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…

Identical Twin

I've been neglecting the blog a little while I was away on holiday in Wales with Himself and The Trainee.

If you follow the Bron Hebog and Minffordd page on Facebook then you'll have been able to follow the narrow gauge adventures we were getting up to, with many photos and video snippets.

One of the missions to be accomplished during our stay in Porthmadog was the collection of a model from the shop at Harbour Station which I hinted about a few weeks ago on these pages.

Many of our readers guessed the intention with the Lowmac wagon is to replicate the arrival of Linda on the FR in 1962, on hire, to help with an acute motive power shortage.

A notable part of the story is that she made the journey by rail from Port Penrhyn, via Afon Wen, and was transhipped from standard to narrow gauge in Minffordd Yard exactly as Spooner would have intended.

There's a chance you're already one step ahead of me here and thinking; 'Hang on!  Haven't they already got a Linda?'

Yes, you're quite correct.

Linda in FR green with her 'fat England tender' is part of our core loco fleet for the mainline passenger services along the back of the scene.

So what's the excuse?

There's none.  

It's just a pure indulgence. 

And we're not apologising for it. 

A model railway is supposed to be fun!

There are some adaptations which need to be made before it goes into service (sort of).

Linda was propped up on the Lowmac with sleepers, and secured with chains, so we're doing our best to replicate that with some chunky styrene strips.

These have got some extra bits which will connect with the underside of the Bachmann loco to help ensure it doesn't topple off the wagon while being transported around the layout.

And we also need to find something for that most vital PQR embellishment - a bucket to sit in front of the smokebox!

Weather Update

We've tried a lot of new things as part of the Minffordd project, such as moving to DCC control and sound, and smaller code track.

It's also the first time we've tried weathering on any of our rolling stock, having always kept anything we bought - or made - looking 'box fresh'.

But like with any new skill you have to practice and develop, but that's a scary prospect when you're dealing with the very latest high-spec models (at high-spec prices!)

So just like with the more ambitious DCC projects I decided it would be best to invest in paying an expert to do it, and having been enormously impressed by the images I saw on his Facebook page I asked Tom Foster to quote for the job.

This morning I was very excited to receive the studio portraits of the what he's done with the locos, and I'm absolutely delighted!

What's great about Tom's service is you can specify precisely how you'd like the model to look.

For the locos I sent away I asked for our Dapol 'Bradley Manor' to look as if the lads at Aberystwyth shed had given it a really thorough going over with some oily rags.

Yes, I know when they did this the locos weren't working the 'coast section' to Pwllheli, but I'm citing Rule 1!

The others I said I wanted to look a lot more like they'd been worked hard without much attention from the cleaners.

The Collett Goods is Himself's favourite - and in nearly every picture I've seen of them at work on the Cambrian they look a lot like this.

This is now getting a very old tooling, dating from the Mainline days at the start of the 1980s, but I remember it being pretty cutting edge back then.

And in my opinion when it's given a really proper finish like this I still think it holds up really well, and the re-engineered Bachmann version we have runs as well as anything else on DCC.

The other two models are bang up to date.

The Dapol 43XX Mogul runs like a peach  (I know, fruit doesn't run...) but it did look unnaturally spotless and shiny out of the box.

I think the dirty look here really shows off the quality of the model so much better.

The same goes for the Hornby Standard 2 2-6-0 MT which is a terrific performer on the layout, but again was too clean for you to suspend your disbelief.

I'm so looking forward to being able to run these on Minffordd at our exhibitions in the autumn, I really do believe they'll lift the whole layout.

Thanks Tom!

Replica Roofing

It's been quite a few weeks since I've done any work on the NWNGR replica replacement carriage.

A couple of nights ago while half the household were out for the night taking in some of the action at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow I ran out of excuses and put in a couple of hours.

I drilled the holes in the chassis where the bogie will go and then tackled the roof skin.

As I described in detail in this article this is a two-stage process which involves fixing some supporting lengthways ribs before stretching a styrene skin over the top and bonding it firmly at each side so it doesn't spring free.

This is one of those jobs that you want to do in one session which is probably why I've been putting it off for a while.

And perhaps because of the nice summer weather we've this year the motivation to hide away at the workbench and do some scratch building has been a little lacking,

There's a reason why we tend to think of railway modelling as an autumn and winter activity.

Moelwyn Returns!

