Dudalennau chan 'm sketchbook

Looking at the pictures below, it should be reasonably obvious that the title of this blog post translates to something like "Pages from My Sketchbook" or something close.

Here we have no less than 4 versions of a possible layout to build for the small layout workshop.

This was probably the first version I came up with and it shows a very linear "tuning fork" design. Where a loco brings out either a vee skip loaded with waste to be tipped at a chute in the front there or a flat wagon loaded with a large piece of slate could be lifted by crane onto another wagon below at the end of the siding. Two working features in a few square feet? My goodness how would I fit it all in?
The second design is something a little simpler. Only one working feature. The tipping vee skip. But with this one you would be able to watch the loco and wagon cone towards you out of the mine entrance before curving away to tip the skip in front of your eyes. Rear to front motion instead of the more usual side to side motion we are so used to seeing.
The third would be much the same as number two except a bit more linear.
The final one is a little different. It still has the vee skip tipping like in the second sketch. But this time a loco and flat wagon loaded with a lump of slate would head straight into a finishing shop. I like all the designs. Some more than others. So I don't quite know which to choose yet. Perhaps it will be another slightly different concept yet.

Any ideas and thoughts gratefully received.

A fel ddechrau*

*And so it begins...
Often I start a blog with that phrase. Too much of an unhealthy obsession with the Sci-Fi series "Babylon 5" I guess.
But it's apt. I like it, and I've never seen it in Welsh before. Now having seen it there, I'd really like to hear Ambassador Kosh say it. Most of his statements were unfathomable anyway so that would be prefect for him.
But I'm getting way off the point here.
Research. That's the point.
The place to start if you're looking for inspirational pictures of the Welsh slate industry for a model railway is Dave Sallery's excellent Penmorfa. Pages and pages of pictures of the remains of the slate industry in North Wales and more besides. Everyone needs to view Penmorfa.
Next on my list is Subterranean Brittanica. Prinicpally devoted to underground structures it's surprising how many are rail served. Mines are also covered in great detail. Subrit is highly addictive and should come with some kind of warning.
Another couple of sites I'm using to research Cwm Lwch are aditnow and mine-explorer.co.uk both are basically forums for mine explorers but they have a huge photo gallery covering all their expeditions.

Those four sites have more than enough to keep me going to start with.

p.s. I'm going to keep going with the titles for my blog posts in Welsh for a while.

D edrych ar hon beth

Firstly I'd like to apologise to any Welshman who reads this blog and any pseudo-Welsh language that they might find herein. Please don't take offense.

I love Wales. It all stems from years holidaying in Wales growing up. I developed a love for the stunning scenery of Snowdonia and of course the narrow gauge railways there. I went to college for two years in Wrexham. But because of living in America I haven't been back there for over 10 years. Ten years too long in my estimation. I'd live there if I could.

So what is Cwm Lwch?

Cwm Lwch will be a micro model railway of a small Welsh quarry. The layout is being built as an instructional example for the micro model railway workshops that I will be presenting at the Princeton Model Train Club here in Minnesota.

The exact details of the layout are yet to be finalised. But I do find that keeping a blog helps to organise the thought processes. So blogging is an important part of the design and construction process and I like to start one as soon as possible. I have a blog for every layout I have underway.

The name. "Cwm Lwch" if it was real, grammatically correct Welsh would be pronounced "Coom Loowch". Which could easily be mispronounced as "come look" which is a pretty good instruction for someone to pay attention to the model.

So that's about it really. The layouts' progress and the classes progress will be documented here so you will be able to follow along with the construction much as you could with the blog for my 7 day model railroad blog. The workshops will cover about 6 weeks and are planned to start on February 20th.

Oh and the title of this post. D edrych ar hon beth? That is Welsh that could be translated as "Come look at this thing"