This last of the ‘catch-up’ posts from our 2024 meetings is about our October gathering at the Brockhampton and Umbridge. The weather held out for us and we benefited from the low autumn light meeting this late in the year. When the clouds looked threatening, we were able to retreat to the cosy garden accommodation to eat a wonderful lunch spread. And we ran lots of trains around the extensive model village at the heart of this line.
September ’24 Meeting at the Hoffnant Valley Railway
Another ‘catch-up’ post from last September, when the group returned to the Hoffnant Valley railway. Despite an iffy forecast and a few drops of rain, the weather held up and we ran a great many trains (as well as drinking a great deal of tea and coffee and and eating a great deal of food). The line has two independent loops and there is a pond in the middle for scenic – and wildlife – interest.
September ’24 Meeting at the Derwen Fawr Railway
Another ‘catch-up’ post, from last September when the group made its first visit to the Derwen Fawr railway. As well as a raised running loop, this links to a portable Inglenook shunting puzzle. This caused a fair amount of head scratching with members trying to arrange the wagons to the order determined by counters drawn at random, within the constraints imposed by the length of the sidings… Meanwhile on the loop plenty of trains ran – both live steam and electric.
August ’24 Meeting at the Preseli Mountain Railway
Another ‘catch-up’ post. Our August meeting last summer was touch and go with the weather and was on and off a couple of times, but in the event it held up beautifully for a range of locos visiting the Preseli Mountain Railway’s gala. There was lots of steam, lots of laughs, good food and no collisions(!)
June ’24 Meeting at the Rhos and Betws Tramway
Updates for our meetings have fallen almost a year behind, but as we are about to begin this years gatherings, your webmaster has some catching up to do! Looking back to last June, the weather was favourable for our June gathering at the Rhos and Betws. This involved some anniversary celebrations, with quite a crowd, plenty of food and sterling service on the tea and coffee provision, and of course many trains ran! We have had many meetings at the Rhos and Betws, new this time a turntable and an additional bridge to allow steaming up the line’s newly acquired coal-fired Linda…
May ’24 Meeting at the Railway in the Valley of the Mill
Our first meeting garden railway meeting of 2024 (after our winter excursion on the Vale of Rheidol, taking in the workshop and museum) was extremely well attended, and thankfully the rain held off right through to the end of a long and enjoyable running day. The railway now extends almost all the way to what will be its terminus, once a tunnel and station site has been excavated, and the last few metres of track laid. As it is, the end to end line has five stations plus and additional passing loop, and with so many visitors, we saw a great variety of stock running on the line, much of which is pictured in the photographs below.
August ’23 Meeting at the Brockhampton and Umbridge Railway
Our second August meeting proved that the rain has resumed its regular attendance at our gatherings, although the wet weather does show off the fantastic model buildings in the village of Llareggub, with the puddles on the tarmac and the reflections in the shiny flagstones. We were also fortunate that the worst of the rain fell whilst we were enjoying a delicious lunch inside one of the cosy sheds near the line, and after lunch we were fortunate that there was even a little sunshine which saw a very intensive service running. Among the locomotives making an appearance were two Roundhouse Dylans, one an original, and one from the recent limited reissue, with 40 years between their dates of manufacture.
August ’23 meeting at the Rhos and Betws Tramway
For our first August meeting we returned to the Rhos and Betws tramway, and the rain returned too. Despite this, a couple of our group took locos out into the rain, and fortunately the rain then stopped for long enough for a great many more trains train – with battery electric, and manual and remote control steam doing circuits of the picturesque ground-level line. We enjoyed copious amounts of tea, cakes, and a delicious lunch, in the shelter of the conservatory. Then we managed to run even more trains before the rain resumed!
July ’23 meeting at the Dyffryn Llynfi & Porthcawl Railway
Our July visit, on another (mostly) dry day, was to the Dyffryn Llynfi & Porthcawl Railway, a compact out and back with a terminus and a tight loop, packed with detail and humous touches. The terminus is raised for easy access, while the garden slopes up so you can sit above the loop. We made good use of stations and sidings to have two or more trains running at a time, with others ready to go, and we had a mix of stock including battery electric and steam running. All of which was fuelled by copious amounts of tea and coffee, and delicious lunch, and scones and cream!
June ’23 meeting at the Shearstream Light Railway
Our second June visit, on an incredible warm and sunny day, was to the Shearstream Light Railway – with its two independent circuits on different levels, joined by impressively engineered and steeply graded tracks, plus a further line down to a lower terminus – and a reversing loop at the top to allow out and back running. While the complexity of the line provided quite a challenge to the overheated operators, the clever design ensured there was capacity for four or five trains to run simultaneously – provided we took care on the two-way linking lines! This extensive activity certainly gave us an appetite for the delightful lunchtime spread, after which we even managed to make an excursion to the coast path to rest our brains and appreciate some local scenery.