July 2020 - The Clydach Railway by Richard Holder

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Layout name: THE CLYDACH RAILWAY
Scale/Gauge: 009
Size: See track-plan below
Era/region: Modern day preserved tourist railway set in North Wales
Layout type: Continuous run.

Each of the three scenic boards measures 5ft by 2ft 6ins (1.5m by 0.75m)
The fiddle yard board measures 2ft 6ins by 3ft 4ins. (0.75m by 1m)

Why Narrow Gauge?

My interest in narrow gauge developed after attending Narrow Gauge South at Sparsholt College in 2004. Features that particularly appealed to me were the tight radius curves and fairly steep gradients which looked, and were, so realistic. As the narrow-gauge railways of mid and North Wales are so attractive, and the surrounding scenery really magnificent, I decided to model a fictitious preserved tourist railway set somewhere in North Wales. As a result, I could run a wide range of locos and rolling stock representing a number of British and overseas railways. Inspiration for the layout comes from a variety of places that mean something to me. For example, Llanddarog station was inspired by Tan-y-Bwlch on the Festiniog. Many will recognise the café, parking area, road overbridge, footbridge, etc., but they are set in different positions on the model to fit the chosen track-plan. The girder bridges across the estuary remind me of the standard gauge structures that span the Camel Estuary near Padstow, Cornwall, a regular holiday destination for our family.

The name ‘Clydach’ was selected from a range of possibilities that I found in a road atlas of Wales!
 

Layout design

From the start, I wanted to create a model that would appeal to a wider audience, not just those crazy about all things narrow gauge!

I wanted to include some basic features:

• A continuous circuit with at least two passing loops
• Inclines, so that trains could pass over and under each other
• A simple track-plan with a limited number of points to maximize reliability
• Varied scenery including a beach, an estuary, hills and countryside
• Curves of a minimum radius of 12 inches
• A system allowing at least two trains that could be operated independently and simultaneously, giving plenty of train movements to entertain the visitors at exhibitions.

The trackplan is a simple ’figure of eight’, with two passing loops where the stations are positioned. Instead of having a traditional fiddle yard, I included six hidden storage loops.

Rolling stock

Most coaches are kit-built using either plastic or brass. I usually use Kato N-gauge underframes and bogies for the stock, as I find the running qualities are much better than using the bogies and wheels supplied with the kits.  The Welsh Highland Railway freight wagons were created using resin kits supplied by Rob Waller. Locomotives are also largely kit-built, but a couple have been scratch-built. These, and some of the kit-built loco bodies, run on N gauge chassis from a variety of manufacturers. The painting was done by hand using simple artists’ brushes and lining on the locomotives was added using water-slide decals produced by Fox Transfers. Two of the Beyer-Garratt locos were built for me by the late Peter Wallace using Backwoods Miniature kits. The finished locos are great examples of Peter’s skill. For added interest I always add passengers to the coaching stock and loco crew to all engines.

Analogue control

Many comment on the very smooth running of the trains and assume that I am using modern DCC equipment. I actually use H&M Walkabout analogue inertia controllers, running through Gaugemaster electronic track cleaners. These give excellent smooth and reliable slow control, even though they are nearly forty years old!  I have not found a better modern equivalent. I did take great care when laying the track and tested everything very thoroughly before any of the scenic work was started. All track is Peco 009. The sides of the rails were painted a dark brown before the track was ballasted. I prefer this to the ‘rust’ colours that are available, which to my eyes are too ‘orange’ and bright. SEEP PM1 point motors were used on the scenic boards. Peco side-mounted solenoids were used on the fiddle-yard board. The lower level (including the storage loops), and the incline up to the higher-level station, Llanddarog, are controlled by one operator, whilst the higher-level track, including the section that descends to Aberclydach station, is controlled by a second operator. All of the track in both stations can be controlled by either of the operators by flipping double-pole/ double throw switches. These switches also have a ‘centre-off’ position so that any of the tracks in the station areas can be isolated. The storage loops are isolated by switching the points. I have included one double-pole, double throw switch which enables the whole layout to be controlled by one operator if necessary.

