when fishes flew and forests walked

As a child, I spent many weeks a year in North Wales with my grandmother. She was friends with an elderly gentleman who suggested that I might enjoy visiting his railway. A special train was run with the most decrepit coach and locomotive I had ever seen. Progress was to say the least, ambulatory and after a while I remember getting bored and began to poke my finger through the rotten wood of the carriage until Nana caught me!.  The whole ramshackle affair at Towyn reminded me of the Roland Emmett railway at the Festival of Britain. 

Tal-y-llyn pre-preservation

I quickly discovered that there was also a derelict line at Portmadoc. My cousin and I cycled up to Boston Lodge and 'gained entry' into the buildings and viewed the desolation. Only a few years later, Prince was hauling a few coaches across the Cob, and during one of my visits, I even managed to catch a very cold ride behind the Simplex through the old tunnel to Festiniog.

the real Moelwyn tunnel after closure

My mother used to tell me about the nightmare journeys she sometimes endured returning home to Barmouth from university in Bangor. It was cheaper to change at Dinas and travel to Minffordd and pick up the main line again! On one occasion, she spent a very cold night somewhere between South Snowdon and Beddgelert as the 'tiny engine' called 'Palmerston' had broken down and no other was available until the next morning. She well remembered the 'Gladstone Car' which she froze in during the night. She found it difficult to imagine how such an awful railway was associated with two prime ministers! On another occasion, the 'American' engine broke down and the driver broke his foot kicking old 590 into submission while abusing it in Welsh and pure Anglo-Saxon!

Unsurprisingly, her view of the Welsh Highland was a tad jaundiced! She had family in Festiniog and would often visit using the Festiniog Railway, having taken the Cambrian to Minfordd exchange station. I am not sure whether she actually realised that in the end, the WHR and the Festiniog were one and the same.

the butchered Russell with the 'Gladstone Car'

I also had an aunt who owned a hotel in Ilfracombe and she told me of the wonderful little train that used to run near there. For a while she had something going with one of the loco drivers. She had stacks of photos of the L & B but never landed the driver and ended up as a rather wealthy old maid with a talking budgie.

Hooked, I built a large 008 layout in the late 1950s, after being inspired by Ahern's books and Hancock's periodic articles. Aberglaslyn Pass was heavily featured. The only loco, a double Fairlie, was scratch built in brass and employed a Lone Star motor driving through UJ shafts. I managed to persuade a clockmaker to help me with the bogie units if I repainted his Moggie Minor. The whole affair worked very well at scale speeds, thanks to spur gears. Actually, it ran like a clock! I used white metal castings that had just appeared at Portmadoc. I now realise that I must have been one of the first doing this sort of thing.

Whilst in Colorado Springs in the '70s, I was able to find the time to build some locos in silver. 009 was chosen this time as by then, N gauge had become quite popular. I made many components by photo etching. I was a member of the Golden Model RR Club where everything is weathered to the nth degree.  Even now, our models are more weathered than is usually seen in the UK. We even had a 009 branch on the club layout! I think it was called 'humouring the Brit'. I remember an Xmas competition which was the best weathered childrens' toy. My son was not best pleased with his tractor!

Aviation, sailing and other activities (such as work) occupied the intervening years. The locos, packed in boxes, have visited most of North America, the Caribbean and Europe. They even made 4 trans-Atlantic crossings in small yachts before finally coming to rest near Ludlow in the UK!  Amazingly they still work! Only now have I been able to take them out and begin to build the rest of the railway. We have decided to concentrate on the L & B as we feel the Welsh lines are being done to death. The L&B also appeals as it was in effect a 'big railway' on narrow tracks.

After some consideration we have decided to model a freelance section of the L & B as this offers a greater degree of creative opportunity. There was a scheme to extend the line onwards to Minehead. Indeed, the route was actually surveyed. We have built the intermediate station of County Gate on this projected extension, where the branch from the harbour meets the main line. The fictitious history of the railway is partially true. There really was a Glenthorne Estate near County Gate built by Halliday and coal was actually offloaded from ships close by. We apologise for any offence the distorted history may give.

John and Jenny de Frayssinet are members of 009 Society. Jenny is a fine arts graduate....trains leave her cold but she loves scenic dioramas. John is more interested in the railway aspect but also prefers making buildings and scenery.

We would like to thank

Parkside Dundas
Greenscene
Peco, (including Wills and Ratio)
Backwoods Miniatures
Langley Miniatures
Autocraft
Blackham Transfers
Hereford Model Shop
International Models
Scale Link
Expo Tools
Branchlines
Peter Wallace who now builds our chassis and without whom we would have a lot of dysfunctional locos!
Malcolm Alberry who has given us so much help during our conversion to DCC

We would also like to give a special mention to P.D.Hancock for his inspirational articles on his Craig and Mertonford Railway back in the 1950s.

P D Hancock's 'Alastair' based on a Lynton and Barnstaple Manning Wardle. It is a bit oversize to accommodate the motors available at that time.

and J Ahern (Madder Valley Railway) who wrote the series of books on how to model railways properly when 3 rail Hornby Dublo and Lionel was more the norm.

Madder Valley Railway (Now at Pendon Museum)

Madder Valley Railway (Now at Pendon Museum)

I must also mention Jack Nelson who taught us about perspectives and  finally, Doris and Illife Stokes who were the very first, in my opinion to make model railways 'atmospheric'.