During the last week I have been in Wales which has provided opportunities to do further research for the model, it also gave me the chance to pop into the Corris Railway museum and view my old layout 'Dulas'. Its now fourteen years since it was donated to the railway but looks as fresh as the day we left it there. Society members have installed a shuttle system to allow the train I left with them to run back and forth. The loco with its scratch built chassis continues to run really well, albeit a lot faster than when we were exhibiting! Here my boys are looking at the Aberlleffenni section.

It's been a good chance to look at livery and details of carriages to be built this winter. The colouring of the 1930s rake seems to have improved, perhaps with revarnishing or the effects of coal firing, but the colours seem to be really close to those in the few colour photos I have seen of the colonel Stephens era. It shows the need for the lighting on the model to be tweaked as the the photos of my Welsh Pony give the impression I have painted it in a yellower shade of green than this. The colour swatches were made in day light and were if anything a slightly darker and bluer shade than this.

Schools out for the summer and it's time to make some progress on the RTBR again! A fly wheel has been sourced and awaits testing in the next few days. Welsh Pony already runs very well but I hope the flywheel will improve performance further.

I have finalised the list of carriages to be commissioned from Worsley Works:

Bow sider 17/18
Bow sider 19/20
Curley Roof Van
21/22 Ashbury
Brake composite 12 (1929-)

If anyone wants an etch they will cost around £115  for sides and ends and include etched bogies. I will be ordering on the 11th August. The minimum order for such a commission is two full sheets. I am ordering two so this is a good opportunity for anyone not wishing to outlay £200 + to get their hands on a set of 5.5 mm kits. Let me know.

The baseboards are about to be split and moved to the garage for the summer. This will allow the back scene board to be installed. This is vital as the first buildings will be completed in the coming moths and the lighting and colour balance must be perfected before they are painted. The back scene and inner surfaces of the pelmets all effect this. The pelmets will be painted pastel cerulean blue which will change the reflected light. I am going to experiment changing the halogen spots for LED lights to cool the colour and also add in additional daylight bulbs. The lighting will be very bright compared to many models and is key to achieving a really natural look. At the moment the front of the board is not nearly bright enough.  

The back scene will be a single seamless curved board with a proprietary printed sky applied. The one I am using is from id Models and is very convincing but I can't be sure if it will give the right impression until installed. I am hoping to take photos this summer that can be photo stitched to print a bespoke back scene in the future but this is not an immediate priority.

The id models back scene comes in two panels, printed on very nice heavy grade art paper. The colouring looks excellent. Ideally the back scene should be of rows of houses on the hillside but unless treated carefully this could look really naff and detract from the models.

No things haven't suddenly progressed! The improved weather has led to distractions in the form of the garden railway. Taliesin was steamed at breakfast. It can be seen here at the as yet to be named station next to the pond. Its not often the loco runs with such a light load, but this run was to test the track and check that the sprung points were working after the winter. 16mm scale modelling has been my main focus in the last decade with 5.5mm taking over in the last year or so…...

The brand bright four wheeler was one of the first carriages I built, it doesn't get much running these days as the bogie coach rakes tend to take favour.

With the completion of the fiddle yard, Welsh Pony has been able to run around a train for the first time. Fixed magnets have been strategically placed to uncouple vehicles. It has been possible to complete a full shunt of a slate train with brake van completely hands free. It's unlikely that a  lot will be done in the next few weeks as it is the report season for anyone who works in education!

Time has been a bit short over the last few weeks, but some progress has been made. The track has been laid into the fiddle yard area and the first road on the sector plate laid. The fiddle yard area uses Peco 12mm gauge track. The sector plate is only short due to the restrictions of space in the room but will have a larger alternative for exhibitions which will include points to allow locos to run round. The sector plate will also link up with the line that will be laid within the road at the rear of the layout. Looking at the options of how a line might have been built round the headland towards Cricieth it would seem that a line that followed the road and footpath to the beaches would have been an option. Perhaps this line would have been an electrified tramway as was proposed for the original PBSS railway. The track will be very unobtrusive but will give a lot more operating options by its inclusion. Because the scene has been condensed and levels played around with, the gradient is steeper than in real life, but I can imagine a Bruce Peebles style electric loco hauling a train on this upper branch.

The last section of track from the station throat to the fiddle yard has been installed today. There were problems with the rail height so a piece of card had to be laid and sanded first. The track had its independent power supply installed and the first train ran. Welsh Pony was able to run round the full loop for the first time as a result.  The siding at the rear of the station has had its power routed though a switch so I can isolate the section. 

Come see my etchings!!

Well, Alan Doherty has exceeded all expectation with the delivery of the first batch of carriages. The following are the complete sheet of seven bug box etchings available. I have only shown the end and seating for one as they are all the same apart from the fifth one down which has 'portholes' in the ends. My first priority is to build a range of stock in Colonel Stephens livery. This will be followed by a brick red rake and possibly an earlier royal purple one.

 This one will be built as part of the Colonel Stephens rake and painted green and red oxide.

 This one will be built as part of a red rake

 This one will be built as part of the Colonel Stephens rake. I think this is the carriage which features in the film the Phantom Light. (now available on youtube)

This one will be built as part of the Colonel Stephens rake and painted green with red oxide ends.

The first couple will be built along with another MSM bogie coach as a single batch. 

After contacting Allen Doherty at Worsley Works I have been pleased to discover he can supply the etches for the carriages that will be required for the layout. He already has a set of seven variations of bug box on a sheet and these have been ordered for starters. These work out at £16.00 per vehicle.

Allen will produce a sheet of bogie coaches provided at least two are purchased. I intend to commission a sheet covering the following:

19/20 bow sider
Brake composite 12
21/22 
Curly Roof van
another to be decided

The aim is to be able to represent both pre and post Colonel Stephens era rakes when combined with the carriage available from Malcolm Savage.

The etch will include bogies and will cost around £115. If you are interested in an etch, leave a comment an I will give you further information. What do you think the final carriage should be?