Llanmynach & Tawel-llety Railway

Buildings Page
Home Llanmynach Rhyffedd Coed Sychnant Viaduct Mynydd-Yn-Bwlch Other Structures

Many of the Railway buildings are inspired by those on the Talyllyn Railway and most are over 30 years old. Construction methods are based on those developed by John Ahern, Roye England and Pendon Museum, with experience derived from many happy hours building Superquick models. There was no suitable 'brickpaper' available when I started so I followed the Roye England/Pendon method of scoring and colouring thin artist's card to represent the surface of engineer's bricks, slate blocks or wooden boarding. Several laminations were used, with painted paper strips for window frames and were glued together with UHU glue; while this was drying the sides were pressed between weighted plate glass sheets to keep them flat. The outside layer is in one piece and folded up, preserving the courses at the corners. Roofs are built onto a frame of balsa timbers, with an 'under-roof' being laid first. This is made from paper strips, 'moulded' to form an appropriate sag using diluted PVA, which softens the paper and then seals it. Onto this I applied strips of paper slates which are then painted. All the buildings are fitted with lighting (which was done after most of these photos were taken). When the lamps were first switched on I realised that all the corners 'glowed' and the light came out from beneath the eaves. I had to flood matt black paint into the inside corners and then cover it with the interior colour again, and make up baffles of black paper to fit between the roofs and the walls! Clicking on the thumbnails will bring up a larger image.
Llanmynach
© DRB/Buccabury	Llanmynach station. (To view the drawing click here.) Based on the original station building at Towyn Wharf, this was the first of the L&TR structures to be designed and built and so I was learning the techniques. Construction took over 200 hours and it is certainly cruder than later models. This view shows the platform side.
© DRB/Buccabury	The side which now faces the station yard formally fronted the road. It has windows far larger that they should be and never acquired a nameboard! I'm not sure one is needed now as the name would probably now be outside the yard gate.
© DRB/Buccabury	A fully detailed interior was always envisaged. The booking office was completed, including a filing cabinet from card with a half-open drawer from paper! Proprietary printed posters were all in the future and I had to provide my own posters and timetables. The remainder of the building was to be a shop but will be altered to a far more appropriate café interior.
© DRB/Buccabury	Llanmynach locomotive shed. (To view the drawing click here.) Based on the carriage shed at Towyn Pendre, this differs from the more usual build style in that the glazing comprises one complete lamination. This was not a good idea as the sides never remained flat but took on the slight curve of the glazing material. The inclusion of rooflights was to enable the operator to see locomotives inside the shed. The lighting now includes an outside lamp above the door. Built for the original Eggerbahn locomotives, it is just capable of accommodating six of the much larger locomotives now in use. Wooden loco sheds are not unheard of in the real world!
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© DRB/Buccabury	Llanmynach workshops. (To view the drawings click here.) Once again, a departure from the 'norm', the single sheet of textured card is here laminated onto 60 thou (1.5mm) thick styrene sheet. This time however, the styrene started out flat! I'd learned my lesson! Built much later than the other buildings, it nevertheless follows the 'house style', taking its main appearance and dimensions from the loco shed.
© DRB/Buccabury	Llanmynach water tower. Built from styrene sheet and Plastrut components with a clear styrene water insert. By the water inlet there is even a ball-cock floating on the water! This photo pre-dates the tank's final paint job. The tank usually lives in my display cabinet to keep the dust off the water and only comes out for photographs and running sessions.
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Rhyffedd Coed
© DRB/Buccabury	Rhyffedd Coed station. (To view the drawing click here.) The station building at Rhyffedd Coed is based on the Talyllyn Railway's original example at Dolgoch, albeit a bit smaller.
© DRB/Buccabury	Why anyone would want to put a timetable on the back of the building is one thing but even more of a mystery is what would make a prospective traveller go round there to look for it - unless it has something to do with non-corridor trains and something to read!
© DRB/Buccabury	A view of the inverted roof showing how all the roofs on the L&TR buildings were produced. You can also see how the partition wall does not go all the way to the roof - this feature was designed from the outset into both the smaller station buildings and was to allow light from the lamp to illuminate both the office and the open waiting shelter.
