"This Takes Me Right Back!"

That was perhaps the most gratifying compliment we heard on day 1 of the exhibition organised by the FR in Porthmadog today as we took Minffordd to the spiritual homeland for the first time, and facing its most knowledgeable audience yet.

The comment, if he will forgive me for revealing, came from the former FR track supremo Fred Howes, a man who's probably spent decades of his life in Minffordd Yard, starting in the 1960s, and if there was an acid test for whether we've captured the look and feel of the place it's his opinion which counts for most.

The show has been very well attended, so far, and there's been a terrific relaxed atmosphere.

That's probably just as well given that we are short-staffed on the operating front due to unforeseen circumstances this weekend.

The layout has performed as well as we could have hoped.  

The investment in 'frog juicers' seems to have cut back on many of the short circuit incidents which plagued the Cambrian side of the layout during the latter stages of the 3-day show in Glasgow.

The Simplex, Mary Ann, disgraced itself again, as it did in Falkirk, throwing a digital wobbly and refusing to move, while still making all the noises. (Much like the real thing, some might say.)

It had to stay parked in a siding until the end of the day when we were able to remove all the other narrow gauge locos as use the layout as a programming track to reset the chip.

The 'bulked-up' Dukedog was able to do some useful work on the Cambrian Coast Express set this time, which has given me the confidence to consider investing in a suitable headboard for future shows.

Yard shunting has not been entirely hands-free with some stubborn Kadees refusing to release or reconnect on demand at times, requiring some 'hand of God' intervention.

It would appear all the sidings at Porthmadog are full because the long road above the 'coal hole' was used to store empty gunpowder wagons for much for the day.

The 6 hours the show was open went by in a flash. 

By this time tomorrow, as I post, it'll be all packed-up again and ready to haul back up the road to Scotland.

Strathspey Is The Reel Deal

May is turning into a very busy month for us!

Ahead of taking Minffordd on the road again later this week for the show in Porthmadog we squeezed in a weekend visit to the  jewel in Scotland's heritage railway crown, the Strathspey Railway.

This was a 'bucket list' trip for Himself, another treat to mark a significant birthday and a rare opportunity for all his children and grandchildren to get together - which happens rarely as we're at opposite end of the country.

To make the occasion extra special we'd arranged to travel in the 'Directors Saloon' , which is the brand name the railway attaches to a package to hire one end of its ex-LMS inspection saloon for the round trip complete with some light refreshments and attentive service from an on-board host.

Many heritage railways across the UK are fortunate to have examples of these type of carriages and they really are the best way to travel in comfort and privacy and views all around.

And what views!

Leaving aside the FR and WHR - natuarally - the Strathspey Railway most boast the most expansive and impressive views on any heritage railway in the UK, with the a stunning vista towards the Cairngorm mountains as the train runs through open country towards the current terminus at Broomhill.

This small station comes with such an idyllic back drop it's not surprising its often been used for shooting scenes in TV dramas, most notably disguised as 'Glenbogle' in the worldwide hit 'Monarch of the Glen.'

More recently the line's immaculately-presented middle station, Boat of Garten, features in the UK version of 'The Traitors'

As many of our blog readers will know there is also an FR connection here, because Boat of Garten is where the legendary GM Allan Garraway retired to, playing a role consolidating and developing the Strathspey Railway, an entertaining (and challenging) visitors to his home with operating sessions on his O gauge railway.

What impressed me most on our visit to the Strathspey, aside from the immaculate presentation and the stunning scenery, was the faultless customer service, friendliness and professionalism from everyone involved in running the railway.

During the layover at Aviemore, before departure, the loco crew on Ivatt class 2 46464 seemed happy to invite passengers who showed an interest to climb into the cab, answer their questions and chat.

In our saloon the staff could not have been more attentive and helpful, keeping tea and coffee flowing, explaining what to expect from the journey and offering some historical context, as not forgetting the the more pragmatic details like where to find the private toilet compartment!

When it transpired there was a surplus of sandwiches left over from the party in the other saloon (who'd booked the afternoon tea package) they were brought through to our half of the carriage as an unexpected bonus!

Small touches, but they leave such a marvellous impression.

For a visitor experience it could not be faulted. And for an enthusiast who is wondering if it is worth what is likely to be a round tip of several hundred miles from most of the UK population, the answer is most definitely yes!

Where else - apart from our dear Boston Lodge Works - are you likely to see an historic engine shed like the one at Aviemore, which is nearing its 130th anniversary and still performing its original function?

Historic Environment Scotland list it as: "The finest surviving locomotive shed in Scotland".

I don't think there is anyone who would disagree with that.

Rolling Along

How you're going to get your layout in and out of a show venue is not always high on the list of considerations when its designed.

In our experience it's one of those thing you adapt and improvise as you go along.

Over the years we've progressed from purely manual handing, deploying a squad of operators to lift and carry boards over long distances, and even up and down flights of stairs, to investing in a heavy-duty barrow to wheel sections of layout into the venue.

But with Minffordd being transported by car, instead of a hired van, we've found it's a struggle to find space for the barrow in a situation where every square inch is prisoner.

As so often a potential solution emerged out of a chance conversation at the weekend.

Chewing over the logistics of getting the layout into the venue at Porthmadog next weekend we wondered whether it would be worth investing in a small skate trolley, which would be easier to fit in one of the cars.

