Supposed to be ChufferDuffers tomorrow, but as Pat is roaming around the barren and desolate wastes in the North of the Principality, and I'm spending the evening in a brewery we decided to miss this weeks meeting.

However...

Talking of the wet and wild North, I ventured up to Llyn Tegid yesterday to visit the Bala Gala, specifically the model railway exhibition where Pat and Mary were showing 'Gorsaf Maes Y Gof'.
Wet and wild was an understatement for the start of the day. The heavens opened soon after I got to Llanuwchllyn, where the Bala narrow gauge station is, and where the Festival of Transport was being held. Unfortunately the thunderstorm prevented me going around the field. I had to make do with taking a couple of pics of Quarry Hunslets - obviously copies of Colins models...

I made it to the school in Bala town where the model railway expo was being held, and the rain eased off long enough for me to leg it from the car park.

Pat and Mary's allocated patch was very handily situated in the large refreshment room, not far from the display of cakes...
I took a quick picture of the set-up while there was a break in spectators. Attendance picked up through the day, and Pat was kept quite busy operating and chatting to the public. Particularly the younger ones, as Pat had set up a challenge for children to find the list of animals that he had positioned around the maes.

Most of them were fairly easy to spot - at least, for the children - adults seemed to have a harder time... fading eyesight was the general excuse!
The hardest to find was the robin, so if you happen to see the layout at Llwyncelyn or at the National Woolen Mill later this year, here is a little cheat picture for you:

Thats it fro this week - I have got a couple of cameo shots, but I'll save them for another post

Diolch,

Shaun.

Bank holiday looms, and as usual the weather changes! Hopefully it won't be too bad in North Wales as Pat and Mary have headed that way to exhibit 'Gorsaf Gof' at the Bala weekend exhibition - and incorporate a weeks holiday in the area.

We had the final Chuffer's May meeting on Tuesday at Colins, where we had a test run of different controllers on part of Col's N gauge layout, though the test locos were 009.

No definitive conclusions were reached, though the commercial Gaugemaster scored quite well.
We decided in the end that our home-brewed controllers were more than adequate...

This is the smallest that Colin has built, using just one transistor!

The loco that I had pictures of but didn't know what it was in the last post is a Hunslet. Further work has been done, and Colin tells me it is loosely based on 'Lady Jane', one of the Hunslets that saw service on the Velinheli narrow gauge quarry network in North Wales

Here is a more detailed close-up, still a bit more to add.

On the 'Teifi Gorge' layout, a small terrace of cottages and a Merchants store have been added to the Cilgerran end of the layout:

Meanwhile, down at Login, our worthy Society Chairperson returned from his holiday in foreign parts, and wanted to make up for not being around to help with the building - so he and myself went down to Login and together with Pete started on insulating the inside walls:

We almost completed, but were three panels of insulation short. However Pete started to apply the ply-wood covering and had done three-quarters of one wall before we called it a day.

Many thanks to Dawn for the egg and bacon rolls, shortbread biscuits and tea and coffee that she provided for our lunch - also thanks to Marianne for the pizza and salad at Chuffers on Tuesday.

Off to Bala on Sunday to see how Pat is getting on. Hopefully pics of the event in the next blog!

Yet another post! I'm really spoiling you lot these days...

This post isn't really about the ChufferDuffers - it's an update on the Heritage building. We had a scheduled painting day yesterday, and Pat, Thomas and myself joined Peter to put the final coat of paint on.
When we got to Login we found that Peter had already painted the third coat onto the front and also painted the doors and window frames. Just waiting for the window sills to come from Malvern Timber.
By twelve thirty we had finished the outside of the building:

  This is the front - inside of the doors yet to do. You'll have to excuse the mess in these pictures, as it is work-in-progress at the moment.
This is the view taken from the parking area:

During the week Peter had the base units for the layouts arrive, as flat packs from Wickes. Also sheets of ply-wood for going down on the floor prior to carpet being laid.
The carpet is in the form of industrial grade carpet tiles, and they arrived while we were on hand to help off load.
A short break with coffee and cake kindly brought down to us by Dawn
Half an hour later the truck arrived with the polyurethane insulation for the inside walls, so there is nothing holding us back!

