Category Archives: Wales

57xx, Out! First Look

Posted on December 6, 2025 by bawdsey

Well it’s here, the Accurascale 57xx, and spoiler alert, its definitely been worth the wait. This release really brings the Pannier family up to date with a contemporary high quality and detailed model of this iconic and promiscuous family, nearly … Continue reading →

Posted in 57xx, accurascale, Albion Yard, Bachmann, British Rail, Cameo layout, dapol, DC, DCC, dcc sound, Exhibition, finescale, first look, Forest of Dean, Great Western, gwr, heljan, ho scale, hobbies, Hornby, Industrial, Layout, man cave, Midland Region, model, Model Railroad, Model Railway, Modelling, Modelu, n gauge, NEC, new release, O Gauge, o scale, OO, OO Gauge, pannier, peco, product news, railroad, railway, Rapido Trains, realism, scale modelling, shelf layout, shelfie, shelfie2, Swindon, toy train, TT120, Uncategorized, Wales, Western Region | Tagged | Leave a comment

Wordless Wednesday Pannier Perfection?

Posted on December 3, 2025 by bawdsey
Posted in 57xx, accurascale, Albion Yard, Bachmann, blog, Cameo, Cameo layout, DC, DCC, dcc sound, finescale, heljan, ho scale, Hobby, Hornby, Industrial, Inspiration, Layout, man cave, model photography, Model Railroad, Model Railway, Modelling, Modelu, n gauge, NEC, new release, O Gauge, o scale, OO Gauge, pannier, peco, railroad, railway, Rapido Trains, realism, scale modelling, shelf layout, shelfie, shelfie2, toy train, train, TT120, Wales, woodland scenics, wordless wednesday | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Accurascale’s 57xx converts Shelfie 2 to DCC

Posted on November 27, 2025 by bawdsey

Having been loaned an Accurascale 57xx which is DCC sound fitted, it made sense to reconfigure Shelfie2 to run in DCC.

Posted in accurascale, Albion Yard, Bachmann, blog, Branch Line, British Rail, Cameo, Cameo layout, Conversion, dapol, DC, DCC, dcc sound, Exhibition, finescale, first look, gwr, heljan, ho scale, Hobby, Hornby, Industrial, Layout, man cave, model, Model Railroad, Model Railway, n gauge, NEC, new release, O Gauge, OO Gauge, Oxford rail, peco, product news, railroad, railway, Rapido Trains, realism, scale modelling, shelfie, shelfie2, throwback thursday, toy train, train set, Uncategorized, Wales, Western Region, woodland scenics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wordless Wednesday Accurascale 57xx

Posted on November 26, 2025 by bawdsey
Posted in accurascale, Albion Yard, blog, british finescale, British Rail, Cameo, Cameo layout, DC, DCC, dcc sound, Exhibition, finescale, first look, Friends, ho scale, Hobby, Hornby, Industrial, Inspiration, Layout, man cave, model photography, Model Railroad, Model Railway, Modelling, n gauge, NEC, new release, O Gauge, o scale, OO, OO Gauge, Oxford rail, pannier, peco, product news, Rapido Trains, realism, review, scale modelling, seventies, shelf layout, shelfie2, toy train, train, train set, train show, TT120, united kingdom, Wales, woodland scenics, wordless wednesday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

TT120 TTown and TTrack Planning …

Posted on August 8, 2025 by bawdsey

When TT120 was announced it caught my attention. A scale between N and OO/HO appeals to me particularly if the quality of products are good. My plan for a Forest of Dean system layout is one that at the moment … Continue reading →

Posted in 009, accurascale, Albion Yard, Bachmann, baseboards, blog, Branch Line, Cameo, Cameo layout, DC, DCC, Facebook, finescale, Forest of Dean, heljan, ho scale, Hobby, Hornby, Inspiration, justdoit, layout design, life, man cave, Model Railroad, Model Railway, Modelling, Modelu, n gauge, Narrow Gauge, O Gauge, o scale, OO Gauge, peco, Peco TT, railroad, railway, realism, scale modelling, shelf layout, shelfie, skillset, Snailbeach, snowdonia, test, Toy trains, trainspotting, TT120, Uncategorized, Wales | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Snailbeach Sunday, 009

