This section is for layout ideas in any scale and gauge.
These are all my photographs, so if you want to use them for your own personal use, feel free and if you want to use them in a society magazine, please give me a credit. If you want to make money by selling them ask me first, email me: tonyautonutz(at)aol.com (obviously change (at) to @...
No1: Rosebush
Rosebush was, at one time, the 'terminus' of the 8.5-mile-long (13.7 km) line from Clynderwen through Maenclochog to Rosebush and on to the slate quaries in the Preseli mountains. The owner of Tafarn Sinc has built this 'replica' of the station, complete with train noises!
Most of the trackbed can be followed and would make an interesting GWR period (or earlier - it started as the Narberth Road and Maenclochog Railway in January 1876, taken over North Pembrokeshire and Fishguard Railway in May 1894) standard gauge slate (and other goods/passengers) railway... It kept closing and opening and the line was finally closed to passengers in 21st October 1937 and closed completely in 16th May 1949. There was a plan to develop Rosebush as a spa for tourists with a hotel with ornimental lake and gardens, but visitors failed to appear, so you could always build it as a 'might have been'? Come and visit Rosebush Spa, a rival to Cheltenham!
Or perhaps the go ahead owner of Tafarn Sinc, might have considered building a narrow gauge railway, either to the quaries or on the later standard gauge trackbed that curved away after passing Rosebush, heading towards Nantyffynon and on toward Letterston or easier still, back towards Maenclochog... Shades of Teifi Valley Railway... A baby Hunslet with a couple of coaches or perhaps a diesel with bogie coach or two.
There's a small amount of reference on the net... so have a look!
I like the idea of a narrow gauge railway with Tafarn Sinc as the basis, perhaps just running to the bridge over the road, as a scenic break as it heads towards Maenclochog...
No 2: POPPIT SANDS
What if the proposed line from Cardigan was built through St.Dogmaels and on to Poppit Sands was built as a standard gauge line built by the Whitland and Cardigan Railway, which was taken over by the GWR on 1st September 1886 was actually carried through?
The proposal was to build a dock at Poppit Sands and, no doubt, there would have been a Great Western Hotel in their plans, along with the usual goods and passenger facilities and again their would be at least a stationmaster's house, worker's cottages and a chapel or church, along with fishermen's cottages, pubs (which were often the front rooms of cottages), stables, fish sellers (on the quay), boatbuilders, forge, sand extraction, lime kilns (they are in the area, as are other type of stone for quarrying), there are a few farms in the locality, so those type of buildings and equipment would be required - it's starting to sound like Pendon!
As the railway to Cardigan closed before the "Beeching Axe" on 8th September 1962, it would have to be assumed that the line to Poppit Sands would close at the same time, assuming it survived the First World War, the Depression and the Second World War!
Possibly, it may have been taken over by a preservation group, just running from Cardigan to Poppit Sands and been used as a standard gauge line running ex-GWR and BR Stock, as the Llangollen Railway or a narrow gauge society, like the Bala Lake Railway.
As it was never built you can do what you want!!!
Winifred on the Bala Lake Railway - with Poppit Sands Quay on the right?
No 3: LLANGOLLEN
An ideal riverside setting, with a mountain in the background, for a GWR/BR through station or a preservation railway as it is now.
My idea was to build a lyout layout as the above with the footbridge acting as a scenic break to a fiddle yard and the road bridge to the right (off photograph) as part of the run round. You don't need full length trains, as only the first coach can be seen, behing the engine as it enters the station. The engine is uncoupled and runs across the points, then back up the 'down' track where it takes on water, before heading up the line to cross over and head back down to collect the train - which you could do by just leaving the loco in the fiddle ayard and pulling the coach slowly back? DMUs have a much easier time, as they just run in, wait then leave!!! You can also run demonstration freights and Thomas days! - along with visiting engines (they've even had "Ivor" there!). Just look up Llangollen Railway website and facebook page for ideas.
This is the view from the road bridge, so you only need three points and two signals (there is one under the station canopy) and you can probably get away with building it 'straight' - without using the curve that the real sation is built on!
I'll add more pictuers when it locate them or I'll take some more next time I'm in Llangollen.
You could always build it as a narrow gauge presevation railway, as just down the line (well, around 25 miles or so), Bala Lake Railway did just do that! - as it's part of the same trackbed - Wrexham to Dolgellau/Barmouth! (See my addition after the signal box photograph)
The 'hidden' other signal under the canopy
Looking from the footbridage to the road bridge
It depends on what year you are setting it in, as the flats behind replace a garage a few years ago
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I've just added this reply to a post of mine on Narrow Gauge Railway Modelling Online www.ngrm-online.com - which might give somebody creative ideas...
In 1972/3, before Llangollen Railway was started and the group which became LR were looking for a suitable location for their railway - Wrexham-Minera and others were discussed, there were quite a few ideas for (both standard and narrow gauge) railways floating around North and Mid Wales
Around about 1974, I was Publicity Officer for the WHR(1964)Ltd and some of the WHR & FR members and other railway enthusiasts (who lived in the Wrexham area) had discussed the idea of a narrow gauge railway running from Llangollen to Ruabon (where there would be parking and a main line train station) and possibly on to Bala (long before Bala Lake came along) and/or Dolgellau or Dovey Junction railway station an idea, as PO of WHR, I did not want to promote as it would detract from what the WHR was trying to achieve. But the thoughts of a 56 mile narrow gauge raillway quickly came to nothing.
Seeing what the FR have done with the WHR (I'm not getting into THAT discussion!), perhaps if the Llangollen Railway group had decided on another location and the WHR(1964)Ltd had built the line to Dinas, perhaps we might now have a new 56 mile narrow gauge line in North Wales. Who knows? One for the "might have been" group!
So Llangollen station with a couple of Garratts running through might be a very interesting layout!!!
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If you're looking for more information on Llangollen Railway, have a look at their website: www.llangollen-railway.co.uk. They also have a facebook page
They also have a camera on Glyndyfrdwy station on www.railcam.uk where you can get an idea of the traffic of today (especially good during special weekends!)
There's no sound, as the camera's next to a holiday cottage's bedroom.
The railcam website is free to login (you just need to register free) and it's only 10 GBP to see all the other supporter cameras.
The level of the Raver Dee can depend on rainfall up the valley. After the storm 'Desmond', it was up to the water pipe
Usually, the train arrives at platform 1 and the locomotive runs forward to the bridge and then runs around the coaches, stopping for water on its way (if it's a steam locomotive, diesels usually don't stop to refill!). Once locomotives are unloaded from their transport, they remain in the direction placed on the track, as there aren't any turntable facilities on the Llangollen Railway, which saves turning locomotives around in the fiddle yard. This was the first day of Santa Specials (December 5th 2015).