Buildings and Scenery

Almost all buildings are scratch-built using card or foam-board. Wills building sheets were used to provide textures on walls and roofs. Other details were applied before being painted. Woodland Scenics Sub-Terrain products were installed for the track inclines. I used professionally produced photographic back-scenes but superimposed some of my own photos. An example of this technique is behind the estuary bridge where photos of the harbour at Mevagissey in Cornwall were added. I used a very wide selection of materials and colours to create groundcover, trees and bushes. I was careful to ensure that the colours of the modelled scenes closely matched to colour and shape of the background scenes. I love including lots of details which people always seem to really appreciate.

The Estuary

The most frequent question at exhibitions is “What did you use to create the water in the estuary?” First, the whole area was covered in a layer of ‘Artex’ which was stippled with a 1” paintbrush to create a ripple effect. When thoroughly dry, the area was painted using acrylics, using dark blue in the centre and fading to a slightly lighter blue/green at the edges to help create an illusion of depth. The whole area was finished with seven coats of high-gloss exterior varnish, always ensuring that each coat was thoroughly dry before the next coat was applied.

Compromises

I have always regretted that the passing loops on CLYDACH are fairly short and can only accommodate trains of up to four large Welsh Highland style coaches when being hauled by a Garratt. The same can be said of the hidden storage loops. However, with any layout there are compromises. If loops were any longer, the whole concept of keeping at least two trains moving all the time might have been lost. All the baseboards have been constructed using 9mm ply. If I was starting again, I would probably use a thinner grade of ply for the top surfaces as I have done on my more recent layouts. Whilst the 9mm thickness is sturdy, it is heavy. Also, if the boards were just a few centimetres narrower, they could be carried horizontally through standard doorways!

My Modelling history

CLYDACH was my first narrow gauge exhibition layout. I had built home-based narrow-gauge systems previously. Like many modellers my interest in model railways started early. At the age of five, I was given a Hornby Dublo three-rail goods train set and was hooked. Several layouts were built with my father to fit in my bedroom. Now in my seventies, I live in Somerset having recently moved from Oxfordshire. I have always been interested in model railways and built a large ‘00’ scale layout in a loft space of our house when living in Bristol. Later, when our children were young, I built another large ‘00’ scale layout in the garage of our home in Warwickshire. This included a short narrow-gauge line as a feeder to one of the standard gauge stations. As family and work pressures increased, there was little time for the hobby, so it was when I retired in 2003 that I really developed my modelling skills. I joined the 009 Society and learned a lot from other members. Through the Society I have made many wonderful new friends, and several regularly help operate my layouts at exhibitions. CLYDACH was first exhibited in 2010 and has appeared at 37 shows around the country.  My second exhibition layout, WANTAGE NARROW GAUGE TRAMWAY was first exhibited in 2012 and has attended 29 shows. I was delighted when CLYDACH and WANTAGE were awarded the David Glascott Award for the ‘Best Narrow-Gauge Layout” when exhibited at the Warley Exhibition at the NEC in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Over the years, CLYDACH has been awarded a number of ‘Best in Shows’. My latest exhibition layout is a scale model of Launceston Steam Railway and was first shown in February 2017 and exhibited for a few days in August at the full-size railway in Cornwall.

Learned skills

People often say that they would never have the skills to create a model like CLYDACH. I would have said the same back in the 1990’s. Until 2009 I had never attempted building any rolling stock using brass etches.  I am grateful to Stephen Sullivan and other members of the Beds & Bucks 009 Group for the help and advice they offered at a soldering workshop they organized in January 2009. Stephen used a Worsley Works brass etch ‘scratch-aid’ a kit that I had taken along to the event, as a demonstration piece and managed to get about two-thirds of the coach constructed in the time available. This gave me the confidence to finish the model myself, and that coach still runs on CLYDACH today, along with many others that I built later. I have learned a lot from other members of the 009 Society and I would recommend anyone considering modelling narrow gauge railways in the smaller scales, to join the Society. Never be afraid to try something new. You will be surprised what you can achieve.

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