I'm delighted to be able to report that Moelwyn has returned unscathed from its 800-mile round trip in the post.

Our vintage Meridian-kit model of the FR's venerable Baldwin Tractor has undergone a surgical operation for a motor transplant and a digital 'pacemaker'.

In other words it's now DCC sound fitted.

The operation was carried out by our respected surgeon, Sven, at Tramfabriek, and I cannot speak highly enough about the speed and quality of service we've received.

The Mashima motor which it was fitted with, and which filled all the space under the bonnet, has been replaced with a very small coreless motor, which has left room for the Zimo sound chip and a stay alive pack.

This has historical precedent in that the real Moelwyn had its original petrol engine replaced with a Gardner diesel when the FR was being revived to make it a more economical and useful machine.

The speaker has been lodged underneath the cab roof and is only really visible if you look at the model from below, which few people at an exhibition are likely to do.

The Royal Mail should also get a shout out for safely and swiftly getting Moelwyn there and back.

I did fork out for their premium Special Delivery service but in my view it was worth every penny when dealing with a genuinely priceless model.

Keep an eye on our social media channels and I'll soon be posting a clip of it in action so you can see and hear it in action.

Your first opportunity to see it live will be at the Ayr MRG exhibition in Troon (Ayrshire, Scotland) on 19th / 20th September.

Upgrade Or Replace?

I've been swithering for many months about the best way of getting a 45XX Small Prairie tank for the Minffordd fleet.

First World problems, and all that, I know...

Although outshone in the popular imagination by the Manors, Duekdogs and Collett Goods, they saw a lot of use at the northern end of the Coast line, working from Pwllheli and Portmadoc sheds, and often entrusted with the Cambrian Coast Express.

Right now pre-orders are being taken for a brand new version of these go-anywhere ex-GWR branch line engines from Rapido.

If it's anything like the Highland Railway 'Jones Goods' I already have it will be a superb runner, and you can buy it pre-fitted with DCC sound.

However, I already have a 45XX.

It's one the Bachmann ones which probably date back the best part of 20 years.

It's so ancient - I use the word advisedly - that it doesn't have a DCC socket, but it's a relatively simple project to hard wire a chip and fit a speaker and stay alive.

This was bought second hand a couple of years ago for around £60 if my memory is correct, and it runs perfectly quietly and smoothly.

It's also been factory weathered in truly filthy condition.

Yes, it lacks subtlety, but if I were to chose to go down the Rapido route as well as paying around £250 for a sound fitted example I'd probably want to send it away to get it weathered professionally.

For around half this outlay I could buy and chip and speaker etc for the Bachmann model and for less than half that outlay we'd have ourselves a Prairie, and we could probably get it running for the next exhibition in September.

So there's quite a lot to weigh up.

How much of an improvement over the Bachmann version will the new Rapido one be?

If it's better is it 50% more £ better?

In my position what would you choose?

Count Binface And The Toy Trains

I never expected model railways and politics to collide in such a media spotlight, but here we are, and it's happening in, of all places, Clacton.

Many years ago, before anyone beyond private school alumni and city traders had heard of Nigel Farage, I was starting my career in journalism in that corner of Essex.

And like all well-trained reporters I do my research on the candidates in a by-election.

This unscheduled contest looks very much like it will be, in Essex - sorry, essence - a head-to-head between the aforementioned Mr Farage - by now much better known - and what until now has been considered an amusing fringe candidate known as Count Binface.

Except this time the Count would appear to be in with a 50/50 chance of getting elected to the mother of parliaments.

And this has what to do with our own spoof layout feature, a model of former Vale of Rhiedol brake van 2 in BR blue?

Well, my research shows that in previous elections he's stood in one of Count Binface's manifesto pledges as been to 'Nationalise Model Railways (and Adele)'.

And in election after election he insists that he stands by his previous manifestos.

So now that our dear hobby is at the centre of the political debate in the UK the question is what legislation would you like to see brought forward to reform railway modelling?

A legal requirement for all manufacturers to offer a no-frills, low-cost version of every new model?

A maximum RRP for a non-powered model like a carriage or wagon?

In the wake of the KR Models saga perhaps some greater protection around crowdfunding, or pre-orders?

A law to force a return to proper British TT standards?   (I put that in for our Engineering Consultant - it's a bit of a soapbox issue for him....)

Let's be hearing your suggestions!