Which is when Himself had another of his brainwaves.

About ten years ago he made a small folding 'train set' board for my son.

In typical Himself fashion it was built on a robust 2x1 frame and he had fitted casters so it could be easily slid into the space beneath his bed when it wasn't being played with.

What if - he wondered - we removed those casters and attached them directly to one of the boards which hold the two main sections of Minffordd together for transport?

It rolls around well enough in the garage at home, I'm told.

Now there are two big tests.

How well will it work to push it in and out of a venue, across a tarmac car pack and whatever steps and bumps there are in the way.

And with the whole package now being another 7cm longer will it still fit in the back of my car?

Too Posh To Shunt

Himself has been continuing to search for more sneaky ways to improve the performance of the Bachmann 'Dukedog', searching for every last place we can hide a precious few grammes of extra weight.

He's fixed a very thin piece of lead sheet in the cab roof, although it's not visible unless you look for it.

It hasn't made a dramatic difference but every little helps.....

We've also removed the weights from all the standard gauge carriages.  

The Mk1s were already done, and it can just about haul three of them in the Down (Pwllheli) direction only - the tight curve into the fiddle yard going the other way gives too much friction.

We've also discovered why it struggles to push anything up the slope into the yard.

It's not the the steepness of the gradient so much as the effect of the change of gradient.

The Dukedog has a relatively long frame and when it reaches the point where the slope kicks in it tips the smokebox end down onto the front bogie, which in turn lifts the rear driving wheels just enough that they begin to lose traction.

So as far as our Cambrian fleet in concerned 'the Earl' is the loco which is 'too posh to shunt', which all sounds like something the Rev. Awdry could have made a story out of.

Packing For Porthmadog

We still have the best part of a fortnight to go but today the plan is to break down Minffordd  and get it all packed away ready for the trip to the show in Porthmadog.

Over the weekend we did a last bit of test running to check a few of the adjustments which have been made since Glasgow, one of which was an overdue reset of the decoder on the green 24 to cure its tendency to unpredictable rates of acceleration, which made attempting to shunt wagons into the yard a challenge.

The show, at Y Ganolfan, just across the harbour from the FR station, looks like it will be a terrific event.  Link here.

The organisers look to have pulled together a remarkable collection of layouts of locations along the FR, or ones which have been inspired by it.

There's a few I'm particularly looking forward to seeing, and I hope the owners won't mind that I've lifted some photos from their social media.

Tan y Bwlch by Nigel Smith has captured the feel of everyone's favourite FR station perfectly.

In a larger scale, Rhiw Goch, from James and Peter Hoyle, is another exquisitely faithful representation of a real life location on the line.

And Charles Insely's Bangor looks like it oozes atmosphere, and I've been watching his Bachmann Fairlie kit bashes with interest as he documented the project, so it will be fascinating to see them close up.

Proceeds from the show will be split between the fundraising appeals to overhaul Blanche and to build a replica of the Spooner bogie ballast wagon, so that's an extra incentive to come along to the show if you are able to.

Battered Bagnal

I've not hung around getting Kidbrooke ready to be permanently abandoned on a length of track in Minffordd Yard.

I don't have enough tiny alphabet transfers in stock to attempt to replicate all the graffiti which was painted onto the hulk of the loco during its time in the yard, but I've had a go at representing some of the other whitewash embelishments.

The 3d print was given a spray with red oxide primer before applying a succession of diluted acrylic washes of various shades of brown and then dry brushing with some orange hues and darker colours to get what I hope looks like a suitably rusty effect.

Being a print it is absolutely featherweight so we'll have no problem permanently gluing it onto the length of track in front of the slate sheds.

It should make an interesting conversation piece in Porthmadog in a two week's time.

I wonder what the ratio will be between those who give a knowing smile and those who point and say 'What's that doing there?'

Surgical Violence

There's nothing so strange as receiving a new model in the post and then immediately starting to hack it to bits, but that was how I spend one afternoon this week.

The model in question is a Fourdees 3D print of a Bagnall 0-4-0 which is being heavily distressed to be version of Kidbrooke, a small tank which spent most of the 1960s looking very sorry for itself in Minffordd Yard.

The kit is very cleverly designed so you can sit the body on a static chassis with very nicely represented valve gear, or install a Bachmann Percy chassis.

No other adaptation is required, it is simple swap.  Nicely done Fourdees!

The fidelity of these prints is most impressive these days, although it's fortunate that I needed to chop a lot of bits off because in my experience it is incredibly easy to break off the small details on models such as this.

Whilst I admire that it is possible to render such fine items such as handrails, regulators and really small pipework I do wonder whether it wouldn't be better to leave it for modellers who desire this kind of detail to add it themselves in a more robust material?

The other aspect which always makes check and check again with prints like this differentiating what is a production support sprue which needs to be removed, and what is the part of the model which must remain?  

The spider's web of supports in the cab opening on this print are a case in point.

As you can see by comparing the photos I've posted there was a lot which needed to be chopped off and filed away, such as the cab back sheet, the chimney, smokebox door and the dumb buffers.

The most intricate job was to remove the cab support frame so the cab roof can be resting partly on top of the saddle tank, which is how the loco looked when it was at Minffordd.

With the destruction done the next task is to paint and weather it to look supremely rusted and neglected....