The ply sheets were laid on the floor with a nail gun, expertly wielded by Patrick (this is he, though not everybody would recognise him...)

In the opposite corner we have the carpet tiles, which will probably be the last item to go down:

And then after these pictures were taken the insulating panels arrived, and were stacked onto the floor at the far end:

Once the walls have been filled with insulation and lined with ply-wood, it will be back with the painting crew, and then the electrician can fit the trunking and light and power.
After that it will be carpet and base units.

There we go - up to date with the shed!
(notice I was very tactful and never said a word about Pat and the fruit cake...)

Tuesday evening had us gathered at Pats, where he gave us a guided tour of his 7mm narrow guage exhibition layout, 'Gorsaf Maes Y Gof' - hard to translate, but roughly means 'Blacksmiths field station'. As it has a station, a blacksmith, and bits of field we are happy!

The blacksmith in question is one 'Dylan Evans'. At the moment he is inside busy at the forge - usually at exhibitions he can be seen outside the smithy shoeing a horse.
Gareth Jones is currently repairing the smithy roof, after a recent storm damaged some of the ridge tiles and loosened some slates.

 
He's seen here having a quick word with Dylan before tackling the ladders.

Below is a birds eye view of the layout, with the latest edition to the motive power - a small diesel just about to pass through the station with a coal delivery destined for the next stop up the line

Another edition to the ever growing fleet of assorted rolling stock is this unique livestock van.
William Mathias, one of the guards is in the process of painting warning signs on to the van, in an endeavour to keep young fingers away at exhibitions (the van is transporting Myfanwy the dragon to the Eisteddfod at Llwyncelyn, and she doesn't travel well))

Preparing to shunt Myfanwy out of the siding, we have Pat driving the quarry hunslet loco with yours truly stoking the boiler

After all that tiring work we retired to the lounge and settled down to serious imbibing, together with sausage rolls and home-made pizza.
Colin then showed us his latest locomotive construction, which will be related in more detail in a forthcoming edition of the 009 News. First is a little 0-6-0 Pecket:

Followed by this 'work-in-progress' 0-4-0 saddle tank, 9and I'm ashamed to say I've forgotten what the prototype was...):

Thats it for this episode - we are off to Login tomorrow to do more work on the Heritage building.

Don't forget you can see Pats 'Gorsaf Maes y Gof' and even get to play with operate it at the Gala Exhibition at Bala lake during the May bank holiday  - 25th, 26th and 27th.

Nos da, Shaun.

Just a quick post to keep you updated on the progress of the Cardi-Bach Heritage Center.
A fine day yesterday so Pat and I drove down to Login, met up with Pete, loaded up the paint brushes and gave the shed a second coat.

It covered well, but we decided that it would benefit from one more coat, which we have scheduled for this coming Friday, when hopefully our youngest member, Thomas can come along and give a hand (or brush)

Herewith pics of the shed Heritage Center taken yesterday:

 

Regards, Shaun.

The Chuffers weekly evening meeting this week was changed to a daytime one, in order to give Pete a hand in painting the new building that he has had put up at the end of Login Station.

This was the early stages of the construction:

I hasten to point out that the C-D's were not involved in this part of the operation!

When finished the building will hopefully house the Cardi-Bach Heritage Museum, providing we can get enough funding to help towards Peters substantial initial outlay - all donations are welcome and will be aknowledged one way or another.

This is the inside of the shed, yet to be lined, carpeted, and illuminated:

Back to the Chuffers - Pat, Colin, and myself gathered at Login on Tuesday morning all set for a days painting. Sod's law... as soon as we arrived, so did the rain, so the morning was spent discussing model railway matters, and indulging in coffee and cake (one member consuming more cake than was good for him...)

The weather cleared up in the afternoon, so I drove back down to Login (to escape gardening) and Pete and I got to work with the paint brushes.

Supervised by Mr Schroedinger,

We managed to get the first coat on the gable end and one side:

Just waiting now for the next 'window of opportunity' to do the other side and end, and then the second coat.

Thanks for looking,
Shaun.