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.
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.
Ringing the changes Read More »
Luke’s S7 0-4-0 for the Connoisseur stable is coming on having had pick ups fitted and running well on DC on the test track. It’s see here on Tŷ’n-y-Coedcae, but stationary as it doesn’t have a DCC chip yet.
Also on TyCc is this chicken coop, having now received a wiggly tin roof.
Friday 23rd January Read More »
By the end of Tuesday the fiddle yard boards had been painted to match.
Having prepared the Dingham couplings its time to apply them to some stock. The workman’s train is made up of some Dapol Mainline and City coaches. They are well made and the ‘footplate’ is cast in some sort of Mazak metal. It took Dremel and a burr to gouge out space for the coupling shank, which was then araldited in place. It now needs blackening.
Apparently Monday Jan 19th, 2026 is designated Blue Monday, so what better way to dispel the blues than building model railways.
So TAFKATYS progressed with his ScaleSeven Sir Lamiel’s 777 Quest layout mocking up the buildings and to bring a sense of scale, introducing a BR(SR) N15 30803 Sir Harry le Fise Lake to the scene.
Elsewhere Andrew prepared some wiggly tin for a building on his 00 Lyne Road layout.
Paul 🏅🏅painted the side of Cwm Carno in a uplifting shade of red.
And LBH built a chicken coop for Tŷ’n-y-Coedcae.
TAFKATYS is processing with the planning of his S7 777 challenge layout. A bit of Templotting, with a mug to represent a wagon turntable and the length of wood to represent another track crossing on the level.
And Paul 🏅🏅 acknowledging the requirement for appropriate lubrication paints the Cwn Carno boards.
Tuesday 13th Jan was our delayed Christmas party. We got the test track out and ran some trains meanwhile enjoying beer, rum balls, pasties, pate, amarettto balls, sausage rolls, samosas, whisky and ginger balls, tea and cheeses.
The test track uses DCC or DC. In the first shot the 3 locos on one track are not DCC but a competition to guess how many circuits it will take for the yellow shunter to catch up with the following loco and coach. The start / finish marker is of course the beer bottle.
Running Track Night Read More »
Good progress being made on the Scalefour Society Jubilee Challenge with Cwm Carno gaining its halo thanks to Paul albeit with temporary supports.
Then another challenge emerges – this time in ScaleSeven – the Sir Lamiel’s 777 Quest. TAFKATYS, whose brainchild this was, has made a start on the baseboard for the as-yet unnamed layout.
Meanwhile Mr C has been plugging away at the Dingham couplers and prepared the hooks, little flappy things and the loops ready for assembly later this week.
So many challenges Read More »
On Cwm Carno Paul 🏅🏅has been fitting the interfaces onto the Fiddle Yard boards that TAFKATYS built. The one on the right (the Newport end) is more or less complete, where Dowlais end still need a bit more work.
TAFKATYS has turned his eyes his Glanfa Newydd y Camlas, his new 7mm scale narrow gauge layout, and is building this rather majestic autumnal tree. The tea mug (inevitably in shot) gives some idea of scale.
