Author name: Rodney Hall

Testing times

With Cwmcarno’s visit to Scaleforum approaching track and stock is going through as testing my sequence.

Here we see Rob F’s Western successfully traversing all the track the layout, except under the screens where it is out of gauge anyway.

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All hands to the pumps

With the weeks slipping away before Cwmcarno is due to go to Scaleforum and the space now being available to erect it fully following the clear-outs most of this evening’s efforts.

Wagonman painting trackwork.
Luke installing the electrical connections for the fiddle yard cassettes.
Mr Chairman on the colliery fiddle yard.
Paul 🏅🏅on the station platform.
LBH has started painting the Glan Carno arms,
and brought a newly-acquired ScaleSeven BR(WR) 56xx to try on the test track.

Mr C was laying in the track from the colliery sidings into the fiddle yard.

Luke’s work resulted in the fist running from the layout onto a cassette and back out.

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Call to arms

Friday night and one’s thoughts run to the local. In this case the Glan Carno Arms, which is starting to take shape before it finds its way to Cwmcarno.

Elsewhere TAFKATYS was breathing life into some of Robert H’s locos, Luke and MrC were fettling a couple of locos and our Wizard was bringing Usk to a conclusion.

Trackwork continues on Cwmcarno colliery with point blades fitted and replacement track down to the exchange sidings.

Also a signal box has been started and tried in place. The rather delicate stairs will have to wait for the ground to be made up before appearing.

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Newport at NEWGOG

Newport MRS was well represented at this year’s NEWGOG with the club’s members providing Hogwash and Baloney, Tŷ’n-y-Coedcae and Glanfa Newydd y Camlas

Mr Chairman and Paul W completing final preparations on Tŷ’n-y-Coedcae before the doors opened.

And TAFKATYS’ new opus Glanfa Newydd y Camlas. It was displayed as a non-working diorama but nevertheless received several invitations to other exhibitions.

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A tale of two locos

Maggie was built from a High Level kit by Mike E and is now part of the roster for Cwmcarno. Luke has managed to fit a chip inside it somewhere between the frames. It had lost a crankpin nut and bearing on a front driver, but Mr. C has put that right. The running is better but there is still a tight spot. Also as you can see the cab roof is a bit wonky, so some small magnets will help that.

‘Usk’ has featured before (21/11/25) and is getting close to completion. There have been many mis-steps along the way but when consider it was built in the 1860’s and the kit was designed for a 1890’s rebuild and there are precious few pictures that’s hardly surprising.

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Straight from the oven

Wagonman’s latest, finished today

A BR(SR) Class U, from a rebuilt River class, with a 3500 gallon tender. 31791 hauled the last public passenger service on the former MSWJ line, which is very close to Wagonman’s heart. The model is based on a David Andrews kit.

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Into February

There was a good attendance on Monday with Rob F building a tank wagon, The Wizard fettling Usk, Andrew J weighing up options for scenic buildings on Lyne Road, LBH fettling some wagons that didn’t perform well at Thornbury and Paul completing the Fiddle Yard legs one Cwm Carno.

Tuesday saw a Zoom meeting with a fiendish Quiz from Stephen B and discussions on possible layouts from Mr C and Luke.

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Ringing the changes

Perhaps this is the wrong end of January ring out the old and ring in the new, but changes are afoot.

Lyne Road and Tŷ’n-y-Coedcae have been packed away to allow Cwm Carno to sprout fiddle yards in readiness for the next checkpoint in the development of Cwm Carno – we need to able prove that we are running trains throughout by the end of March (this year !).

And here’s another change afoot.

Or more accurately a Rob Foot, who has achieved a January resolution by getting more modelling done at the club. He’s come equipped with his worktray and big plastic storage box, along with a Slater’s kit for a tank wagon.

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