Hello everybody. A warm welcome to the ChufferDuffers blog - an occasional diary of the things that a bunch of friends get up to loosely related to model railway, and also what is happening (or not...) in the Cardi-Bach Railway Society.

As a mildly entertaining side-track I've been posting pictures of Welsh castles for the last few blogs. The last one which no doubt everyone knew was Laugharne, with Dylans boathouse in the distance.

For this post we move back into Pembrokeshire, and the birthplace of Geraldus Cambrensis.

I was fortunate to get the bank of Daffs in the foreground. Very Patriotic...

Staying with castles for a brief moment, Pat's model of Cardigan Station has a temporary home in the house in the grounds of Cardigan Castle, and it was officially acknowledged by the Mayor and Lady Mayoress last weekend, and Emyr, Pat, and myself were invited to attend a photoshoot.

Herewith for your delight and edification:

The item appeared on the Cilgerran Facebook page, and the reporter mistakenly credited me with being one of the layouts instigators - the credit should of course go to Colin, as it was he and Pat who were the originators. I only came in at the last moment.

The Mayor and mayoress later appeared in their full regalia, and posed for the official photographer. I just happened to be lurking in the undergrowth:

 

 

On to more pertinent stuff.

As the Teifi Gorge layout has an extension, I thought some changes were due to be made  - the line coming in from Llechryd and points East does not pass directly through Cilgerran Station, as can be seen in the picture below:

It actually comes in on the line you can just see on the far left-hand side.

With the use of a laser-cut footbridge kit, and a bit of judicious brickworking, we now have access from the main Cilgerran station across the tracks to 'Cilgerran Junction' where passengers can join trains for their onward journey to Llechryd and beyond.

 

 

 

Last night (Tuesday) we had a Duffers meeting at Patricks, and he unveiled the new look to 'Bayview' the backscene has yet to be painted, and the proscenium lighting put in, but to all intents and purpose it is ready for the exhibition circuit. (once things have got back to normal, that is)

And just a quick close up of Bayview Hotel to refresh memories:

During the last couple of weeks Pat has been delving into his box of model railway paraphernalia and came up with a quantity of old triang stuff.

Being at a temporary loose end he put together this fully operating layout - purely for nostalgic enjoyment:

(Try to ignore the bottles on the right) Everything is fully operational and wired-up. electrically operated points and level crossing gates, and the original log tipper and wagon chute, all in pristine condition. Here is a shot from the opposite end:

We then repaired to the lounging area to enjoy roast chicken and salad, and a selection of Ivo Peters video tapes about the long defunct 'Slow and Dirty' line, or as some would have it - The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway.

Thats it for this post - Colins abode in a fortnight, when hopefully we will have a big update on Pete's Lynton and Barnstaple layout.

Cheerio for now,

Shaun.