Cwm Carno

Week Ending 24 August

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Paul🏅🏅continued his work on the halo attaching extra wooden blocks to provide support and a gluing surface for the facing material. Mr C worked on the final pair of turnouts fixing the stretcher bars in place.

Tuesday saw Mr Chairman continue with trackwork for Cwmcarno and Paul🏅🏅make more progress for on its halo.

Luke is building a Dick Kerr & Co petrol electric 40 hp tractor to 0n16.5, which will be finished in North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways (a forerunner of the Welsh Highland Railway) guise. As with many white metal kits it will need some fettling before the body sits level on the chassis.

And LBH completed the conversion of a B&MR all-third to ScaleSeven by the simple application of Connoisseur Models’ Sprung Suspension Units.

It is seen here perilously balanced on Frecclesham’s 0 gauge track, Tŷ’n-y-Coedcae being in temporary storage.

The end of August was the milestone for submitting photos of layouts for the Scalefour Jubilee Challenge, so we moved the layout into the main hall for a little photoshoot.

And while we were at it I couldn’t resist a look through one of the chapel windows.

Our resident Wizard continues to make progress with the B&MR Usk, and tonight she had a trial fit of the safety valve cover, prior to it being cast in brass.

And LBH was so dis-satisfied with his ballasting on the CoT turnout he decided to remove it.

Week Ending 24 August Read More »

Week ending 17 August

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Monday and just a handful of us were present. Paul🏅🏅made the ‘halo’ for Cwm Carno (see Tuesday) Tuesday saw some significant Cwm Carno progress. TAFKATYS arrived with some supports for Cwm Carno. The legs were recycled from end protectors of LMJ baseboards – it was good quality plywood. New beams connect the legs and are very sturdy. The layout was tried in place easily and the upper section (halo) which will have a fascia and LED lights temporarily held up in place. Once the fascia is attached the halo will be far more rigid.

With Cwm Carno on the move we decided to check it will fit into the transport – no, they were not lining it up to throw it into the Range Rover. Moving around inside is possible as long as you rotate the board.

Some more track was laid on Cwm Carno on Friday. There is now a connection from the main line into the exchange sidings.

Elsewhere Luke tested a 3D printed chassis for an early mechanical shunter and consulted on the turntables for Queen’s Wharf. The Wizard continued with Usk having moved on to the boiler and some revision of the design of Cwm Carno’s terraces took place.

Week ending 17 August Read More »

And next we have . . .

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Frecclesham at the Stafford Show 27th and 28th September. Therefore on Monday we played a bit of 3-D Tetris moving around Lyne Road, Ty’n y Coedcae, Cwmcarno, ABB to get Frecclesham erected in the layout room.

Then Cwmcarno went back roughly where it came from.

On Tuesday the next turnout was laid on Cwm Carno, leading into the exchange sidings, with the headshunt to the left. Whilst that was drying under some weights, Mr. C started to assemble the mock-up row of terraced houses. These had previously been prepared by Paul🏅🏅and shortened from 6 cottages down to 4. They are mock-ups with errors and putting them together highlighted the changes needed. We might go for the classic sloping roof-line rather than this stepped one.

And next we have . . . Read More »

Week ending 3 August

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This Monday we packed up ABB to create space for Frecclesham. We are due at the Stafford show at the end of September and Frecclesham hasn’t been operated for a while and does need some refreshing, so that goes up next.

Paul W has been working on his 78xxx kit in 7mm for some time. There were updates back in June. The tender is nearly complete and work has moved to the locomotive.

As supplied the kit has some inaccuracies and to correct them Paul W had to form a new spacer at the front of the chassis from a fresh piece of brass. This had to be measured, marked up and bent to avoid the fixing positions for pickups, yet form support for the cylinder blocks. (which need thinning down) Five folds were required which were achieved with the help of The Wizard at the first attempt.

Tuesday and more Hogwash and Baloney. This evening Mike E started to scratchbuild some girders for his short-line. This is for a modern addition to the scenario, so plate girders are in order, contrasting nicely with the wooden trestles seen previously. All parts were cut from 40 thou Plastikard.

Wagonman’s riding van now has a companion, a Tool Van, which is really a mobile workshop. These were normally paired this way in breakdown trains.

On Cwmcarno the pair of turnouts for the exchange sidings have come on well, been removed from the template and given a good clean with Viakal. The first pic shows them in place in the distance with all the remaining turnouts there too. So with plenty of bits of flexitrack available we ‘laid’ the rest of the formation as seen in the second pic. This shot is taken from the other end of the layout.

Friday was a quiet evening with only a select three present. The last part of the main line through the main platform was laid in as seen in the pic. Hopefully you can’t see the join. Also Wagonman Has been making girders for the river bridge which were tried in place and looked good, but no pic.

Then we moved on to trying to get the position of the next turnout correct, we think successfully. It was not stuck down as it needed the inside chairs to be installed. While Mr. C got on with that, Wagonman continued with his breakdown van and Paul🏅🏅tidied up some laser cut wood parts.

Week ending 3 August Read More »

A fresher week

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Monday was another quiet day with some progress made. The layout room was much cooler with less heat and sun outside.To help with the design and planning of the channelised stream and bridge Paul 🏅🏅glued a wooden plate under the area so that there is a firm surface to work from.

