Cwm Carno

B**lasting away

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Another quiet week which has mainly seen work on various track items.

On Cwm Carno ballasting has now moved on to the main line with a different product used to show the well cared-for sections of track. It will be toned down later on.

On ABB the track into the Provender road and Coal road has been uneven for some time with wagons running away down the slope away from the baseboard joint. This has also led to uncoupling of trains as the Dingham couplings move up and down. So Mr.C decided relaying was the answer. The layers of blue card are raising the base level with 3mm thickness needed in places.

The last turnout is to Scale 7 standards and produced by 3D printing the base with the timbers, joining webs and chairs all in one print. The rail is then slid into the chairs making the end product more accurate. However, it is still possible to produce unsatisfactory ballasting and LBH has returned to it for a second attempt.

B**lasting away Read More »

Let there be light

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Monday and TAFKATYS and Andrew N connected up the lights for Cwmcarno station. The lights will need to be toned/turned down.

Tuesday was a little destructive as Mr. C removed the troublesome track from the colliery sidings and will attempt to lay it for the third time.

On Friday a select three of us were present. The curve seems to have gone in well. Both sets of rail ends need to be soldered into alignment before testing. Wagonman started some ballasting. The mix was one found among our resources and suits the unloved end of a siding well.

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05 October

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Monday was more stock checking and coupling adjustment whilst Andrew N installed the lamps on Cwmcarno.

Tuesday was a Zoom meeting featuring Col. Stephens and his railcars from Albyn, a selection of photos including the Monmouthshire Railway Society at Blaenavon and Glascoed from Mr C and LBH completed showing his haul of pictures.

On Saturday 10th LBH took Crindau Pill (still a work in progress) to the Scale Seven show at Mark near Bridgewater. We were able to get some movement, answer questions and chat to people.

05 October Read More »

Cwm Carno at Sforum ’26

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Cwmcarno made it to Scaleforum 2026 to compete in the Jubilee Layout Challenge, despite some worries earlier in September.

And it all fitted into a normal family car – one of the criteria of the Challenge

We of course started things in the traditional manner (pity the tea always seems to get cold!)

Whilst the scenery was representative rather than detailed it still looked like South Wales as some visitors said. The running of the stock was less than perfect but nevertheless trains moved through the landscape.

Thanks to RedKiteRail for these three photos.

For the last hour on Sunday pre-grouping stock was to the fore.

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Pressing on

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Only a week to go until Scaleforum so minds are concentrated on getting groundwork showing some vestige of colour.

The halo is off-scene having its lighting tidied up.

With more ground work done its beginning to look more like a bit of the valleys.

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Lozenges for all

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A quiet Monday, and most work was camera shy, but several of us had recovered from Friday’s exertions to attend.

Seen in the image are series of fiddle yard cassettes where Rob F had fixed the ply lozenges in situ.

Elsewhere work continued on the scenics for Cwmcarno and Andrew J weathered some wagons.

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18 August

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More decisions on terra-forming are being made with more foam base stuck in place. The white foam and dark ground make decent photos difficult. We have to sort out the wall supporting the colliery next.

18 August Read More »

Deadlines approach

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With the twin commitments of taking two layouts away on the same weekend the pressure is building.

And speaking of a building (oh! why does he bother?) LBH is slowly progressing the local pub; this evening fixing the newly-slated roof in position. He thought he’d found a pretty wizard way of holding the roof in place with two steel bars flexibly held together by masking tape straps.

We’ll see this evening if it works!

When we were moving ABB to set it up ready for the show, the terrace took a tumble. Obviously the magnets were not strong enough to hold it in place. So now there are some long bolts araldited to the base that pass down through the baseboard, secured by wingnuts. Also, some chimney pots were damaged when it hit the floor. The replacements are on the way from Modelu.

On another hot Friday most decided to stay cool and avoid the clubrooms. However, Mike G called in to drop off some stock he prepared for Cwm Carno. In the Bay at ABB we see 1610 and a more modern autocoach destined for Cwm Carno. For that layout, the long stone wall has had mortar and colour added and is looking better.

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05 August

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Apologies to our readers for the gap in posting but the main contributors have been busy elsewhere.

ABB is set up ready for testing the timetable and refreshing the operators. We even found some more of the red buttons for the control panel. These operate the uncoupling magnets. But if you turn the panel upside-down they tend to fall off!

On Cwm Carno below work is progressing on the scenery and around the river bed. The long stone wall needs more colour variation to be added. The terraces, Grenfell Terrace (remember Gren in the South Wales Echo?), are now on their supports which are being glued in place. The clingfilm is to keep the adhesive off the buildings.

Terraforming has started at the north end using mod-roc

05 August Read More »

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