Welsh dragon rail - north welsh coast layout united kingdom

[Welsh Dragon Rail]

Further developments on the layout. These largely focus on the Conwy town area which I am supporting with 4 Ml ply.

Britainnnia on the mainline in front of the Conwy goods area. I shall be cladding the wall to the front of the loco with a resin cast from stone walls I have moulded myself



A large rake featuring the Conwy back scene.




A large section of the area to contain the Medieval town of Conwy. The 2 pieces of thicker ply will contain the Conwy goods area. At lease track has appeared on the Conwy section of the layout, although it is not wired at this stage.



The Conwy town area again. I have inserted the template for Conwy castle at the top of the left bank of the river Conwy. The castle will be just over 2 feet by 1 foot. It was built in the 12 century by Edward the First!!!

[Scotian_Huntress]

I have always wanted to build a castle! Your layout is looking great - I like the urban/country feel.

[Welsh Dragon Rail]

Dear Scotian Huntress,

Thanks for the reply and interest in the layout. Given you particular interest in the castle I thought you would like to see the prototype of Conwy castle that I need to build. Photo is below, showing an out of era diesel on the main line. Remember th elayout is set in 1960. This picture is taken from the hill on the other side of the creek. The castle is 12 century. The "Portcullis" through which the rake is passing was built at the same time as the tubular bride shown in prior entries. Both were built in 1848, designed by Robert Stephenson. The castle walls are largely intact although the roofs have long gone. The track is only a couple of metres from the tracks.



All comments are gratefully appreciated.

[Welsh Dragon Rail]

I have been busy helping out with a sick relation so no time for the thread over the last week. The photos below show some developments around Conwy.

The three tracks on the upper level are the 2 mainlines into Conwy over the river Conwy. The track on the far right is a goods storage area. The other track on the far left is the first of 3 tracks on the Llandudno goods sidings. The 2 pieces of aluminium provide the basis for the 2 tubular sections of the rail bridge. Once you get over the river the main lines run past the castle template. It has 8 main turrets which are made out of 90ml plumbing pipe. The straight sections are made from 3 layers of ply, The middle one is set lower to create a walk way around the castle. The scale of the layout can be seen by the single decker bridge green and cream next to the bottom of the bridge.



This photo shows in more detail the castle template. The creek line is just below the main lines.



This photo shows in more detail the lower bank, which will have a bowling green on it.




The white section above the creek line is the Conwy goods yard. The piece of paper on the ends of the layout is where Conwy station will go.



A view from the other direction showing a close up of the station plan. The hill on the far right is covered with trees.

[Scotian_Huntress]

Is that a full size castle or a compressed version?

[WP&P]

Is that a full size castle or a compressed version?

It's only a model...

(sorry, I just couldn't resist the Monty Python reference)

[Scotian_Huntress]

I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty-headed animal food trough wiper! I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!

[WP&P]

Is there someone else up there we can talk to?

[Scotian_Huntress]

On second thought, let's not go to Camelot. It is a silly place.

[Welsh Dragon Rail]

Dear Huntress,

The model of Conwy, or is it Camelot- and does any one have a plan of Camelot so I can accurately model it!

Anyway the model of Conwy is scaled to 1:148 (British N gauge). I have not compressed any part of it. It is 2 and a half feet (750 ml) by one foot (300ml). It is about 300 ml high.


More photos are below.


Rake of 15 coaches in front of the castle template.




Similar photo but my scale marker has been incorporated (the single decker bus)



All of the boards have been top coated with brown paint




The Royal Scot is featured in this photo






All comments are welcome. I am enjoying the Monty Python quotes but not sure I know them well enough to quote back!!

[Scotian_Huntress]

I cheated. I love Monty Python but I could barely remember the quote so I just cut-and-pase from the Quotes section of IMDB.com!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071853/...ref_=tt_trv_qu

[Welsh Dragon Rail]

Thanks to Scotian Huntress for your engagement. All comments are most welcome.
Further developments showing the completion of the ply sections for the top Conwy base boards.

This shows the area across the town on Conwy. The single decker bus is evident to provide a sense of scale. The brown ledge is the edge of the Conwy goods yard





Shot showing the boat ramp area looking across the river Conwy up the creek line. An 11 rake coach. The largest will be 17. Castle template shwing.




Conwy statin plan is in the foreground

[pwh70]

I really like the way you have enveloped the entire room surround into your background. For photographs, a short height in backdrop is all that is required. But to stand back and "take it all in", you have really done a nice job!

-Paul

[Welsh Dragon Rail]

Dear PWH,

Thanks for the comment. I think the efforts by my mother in law and wife are fantastic and add a great deal of atmosphere to the layout. My mother in law is currently PAINTING a scenic divider of which there are three, between each station (Please note despite my earlier post my mother in law is NOT a scenic divider!!!).



More photos are below focussing on the Conwy goods yard, with a freight rake in the area.

Single decker bus is just visible in the foreground. Template on the right is for Conwy castle.



Freight train in front of Conwy goods yard




Creek and boat ramp in the picture.




Main lines and goods yards track in position.

[WP&P]

My mother in law is currently a scenic divider

That's the first time I've heard that kind of description being applied to a mother-in-law...

[edfhinton]

Originally Posted by Welsh Dragon Rail
My mother in law is currently a scenic divider

That's the first time I've heard that kind of description being applied to a mother-in-law...

Perhaps that is something he hadn't intended to let slip? Certainly Anthony has not been up to no good... After all, it was such a CONVINCING retraction...

Nice work on the layout!

[Scotian_Huntress]

So will the little engine, sitting alone in pictures 1, 3-4 in post #54 be a standard roster in operation on your completed layout?

BTW: There is a large area to be scenicked with urban ares in your pictures, how are you planning to make them?

[Welsh Dragon Rail]

Dear WP&P and Scotian_Huntress,

Thanks for the replies. Now that I have converted my mother in law from a scenic divider I am sure she has continued on with her painting task.
In reply to the Scotian_Huntress. Yes I have over 300 buildings to add to the layout. The are at least 125 buildings to be constructed for the Conwy area alone. I have started constructing buildings out of the scale scenes range. These are largely English paper down loaded form the internet. Once you have a particular plan you can print off as many copies as required. There is also an option to mix and match with a variety of brick and stone finishes to insert into any specific plan. For instance for a red brick terrace house you can substitute any stone or brick finish. There are about 44 different finishes. I use the plan template to get the required dimensions and then cut out the required finish. The paper is backed to picture framing card board, of which I get free off cuts from a picture frame. Total cost for 50 terrace houses is about $8 Australian. It is a labour intensive process as all of the window, doors and building walls need to be hand cut. The range is available in N and OO gauge.


The web site is below:

http://www.scalescenes.com/

Dry Stone




Aged Brown Brick



In terms of the small yellow loco on the layout in some of the pictures. It is a wide up loco from the Thomas range. Not sure of its name but some one may be able to answer that question. When I get frustrated with slow progress I can at least run a train even if it is wind up!!!

Next series of photos will be my first trees under construction.

All comments are encouraged. Thanks to Scotian for your active involvement it is very encouraging.

[Welsh Dragon Rail]

Dear All,

Some more work on the Conwy area and the creation of my first trees.

Overview of Conwy area




My first tree, using twisted wire, brown no more gaps and woodland scenics foliage material.






First stage of a large oak tree.




Conwy goods area with the ubiquitous single decker bus present to provide a sense of scale.



Next photos will include completion of the oak tree.

[danielb]

I've been following this on other forums, and it's quite the superb layout idea, and is coming on very well.

It's unique, in that it's a US type "Basement Empire" but with a British subject - and built in Australia too!