By Tuesday some mock-up walls and were in place and dummy pillars in place either side. The span comes out at about 30ft. The view from the opposite side can be seen further below.

Tuesday had double the attendance of last week, but with different personnel being present. Discussion continued about the track over the stream. Should it be all ballasted or would it be better with longitudinal timbers supporting the rails? Our Wizard was unable to progress as his modelling glasses were at home but Wagonman continued with the latest project, a Riding Van usually employed in breakdown trains.

Friday and more progress with Cwmcarno. With the return of TAFKATYS some wood was laid in leading away from the first turnout to support the wire-in-tube for operation. It will be driven by servos and they are to be grouped under the colliery and accessible without grovelling on the floor. Meanwhile Mr. C was filing up three point blades for the exchange sidings crossing. Why three you ask as they are usually done in pairs? Well, one of the previous blades was filed upside-down. Mr C confesses to the error.

Using the facilities at the local Makerspace, LBH produced laser cut parts for the row of cottages. The design is a trial, but based on real ones from Abersychan, north of Pontypool. The parts were temporarily held together with masking tape and then tried in place. There are six units but we probably only need four. The angle looks about right, but they are sitting too high which can be reduced.

A fresher week Read More »

Raising the riverbed

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Four of us made it to the clubrooms today.

Paul 🏅🏅and Mr C worked on the riverbed and river bridge on Cwm-carno, raising the riverbed to a more realistic level with foam.

Andrew N considered the most appropriate style of signal for the up starter and LBH pottered around with his Peco200 board.

Raising the riverbed Read More »

Hotter Friday evening

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The heat built up through the week and it was close to uncomfortable in the layout room.

During the week LBH did some laser cutting with MDF and included setting curves for the mainline on Cwmcarno. Unfortunately the cutting was not thorough and had to be finished off with a Stanley knife, hence some ragged edges. The curve looks smooth though.

(Some buildings have been moved around and are not in the right places)

And despite the heat we had a visit from Mike G with one of his latest creations an ex-GWR large prairie.

For more info on its construction pop over to Mike’s workshop blog on Western Thunder

Hotter Friday evening Read More »

A Milestone for Cwm Carno

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Track laying continued on Monday. Well actually last Fridays work was checked and preparation made for the next stage of laying in the main line. The curve is pretty smooth but not yet stuck down. Then the first turnout in the exchange sidings was tried in place, though its not yet time to lay.

A Milestone for Cwm Carno Read More »

Week Ending 5th July

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Having taken receipt of the the last two LMJ boards Wagonman put all three together as a start of the process of conversion into its new guise.

Modellers abhor a vacuum!

The space made available by the LMJ board’s removal was quickly invaded by LBH.

Paul🏅🏅 has assembled and painted a pair of shelves for Tŷ’n-y-Coedcae to hold coffee and the NCE Powercab.

Our Wizard is getting on nicely with the tender of B&MR ‘Usk’ (or ‘Wye’)

And to finish the Monday report a start has been made on the laying the track work on Cwm-carno, and following some helpful comments from sharp eyed readers of the entry on the Scalefour forum.

Tuesday was the first in July so we met on-line with a range of presentations. Mr C started us off with pictures gleaned from the internet showing LNWR 4 cylinder compound freight engines and 2-4-0s. Mike E had some pics of incredibly small shunting engines from Italy, though built in Germany. Steve Bell had yet more photos of the Cambrian lines, fascinating as usual, while Rod’s selection was from South Wales. Luke updated us on his latest project which utilises the baseboard for the Peco 200 challenge. Called Queen’s Wharf it is based on Towyn on the Talyllyn Railway. Finally Paul W showed us his scratch-built improvements to the tender of his 78xxx in 7mm.

On Friday there was a significant step forward on Cwmcarno with the first turnout to be laid. After careful siting and marking the position on Monday, the Evostic was applied and the main turnout stuck down and weighted in place with pieces of steel. We can now get on with laying the mainline through the station.

The second turnout in the view will have to be laid later as it needs aligning with this main turnout and exchange sidings crossover which has now been started.

Turnouts for the exchange sidings started.

Week Ending 5th July Read More »

As the days start to shorten ….

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Six at the club today, Andrew J working on the road bridge for Lyne Road and Paul S started the fabrication of a couple of shelves for Tŷ’n-y-Coedcae, ….

Rhobat continued work on his Hunslet Jazzer kit in OO from the CSP range.

Currently he is working on the footsteps, attaching a fiddly triangular strengthening piece with the aid of a jig he prepared.

Mr Chairman is finishing off the problematic area at the end of the terrace on ABB, planting this tree as a view blocker.

Paul W was using his scratchbuilding skill fabricating a brakeblocks and hangers for his 78000 Mogul.

LBH progressed with his COT turnout, completing filing up and then fitting the switch blades. Stretcher bar next.

Tuesday and it’s close to the time to lay the first turnout on Cwmcarno. Here Mr C and TAFKATYS sort out the method for driving the point blades (wire in tube from a remote servo) and how to go about the wiring (Drill holes later and solder the wires in) and checked for trackbed flatness.

As the days start to shorten …. Read More »

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