Pont-y-dulais: Flexibility and play...

 As well as a test track, and scenic exercise Pont-y-dulais was built to be a photo plank, somewhere to play trains for 5 minutes and grab a few photos...

Well I've been taking photos for the new Planet Industrials branding instructions and between shots have done a little playing with various locos and stock on the micro - showing how flexible the setting is and the multitude of angles possible - and this is even without the back of the shed area being complete. First up a Golden Valley  / Oxford Janus that I repainted and weathered... Idris is the replacement loco for the Hornby B2 Peckett I'm working on at the moment, both theoretically running on the same fictitious NCB branch in South Wales. Pictured here with the lovely Accurascale HUOs.

The DJM/Hattons Austerity is about to be re-released via Bachmann and Kernow models in the EFE Rail brand, mine is a good slow runner, but the excessive sideways play in the wheel set means it's not the best on the Peco track work. However I do still love the weathering job, seen on shed here with the Loco coal wagon. This is a stand in loco whilst Bronwen, the B2 is away for servicing...

It's the Planet Industrials models I had out for photos really, and here the shunter stepped NCB liveried Hibberd Planet is seen with the Accurascale hoppers...

...and to finish the NCB cab on the Hattons Barclay from Planet Industrials, seen with a pair of Parkside kit hopper wagons.

The lockdown was a trying time and although I do worry day to day about a resurgence in C-19 cases, especially seeing how busy and socially irresponsible visitors are being here in the Dee Valley, one good thing has been the creation of this layout, and the time to think and build it - a long lasting legacy of a tough few months. I hope you've enjoyed the photos, I hope to do some more for an article in the near future. More on that another time...