Cheltenham Model Railway Exhibitions

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Tan-y-Bwlch

Description based on material supplied by the layout owner

Tan-y-Bwlch  
Angus Watkins OO9 gauge 4mm scale

Tan-y-Bwlch is an important passing place about halfway along the mainly single track Festioniog Railway. Its loop allowed long slate trains, running down to Portmadoc under gravity alone, to pass equally long loco-hauled mixed trains taking passengers and empty slate wagons up to Blaenau Ffestioniog.

The layout attempts to portray Tan-y-Bwlch station in the early 1900s before the station building was extended to make a dwelling house for the station master and the aim is to show one full day's running on the Festiniog Railway at that time. There are quarrymen's trains, gravity slate trains, passenger trains and mixed trains passing through and crossing.

The buildings, trees and walls are scratch-built. The track, except for one point, is Peco. The stock is a mixture of kits and scratch building and illustrates attempts to model Festiniog vehicles over a span of some 40 years. Some vehicles are real 'heritage' items!

 




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