Arriving at the centre on Friday 6th we found we had the company of a pack of Cubs who I guess were going to have a ‘sleepover’. There was a lot more energy in the building than usual !!
In the clubrooms Luke sorted through some 4mm coaches that might have got to run on LMJ and put together to form the Newport – Brecon service on Cwm Carno. A pannier tank or Collett Goods would be a more typical locomotive.
On Tuesday 24th Feb we had a test track running evening, a bit of a departure from normally having only one session at the end of the year. There was plenty of stock being tried out but only a couple made it in front of a camera. I think we were happy to just watch trains, drink tea and eat muffins.
Mike E and Steve B combined to provide a good train of USA based stock. The Welsh Wizard showed a 9F and WD 8F, though not his builds.
Test Track Evening Read More »
This will be disappointing for those who are fans of the final GWR pannier tanks.
The connection is mathematical as on Monday there were two 42xx tanks in 7mm scale being worked on at the same time. Mr C was giving a much needed clean to the wheels of 4248 which runs on Pavilion End.
Alongside The Welsh Wizard was sorting out the running on a 42 belonging to Don. It was stripped right down to the frames for attention to the bearings.
Mike E is a bit of a fan of wiggly tin (corrugated iron if you have to ask) and has been using it extensively on his own 7mm scale Hogwash and Baloney short line.
Here he is in 4mm working on the screens for Cwmcarno. This lot of tin is for the screens’ roof. For information on the corrugated form tool see the 31 Aug 25 post (or click Wiggly Tin above).
One of our quieter meetings, with five in attendance, but only one pic to show for it. Rob F exhumed some Slater’s four-wheel coaches for potential use on Pavilion End. They look very promising but will need a bit of TLC before they run and Rob has the job in hand.
Monday 16 February Read More »
Then on Friday the electrical connection to the exchange sidings was made allowing test running and a check on the sector plate operation. Some stock was tested too along with the colliery trackwork. Some track needed reglueing which is under the weight in the second picture. Also Wagonman gave his Cl 25 an outing.
With the electricals on Cwmcarno progressing well its time to test more running on the layout. Here we manage to get two trains running at the same time.
The workman’s train seen above needs some passengers. From the internet we have this bargain collection of vivid figures – how many Michael Portillos can you count?
After a bit of attention from Luke they now are more subdued.
The train itself is a nice model from Dapol of Mainline and City stock. It really should be closer coupled. The magnetic couplers purchased to help were nice but really intended for coaches with corridor connections. So using the same idea some mini-magnets were put into the Dapol-supplied couplings to do the job.
A lot of shifting of baseboards took place to get Pavilion End erected in the layout room. The layout itself worked well after its storage with all tracks working plus success with turnouts, uncouplers and signal. However, there has been some damage to fences, deterioration in buildings and velcro on the fascia supports come loose.
For Queens Wharf Luke is building a quarry locomotive and started assembling a High Level gearbox. By the end of the evening the chassis was running well.
Meanwhile, also in the layout room, electrical connections to the track work meant we were able to see the very first movement on Cwmcarno. It was not without its problems.
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.
Thanks to sterling work by Paul 🏅🏅we have all fiddle yard boards and legs for Cwm Carno. So in the space created last session we are able to fully erect it for the first time. First the north fiddle yard, then all four. The max length was just less then 5 metres.
From the expansive to the compact, Luke has brought along Queen’s Wharf for a little attention.