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Sychnant Viaduct
© DRB/Buccabury	Quite obviously based on the viaduct at Dolgoch on the Talyllyn Railway, this differs in two respects. Firstly, the spandrels are half the prototypical depth, resulting in much flatter arches and secondly I never got around to adding the handrails. Now that I have the ability to solder one up, the rolling stock I use would not be able to pass between them! The main wood structure is faced with artist's card which in turn is faced with Superquick brickpaper (which has faded over the years). Some weathering has been applied, following the prototype example where lime has leached out of the mortar. The corner and arch blocks are Superquick, with the arch blocks being individually applied. String courses are styrene strip and the parapet is balsa wood.
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Mynydd-Yn-Bwlch
© DRB/Buccabury	Mynydd-yn-Bwlch station. (To see view drawing click here.) Using the same design as for Rhyffedd Coed to give a 'family resemblance', this had to be adapted slightly because of the narrow platform. The end wall was truncated and a bracing strut had to be installed to support the roof.
© DRB/Buccabury	The sag in this roof is extremely pronounced - I rather think I overdid it! I also think it ought to sag not in the middle but by that bracing strut which would be feeling its age after 77 years!
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Other Structures
© DRB/Buccabury	Llanmynach carriage shed. (To view the drawing click here.) Originally there was to have been a two-road carriage shed occupying what are now the goods siding and adjacent platform road. The design was similar to the locomotive shed and it would have been twice as long. This imposing building was started but never finished although a drawing was produced and the completed sides still exist.
© DRB/Buccabury	Llanmynach Chapel. (To see the Chapel being built click here.) The re-development of Llanmynach to provide a station yard also produced space for the chapel which I'd always wanted to include. The construction followed my usual style with two exceptions. These are that the roof uses a card under-structure faced with Howard Scenics roofing slates and the windows are Ratio plastic frames, albeit somewhat butchered. The interior is fully detailed and includes 70 cobwebs, and the building is fitted with lighting. Services are presided over by the preacher, Huw Evans, known colloquially as 'Huw the preach' or sometimes 'Evans Above'.
© DRB/Buccabury	Some that got away. Originally, fronting the road at Llanmynach there was to be a line of shops and a chapel, all in low relief. A temporary section of grass edging can be seen in many photographs which the buildings were destined never to replace, mercifully as it transpires, as their styles were completely out of keeping with Wales. This rather dodgy photo is the only record of the complete row which was to include cafe, post office, antiques shop, four domestic dwellings and somewhere off the end, the chapel.
The Survivors These three recent photos show the two surviving structures from the row of buildings - the others have since been lost. The buildings were designed as half-relief and were only 1ž inches (45mm) deep. This did, however, give enough space inside to build a reasonably convincing interior, even if the walls were nowhere near scale thickness! Please bear in mind that these buildings, like the Railway's, are now over 30 years old!
© DRB/Buccabury	Antiques shop front view The right hand of this pair was to be an antiques shop but I have no recollection at all what the left hand shop was to have been. The standard shell of artist's card was faced in this instance with ordinary paper to give a rendered and whitewashed appearance. Anyone with a copy of John Ahern's book 'Miniature Building Construction' to hand can turn to page 100 (or thereabouts) to find the inspiration for this pair which, whilst attractive, is totally out of keeping for this part of Wales!
© DRB/Buccabury	Cafe and Post Office front view The Cafe and Post office were built from the usual artist's card and faced with Superquick yellow brickpaper. Window frames are painted paper strips. Once again the styling is a bit out of keeping for the area and that of the cafe is definitely more in the 1960's era that the 1950's of the layout.
© DRB/Buccabury	Cafe and Post Office rear view The only premises to receive any interior detailing were these two. The Cafe was fitted out with light blue linoleum flooring and a counter with a food display cabinet. Bench type seating and tables, each provided with menus and condiment sets are again, more '60s than '50s. The Post Office is a little more timeless with its tiled floor and grilled tellers' counters although I wonder now if a plain flat counter would be more appropriate. Just visible are the clock on the right hand wall and the letter balance on the left hand end of the counter. A start was made on completing the accommodation above but although I produced several items of furniture my main efforts went towards building the railway itself and they got no further than a basic interior decoration job and the installation of chimney breasts, fireplaces and mantlepieces with clocks. I'm not too sure about the colour schemes either! From the outset, they were designed with illumination in mind and the square holes for the light shafts can be seen in the front corners of the living quarters.
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