Mosslanda: End of the line…

I love Sprinters, in particular the BR 150/2. Not only do I have many happy memories travelling inside of them but as a modeller, as an artist they ran through some beautiful places and into some tiny stations… 

In N gauge a complete train is just 26cm long. Small but very useful.

For many years the IKEA Lack was my standard ‘book shelf of choice’ - especially suited to HO/OO and 009 sized layouts - it still works well in its 110 x 26xm size for that… however with an IKEA Mosslanda shelf, of just 55 x 10cm you can think almost in the same way, but for N. One thing I have learnt though, is that designing in N is not the same as scaling down OO plans. The danger is composition fails when considered like this, so instead, the size is more a nice coincidence, the Mosslanda stands alone!

Just before the summer holidays I took the train to Blaenau Ffestiniog and I’ve been wondering about modelling something of its contrasting beauty for some time. Here in the workshop I’ve been in a bit of a funk on my own projects, not helped by the mis-step that turned out to be Gerald Road. With its future resolved, and an honest appraisal of stock and future ideas it felt rather freeing to consider another Mosslanda… something quick to keep me moving forwards whilst larger plans progress alongside (more on that Lack based project another time).

So here is Llanwrst. Not the original Llanwrst, the 1989 new build just south of the tunnel, and closer to the village centre. In a slight cutting, the line was re-opened to here, for a week in the summer of 2019 after the devastating floods of the winter, so to serve the Eisteddfod… making Llanwrst a single track terminus for this short period (it reopened to Blaenau later that month). Nothing ground breaking, just a green composition with some neat scratch building to try. I’m curious to how to model a waiting shelter for example - I might do two, one based on the original bus shelter and one with the current style of TfW waiting room. I’m excited, and that’s a good thing - something that has been missing for a small while.

I hope this scheme shows, yet again, that we all have space for a model railway. What station would you squeeze into this small but rather intimate space?

Until next time, more soon…

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