The Grid

One of the scenic features on the railway around Beddgelert which has caused us considerable head-scratching has been how to represent the anti-sheep grids which are are positioned either side of features such as level crossings or bridges in a (sometimes futile) attempt to stop livestock wandering onto the track.

Simple enough, you might think, it's just a question of laying some triangular section down.

The problem is getting hold of the correct kind of triangle.

Take a close look at the picture above and you'll see that the wooden beams have right angle and a flat section at the bottom and on one side - it's what's called a Isosceles Right Triangle - just like an arris rail that you'd use in fencing.

The only plastic sections we've been able to find on the market, however, have been of an equilateral section.

So what to do?

We realised that while you can't get triangular section with a right angle you can easily get L section - but how to fill in the 3rd side so it becomes a triangle?

Our answer is to cast copies by mounting the L section upside down and filling the gap at each end. to make the master.

Here are a the first prototypes I have cast.

Cut them out and turn them over and you'll have a triangular section with a right angle at the bottom.

Genius!

I'm sending these ones down to Himself to see how they fit on the track.

The question is whether they'll stand proud of the rails and foul the trains - as sometimes happens with our foot crossings - in which case I will have to make smaller versions.