Anon - DEMU challenge layout

Awrhyllgwami Quarry by the Teesside Area Group of the Scalefour Society

"Awrhyllgwami Quarry lies on a mountain side. Originally, Awrhyllgwami was a small granite quarry adjacent to the secondary mainline, but over the years the workings have moved deeper into the mountain side and now lie to the right of the modelled area. This represents part of the loading facilities for ballast which was developed by BR when they acquired the site, and other outgoing shipments are still generated and loaded off-scene at the site of the current workings. The head shunt for the whole Awrhyllgwami site disappears off through the trees to the left of the layout.

Passing traffic on the mainline is a mixture of locomotive hauled trains and the occasional DMU. With this project being developed by a group with a wide range of interests, the period represented by the stock available is rather wide - say from 1963 to the current period. As such, the composition of individual trains will be accurate to their own period, but overall there will be a certain amount of latitude.

The name is made up (suggested by the fifth member of the AG who is building his own challenge layout) and more describes the construction of the layout and the fact that it will fit in a small car, rather than where it is based. The baseboards are all hinged together, with legs folding up inside, to form a box that is only 4' x 3' x 2'.

The Teesside & North Yorkshire AG is a young area group having been set up only 2 years ago. This is our first joint layout and if it is successful we hope to be able to extend it to include more of the quarry workings. Most members of the group model in P4, but our interests are wide ranging from GWR broad gauge to diesels in Aberdeen. Of those involved in building the layout, only one has actually modelled diesels before the challenge!

Dave Bywater, Richard Spratt, Rob Ward and Roger White

Size of scenic section 2.4M x 0.6M

Photos 1 and 2

Track laying took place during August 2007. The photos show almost half of the mainline glued in place on underlay (cheapo camping mat from Tesco). Some of the unlaid track can be seen ready to be glued down. The left hand end of the layout has been built on open top boards. This is the area of the stream that runs under two bridges. The track stands about 4’ above floor level.

Photos 3 and 4

Here the layout is folded ready for transportation with the legs folded inside the baseboards. The fiddle yards will fold over the top and bottom of the scenic section to form a box approximately 4’ x 2’ x 3’. Hopefully this photo explains the layout’s name.

Alignment of the scenic boards is achieved by both the 24” stainless steel piano hinge and dowels. Finding a stainless steel hinge was a real bonus over brass piano hinges which are not really strong enough. However, cutting stainless steel to length took ages with a band saw at work!