On the work bench:

I am currently building a model of England 0-4-0 Welsh Pony. This uses a  Malcolm Savage kit as the basis but it will require a considerable amount of alteration to represent a large England. The chassis etch allows for the longer chassis but the choice of wheels poses a problem. I have chosen to use Markits 12.5 mm disk wheels designed for a pug. These wheels are 0.5 mm over size and the holes are not the right shape. On the up side they are self quartering and are in a different league to push fit wheels I have previously used.

If you have not used self quartering wheels before you will need to purchase a special tool to tighten the central nut. Once tightened on the axle, these wheels run true with none of the wobbles and wonky bits I have experienced with other makes, the additional cost is well worth it...

The chassis etch comes with a built in gear box but I decided to remove this and install a separate High Level Models gear box available from Finney and Smith. This has a brass screw fit final gear, but plastic intermediate gears which I have always found better on small chassis. The main problem encountered in modifying the chassis is the clearances between the crank pins and the cross heads. The crank pins required a shoulder filing off to allow them to be screwed further into the wheels. Once this was done the clearances were fine.

When the moment came to test role the chassis across a sheet of glass it did so on the first attempt; the first time I haven't had to start opening up the holes in the connecting rods!

The next job is to install the pick ups and get the chassis running reliably.....

Construction of the baseboards took place in summer 2011 and since then intermittent progress has resulted in the bare bones of the layout being in place. The track has been laid using C&L components, including the turnouts. The turnouts are activated by slow motion motors which are all wired and functioning at this stage. The fiddle yard still needs to laid; the intention is to provide a sector plate as an initial solution but something more substantial may be required when the layout is eventually exhibited.

This general view shows the harbour area with extended sea wall in the foreground. This is one of the few changes made to the landscape suggesting that at some point a small amount of slate may have departed from the village. The row of fishermen's cottages to the left are being built to represent the properties in the 1920's before one of the houses was extended to the rear.

The aim has been to build a small amount of rolling stock; enough to test the track work and then to concentrate on the scenery and buildings. Palmerston is constructed from a Malcolm Savage kit back in 2000. The Chassis suffers from the Alan Gibson wheels being slightly distorted and will need replacing or updating before it can be trusted for exhibition running. The name plates were made by Narrow Planet in 5.5 mm scale

The station throat looking from the Porthmadog end of the layout. The turnouts here are activated by wire in tube from the motors which are situated above ground level. The motors will eventually be hidden by buildings. Whilst the turnouts are made from cut down C&L timber tracks kits, the tie bars are from 3SMR and whilst not fine scale offer a more sturdy solution for long term use. The 4mm scale chairs make a good representation of Ffestiniog chaired track; certainly more convincing than 009 ready to lay track. Whilst the 12mm gauge is not fine scale (It should be 11mm for the Ffestiniog's 2' gauge) it offers a good happy medium for modelling a wide variety of narrow gauge stock in the same way as 009. From the side view it will not look out of place, especially as so much of it will be buried beneath soil and grass.

The car park in Borth y gest, the back drop to the station. 

(The station building will be where the cars are parked)

For those who don't know Borth y gest; it is a small village in a crescent shaped bay to the south of Porthmadog. The houses were originally owned by many sea farers involved in the slate trade. There were a number of proposals for an extension of the Ffestiniog Railway in its direction. Under the Croesor and Porthmadog Railway Bill  a coastal railway built via Borth y gest to Black Rocks was proposed. The route of the proposed railway is easily imagined, especially where the village car park is. 

Other modellers have thought the same and there is already a model called Borth y gest built in 4mm fine scale. This model does not specifically model the actual village and its architecture. The model I am building takes the actual location and fits the railway into existing landscape. The intention is to model the actual buildings as faithfully as possible, and to imagine the railway structures taking into account Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland practice.

The seashore will form the front of the layout

The origins of this model lie in my previous layout 'Dulas' a model of the Corris railway. That model was driven by the desire to create a very convincing landscape in 4mm scale, with an emphasis on architecture of the area.