Bend It Like Bullhead

 

Since the last post announcing our intention to start a new project for a small-ish twin gauge layout based on Minffordd there is some solid progress to report.

One of the main reference points to establish early on (pun not intended, for once) was the position of the turnout from the Cambrian line into the exchange yard, because this also dictates where the FR overbridge goes.

For this project we've decided to use Peco's new Code 75 bullhead track for the standard gauge because it has a much more realistic look in terms of sleeper spacing. 

It's a premium product in terms of price, but as there won't be that much standard gauge track on show it won't ruin us, while in the storage sidings hidden out of sight we will transition to a more economical choice of Code 100!

However, the bullhead range is in its infancy and there is a very limited choice of points available so far.

As you probably already know, the Cambrian line through Minffordd is curved, and this included the point into the yard.

For now Peco only make straight points, but with a little scalpel surgery on the plastic sleepers, and some gentle manipulation, Himself has succeeded in persuading the point to take a subtle leftwards bend.

You can see that he's also cut out a basic wooden template for the FR overbridge and the subway tunnel leading to the narrow gauge station.

Change At Minffordd

I thought I might make an occasional dip back into this blog to explain some more about our new project, revealed to our followers on social media at the weekend.

We've decided to scratch the itch again and build another layout, although this time something of a slightly more manageable size.

What we're proposing is a layout showing the under / over interchange between the FR and the standard gauge Cambrian at Minffordd and a somewhat compressed representation of the exchange yard beside it.

©  John Evans

The period would be the second half of the 1960s, allowing a little modeller's licence because, of course, some details change daily on the FR.

It's been done before as a great diorama which you can see in the museum at the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway, but we want to have ours more animated.

There are many considerations in coming up with this plan.

Size

While we'll probably always think of Bron Hebog as our magnum opus it's quite an operation to take it out on the road. 

To transport it to a show requires a long wheelbase van we have to hire, and even collecting / returning it from the depot is a 40 mile round trip each time.   Also because Himself is no longer able to drive a hire vehicle on the grounds of heritage it makes it all that much more complicated.  He was keen on a layout we could load into one or two cars.

The lure of OO

Since my son has also picked up the model railway bug I've spent a lot more time looking at 4mm standard gauge models again.  

To start with this was playing with the comparatively ancient collection from the 70s and 80s which Himself kept hold of, but one or two contemporary RTR items have been added and you can't fail to be impressed with how detailed they are and how well they run.

Cambrian nostalgia

For both of us watching trains on the Cambrian is a treasured childhood memory, albeit from different eras  - 1950s / 60s for Himself  and the 1980s for me.

Last year he treated himself to a Bachmann class 24/0 as a birthday present and I can just about remember seeing small Sulzers plying the coast on freight workings before the worms got at Barmouth Bridge.

DCC sound

Ever since the Bachmann WW1 Baldwin appeared and Himself invested in a chip to make it chuff we've been gradually sucked into the world of DCC which we'd avoided for so long.

Then he chipped the class 24 and resistance was futile - I knew we needed outlet to play with these properly.

009 RTR

The final factor which led us to settling on Minffordd was the expanding range of FR preservation era models from Bachmann, along with the Small England from Peco / Kato.

It's the representation of Livingston Thompson / Earl of Merioneth it its final form which dictated that this model should be be set between 1967-71, and the recent arrival of a green, tendered Linda without a pony truck reinforces that.

We have both of these locos sound fitted and I'm already hatching plans for reconstructive surgery on a green Prince (when they appear) to show it in its rebuilt form with the straight framing beneath the saddle tank.

For the Cambrian we've acquired a second 24 in two-tone green and a green Met-Cam class 101 DMU - always the iconic Cambrian train for my era - and we'll look at a couple of other DMU options for variety.

Himself has been cracking on with the plan and has made up a baseboard, split down the centre, to form an area 6ft across by 5ft deep.

The plan is for a scenic area of around 6' x 4.

The standard gauge will form a continuous run with storage tracks to the rear behind a scenic break.

It will appear at the back left of the scene passing beneath the FR through the stone archway midway along Minffordd station.

There will be a point leading up into the yard while the main line will carry on in a gentle sweep around the front of the scene until it disappears beneath the bridge carrying a lane  (which we are relocating only slightly).

The FR will run along the back of the scene.

We won't show the FR's Minffordd station - at least not yet, that might be a future extension? - and the narrow gauge starts from the crossover at the Porthmadog end, across the bridge and past the weigh house (Fred's office) with both the main line and the mineral line shown.

Towards the right hand end there will be point where the line into the exchange yard dives down around a tight curve.

Our intention is to try to include (in compressed form) some of the features like the 'coal hole' chutes and the adjacent NG and SG trackwork.

If I was any good at drawing I'd have come up with a very pretty plan I could post at this point - but I'm not so I can't.

But hopefully you can follow progress on our social media - or some more occasional posts here - and I trust you'll start to get the idea.