Posted on June 29, 2025 by bawdsey

A couple of days back I wrote about Red Wharf Bay, memories of an Iain Rice plan, jogged by standing on a beach watching the tide roll in. The beach features in this post too, but of an entirely different … Continue reading →

Posted in 009, 1914, accurascale, Bachmann, baldwin, Branch Line, Cameo, Cameo layout, dapol, DC, DCC, dcc sound, finescale, freelance, Hattons, heljan, hobbies, Hobby, iain rice, Industrial, Inspiration, Layout, light railway, model, Model Railroad, Model Railway, Modelling, n gauge, Narrow Gauge, new release, news, O Gauge, o scale, OO, OO Gauge, OO9, peco, product news, prototype, railroad, railway, realism, research, review, scale modelling, shelfie, Snailbeach, toy train, transformation tuesday, tuesday transformation, Uncategorized, wagon, Wales | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Throwback Thursday, Anglesey

Posted on June 26, 2025 by bawdsey

Why’s this a throwback? Well, standing on this beach took me back to 1991 and Iain Rice’s Light Railway Layout Designs book. These two books, a year apart, really caught my imagination. I love the way they draw you in … Continue reading →

Posted in accurascale, Albion Yard, Bachmann, blog, book, cambrian, Cameo layout, DC, DCC, finescale, freelance, heljan, ho scale, hobbies, Hornby, iain rice, Influencer, Inspiration, Layout, layout design, light railway, LMS, man cave, Maps, mindfulness, Model Railroad, Model Railway, Modelling, n gauge, O Gauge, o scale, OO Gauge, peco, prototype, railroad, railway, Rapido Trains, realism, research, scale modelling, shelf layout, shelfie, snowdonia, throwback thursday, thursday throwback, toy train, track plans, TT120, Uncategorized, Wales | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Aberystwyth To Carmarthen Book Review

Posted on January 27, 2025 by bawdsey

A recent publication that immediately found its way to my book case is: Aberystwyth to Carmarthen by Geraint Roberts. Published by the Lightmoor Press it weighs in with 304 pages and a price tag of £40.00. Put like that it … Continue reading →

Posted in accurascale, Bachmann, bachmann 74xx, book, book review, British Rail, dapol, DC, DCC, first look, Great Western, heljan, ho scale, hobbies, Hornby, Inspiration, library, man cave, Model Railroad, Model Railway, Modelling, monday motivation, motivation monday, n gauge, new release, O Gauge, o scale, OO Gauge, pannier, prototype, railroad, railway, reading, reference, research, TT120, Uncategorized, Wales, wild swan | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Throwback to Accurascale’s GWR 57xx (Warley 2023)

Posted on November 2, 2024 by bawdsey

Over the past few weeks I’ve been revisiting my layout building plans and aspirations, having worked over a Bachmann 3F ‘Jinty’ for a future bookazine article. That tasking took me back to the makeovers I’ve done in the past on … Continue reading →

Posted in accurascale, Bachmann, blogging, British Rail, cambrian, Cameo layout, DC, DCC, dcc sound, EM, Exhibition, finescale, first look, Forest of Dean, Great Western, gwr, heljan, HO, ho scale, hobbies, Hobby, Inspiration, man cave, model, Model Railroad, Model Railway, Modelling, n gauge, Narrow Gauge, new release, news, O Gauge, o scale, OO, OO Gauge, pannier, peco, product news, railroad, railway, scale, scale modelling, shelf layout, shelfie, Swindon, throwback thursday, thursday throwback, toy train, train set, TT Gauge, Uncategorized, Wales, Welsh Marches, Western Region | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Feel Good Friday, A Step Away..

Posted on March 8, 2024 by bawdsey

It’s good to take a step away from stuff. This post was to be an #FEF theme, but having been away for a few days last week mixing work with pleasure, (it can work), I thought I’d put up some … Continue reading →

Posted in blog, blogging, cambrian, Cameo layout, DC, DCC, dcc sound, europe, feelgoodfriday, fef, friday flashback, fridayfunday, Friends, hiking, hobbies, Hobby, Inspiration, iphoneography, journey, justdoit, Layout, life, media, mindfulness, Model Railroad, Model Railway, Modelling, natural light, Photography, railroad, railway, scenery, seasons, shelfie, Sky, snow, snowdonia, social media, toy train, Uncategorized, united kingdom, Wales, walking | 2 Comments