The wetter the better.

At the beginning of the month I had a very pleasant couple of days at the Llanfair garden railway show. I don't think it's any coincidence that it happens at the same time as the Welshpool and Llanfair railways gala weekend. I managed to get to the station at Llanfair a couple of times each day and many of the faces appeared at both events. I took several photos on each day and whilst reviewing them at home I came to the conclusion that the better ones were taken when the weather was at its worst. Here's my favourite taken at the height of Sunday's deluge.

Something for the weekend sir?

The August bank holiday weekend that is. Once again the annual Corris Model Railway and Toy Exhibition will be with us on the 28th, 29th and 30th of this month. For the second year running it will be held in the school in Corris, just across the car park from the Corris Railway station. Opening times are from 10:30 until 5:00 each day; by my reckoning there will be up to sixteen layouts or displays and seven trade stands present over the weekend though some may change over the three days. I'll be there for the whole of the weekend with Chwarel Bach, do say hello.

Make the most of the weekend and combine a visit to the exhibition with a trip on the Corris Railway itself. A journey along the line includes a tour round the operational hub of the line at Maespoeth. I may be biased but I believe the Corris to be one of the most quietly beautiful lines in Britain, certainly you won't find a friendlier welcome anywhere.

Also available in blue.

The ballast has now been sealed with dilute PVA, and while I was at it the scenery has had a work over too with the addition of more ground cover and trees that better break up the regularity of the circle. Killing two birds with one stone here's a photo of the second Fowler almost complete on an upgraded section of the layout.

Both the loco and vans won't be with me for long, the vans are already on e-bay, the loco will follow once works plates and safety valves are fitted.

Do as I say, not as I do .....

Oh dear, I believe I've been the victim of a 'good' idea I had a year ago. When putting Chwarel Bach together it seemed like a good idea to ballast with a polyfiller, sand and powder paint mix. It certainly gave a quick result. The first time I used the layout in anger at the Corris model railway show all worked remarkably well. Since then it's sat upstairs in my playroom, pressed into service from time to time as a test track or somewhere to let completed engines run in by lapping the circuit. A creeping and increasing deterioration in the running quality began to make itself felt. After spending a lot of time looking at both loco mechanisms and the track I came to the conclusion that the problem was caused by the ballast. It seems that as well as the usual amount of airborne dust, the pollyfiller is also contributing to a fine layer that inhibits efficient collection of current from the rails. There may be issues with a fine layer creeping into the gap between fishplate and rail further contributing to the embuggerment. I think cleaning followed by sealing the surface of the ballast with dilute PVA is the way to go; meantime have a pretty picture of my latest loco to emerge from the paintshop on the offending length.

The return of the chipboard monster

Thanks to a chance trip up the Cambrian Coast  a couple of weeks ago I find myself with renewed levels of enthusiasm for Morfa and have consequently been attacking pine and chipboard with vigour. I'm pleased to say that as of today the baseboard decks are complete, the box beam trackbed is in place and the backscene fixed where necessary.

Of course there's still a long way to go but I'm almost at the stage where the bits I like least, butchering wood, are over.

Custom Etched Plates

Sometimes it's the little details that make all the difference. My pugbash looked pleasant enough in plain green, but nothing special. Once the lining was applied it started to look a bit tastier, but the final icing on the cake was fitting a pair of works plates.

I'd sourced the plates (they come in sets of three) from a fellow member of Narrow Gauge Railway Modelling Online. I'm now hugely pleased to say that Narrow Planet custom etched nameplates are now available to all through their new website. You'll see that name as well as works plates are offered; it's a venture that deserves to do well.

Double Vision

I've not spent that much time at the workbench, sunshine and a full list of outdoor jobs has got in the way. However a spot of steady progress has brought both locos up to the state shown in the photo.