles to the layout instead of attempting putting them in parallel behind, which would have made it much harder to operate.

There was also a rather unrealistic idea for a ski ramp linking the two levels to give a continuous run option.

Timehop

Social media - and its menacing algorithms - reminds me that it’s 4 years since we took Bron Hebog and Dduallt to show at the Welsh Highland Great and Small weekend at Dinas.

It was an epic weekend, and a huge undertaking, and most likely not something we’ll ever repeat.

In some ways I’m astonished that its been that long since we ‘completed’ the layout in structural terms, but the recent work Himself has been doing with more trees brings home to me how sparse the layout was back then.

It’s something very evident in this shot of the Funkey from four years ago.

Our next outing with it will be in five weeks time in Greenock.

From The Archives

I got a very pleasant surprise a couple of weeks ago when one of the luminaries of PECO Publications told me that they’d dug out the pictures of Dduallt taken a quarter of a century ago to use in the latest of their special editions.

This magazine is the latest in the series and is all about modelling the preserved railway scene, which is something I’ve been involved with since I was a a schoolboy, and which is very much overlooked.

The images, shot by the legendary Len Weal after hours at one of our early exhibitions, are historic in their own right in that they feature much of our first generation of rolling stock, much of which has been retired, sold or, in the case of the Langley Merddin Emrys given away as a gift to a former FR luminary.

Have the years been kind?

Why not buy a copy of the magazine and let us know?

Dduallt at Perth

It’s been a while since I’ve gone so long without posting, but it’s been a very busy few days showing Dduallt at Perth.

It was busy but also hugely enjoyable.

In my opinion this is the best exhibition in Scotland and comparable with the really good ones down south too.

If you've never been don't dismiss it on account of the distance. Not only is at a great show but you can combine it with a visit to one of the most stunning parts of this island.

The show fills two very large halls and attracts a very high quality of layouts, and as an exhibitor you are looked after royally by the Perth MRG - where else do you get a dram of finest malt whisky brought round to you as you operate?

There was a terrific social evening on the Saturday where we were taken by bus to a barbecue at the Wester Pickston Railway - a charming miniature gauge line running through the woods with trains steamed up just for us.

The layout ran well over the two days of the show and half a dozen members of the Greenock club had their first taste of operating it.

Nearly everything from the stock box got a run over at some point over the weekend, including a few interlopers.

The next show for us will be giving Bron Hebog its Scottish debut at our home show in Greenock in October.

LED There Be Light

Ahead of us taking Dduallt to the Troon exhibition next weekend Himself has decided to upgrade the lighting.

Ever since we first took it on the road, around 25 years ago, we'd used traditional spot lamps which gave everything a slightly yellow glow.

Now he's fitted the stanchions with LED versions the same as we have deployed on Bron Hebog.

Already I can see they are a big improvement, and because they're much smaller, they are also hidden behind the name boards.

All the details of the show are on the Exhibition Diary page, so if you're anywhere near the Ayrshire Riviera next weekend we'd love to see you.

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.

Review Of The Year - Part 4

October

So to the final post of the year.

Dduallt was making yet another comeback, appearing at our home club's exhibition over two days in Greenock, and there will be more outings in 2019.

Himself hadn't wasted any time in getting started on the first of the new Garratt kits, which we decided would be 143.

He was making very rapid progress on the power units - here's the front one.

We were also taking apart our eldest Backwoods Fairlie, Merddin Emrys, to try and get to the bottom of its very poor performance.

It turned out that what it needed was new brushes for its Mashima motor.

Fortunately these could be fitted by twisting the motor round in the mounting, because it's impossible to remove it without deconstructing a lot of the locomotive.

November

I was making more progress on superbarn 120 which was having its underframe detail added by this stage.

Himself was adding the valve gear to the first of the Garratt bogies, which was being test run.

I had taken on the job of making up some wagon kits as repeat business for a customer.

December

Progress on 143 had got the point where both power units had their vale gear fitted and much of the detail was in place on the boiler unit as well.

As I write it has yet to be joined together or pick-ups fitted, so there's be no test running so far.

The ballast wagons and B wagons were completed and delivered to the customer ready in time for Christmas, even though there was no deadline on the contract.

Thanks to you for reading the blog in 2018 and all our best wishes for 2019.

Dduallt at Greenock

I did promise to post some more footage of Dduallt running at the show in Greenock at the weekend and here it is.



If you like what you see here then why not plan yourself a trip to the 'Fair City' of Perth to see it for yourself next June?

Details of our confirmed appearances can be found on the exhibition diary page.

The Resurrection

An old Presbyterian kirk seems a very appropriate place for what is starting to look like the second coming of Dduallt.

We had a terrific first day showing the layout at the annual exhibition of our new home club in Greenock, and were very pleased to receive a number of enquiries about taking Dduallt to exhibitions in what will be its silver anniversary year in 2019.

We've already confirmed that we'll be going to the excellent Perth exhibition in June and it looks like there are others in the pipeline now, too.

Truly this is the layout which refuses to die.

Having spent most of the previous quarter century being exhibited around southern and middle England (with a healthy number of forays to what the English touchingly insist on referring to as 'the North') it's been very rewarding to show to whole new audience here in the west of Scotland.

Those with long memories may recall that Dduallt did make a cross-border raid to appear at the Model Rail Scotland show at the SEC in Glasgow once.

We'll try and post some more pictures and videos from the show during the week.