Mawddach interlude
by Alan Buttler
The George Hotel, Penmaenpool
The Mawddach estuary is a stunning area of Wales where Mountain, Sand and Sea meet as the old BR WR posters used to proclaim. On a wet and windy day in March the nearest you can get to the last of halcyon days on the Western Region is time spent on Geoff Taylor’s Barmouth Junction layout. I’m very fortunate in that Geoff is practically a neighbour, living a few miles away in another village. He kindly invited me to an operating session and I spent a relaxing day mostly at Penmaenpool.
The Station, Penmaenpool
The standard of modelling as you’d expect is unsurpassed. It feels as close as you can get to actually being there, the tone and texture of the landscape blends together with the railway beautifully. Operating is relaxed, interspersed with short bursts of activity, where trains might be passing in the loop at Penmaenpool, or on rare occasions multiple services arriving at Barmouth Junction whilst a light engine waits to turn on the triangle.
A quiet moment at Barmouth Junction
Getting down to eye level gives a very rewarding view, with or without a passing service in the frame. I feel like I’ve been to a gala weekend which I’m sure will sound a little over the top, but it is a real pleasure to see the layout in action with operators on the fiddle yards of Machynlleth, Barmouth and Ruabon, at the yard at Dolgelley or the branch and main platforms at Barmouth Junction.
GWR 7800 Class Manor No.7821 ‘Ditcheat Manor’ prepares to depart Penmaenpool with a service for Birkenhead
Although there is always plenty going on, there is enough time to sit back and take it all in, get the camera out and transport yourself there. I transported myself there a little too deeply on occasions and would have a few words thrown my way to pay attention! Each time I see the layout I have a great urge to get on the train and go there, to take a walk across Barmouth bridge or to follow the old line from Morfa Mawddach to Dolgellau. As I type this however the rain is lashing so hard against the house that the windows are rattling, so I’ll turn the heater up another notch and take another look at the layout photos with a cuppa! So in the mean time, I hope you enjoy the photos of my weekend break on the Mawddach estuary.
GWR 7800 Manor Class No.7800 ‘Torquay Manor’ departs Penmaenpool after dropping of loco coal for the shed
BR Standard Class 3 No.82029 enters Penmaenpool with the shuttle service from Dolgelley to Barmouth
GWR 2251 Class No.2260 ready to depart with a stopping service for Wrexham
Overall view of Penmaenpool with GWR 2251 Class No.2260 on a stopping service
Between Penmaenpool and Barmouth Junction, the line crosses one of the many tributaries of the estuary
Oswestry Works 
wow Alan, i had to look twice before i could be certain it wasn’t the real thing
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Good to see Geoff’s layout again, I’ve been privileged enough to have a few close inspections of it in the past. Penmaenpool is looking superb and I agree with John above, I thought it was the real thing for a moment-and I know that place really well! I’ll bet you came back buzzing with inspiration.
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I do indeed Iain but I have to keep myself focused on Oswestry Works – each time I go to Geoff’s I come back dreaming up plans for Moat Lane Junction… and Talerddig… and Llandinam… and maybe somewhere else! I need a 30′ shed first though!
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Alan, where is the layout? Is it using MERG?
Have you looked at the latest You Tube clip on 3D printing and liquid technology?
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Hi John, its at Geoff’s house in Wales. I believe he does use some MERG stuff, I’ll check. That new tech Carbon3D with the CLIP technology is very similar to the kit that I use, with one notable difference – the B9Creator each time a layer is projected into the resin, a mechanical process wipes the window between the projector and the bath clean of resin, this is in order to reoxygenate the window so the print doesn’t stick to it. The Carbon3D developers have found material that doesn’t need this process, they have a constant layer of oxygen between the window and the build table, allow them to continually project slices into the bath. There are other questions around how it will deal with larger surface areas as their example video shows a very thing structure – in that case the resin would run off and settle very quickly. How it will perform with solid or larger objects will be interesting to see! But either way, its a promising development for the technology.
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