The case for a diorama........

I guess its common knowledge by now that operating is not one of my favourite pastimes, which begs the question why build a layout?  The same question reared its head when I had finished Penhydd and I was wondering what to do next.  At that particular time I wasn't sure if a simple diorama would be the answer and so played it safe by building Llangunllo as an experiment.  A couple of years later and hopefully a little wiser I've come to the conclusion that a diorama or a series of them would suit me down to the ground.  Like many other modellers I have a list of scenes and themes that I would like to model but space, time and money mean many ideas will remain just that.  Many years ago when the late Jack Nelsons LNWR dioramas started to appear in the Railway Modeller I asked myself what's the point but now I understand, mind you its taken a good few years for the penny to drop!

So for over a year now I've been toying with several ideas and if I go ahead with my plans I would like to model the scene below.  Now before we go any further let me say that I'm no Iain Robinson when it comes to sketching my ideas out but to give you an taste of what I've been planning I came up with this.


Yep, that's all it is, a simple stretch of open track on the Brecon and Merthyr line, in this scene which you can find in the 'Branch Line Album (second series)' by the late Pat Whitehouse a Pannier is crossing the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal at the start of the climb to 'Torpantau', the highest tunnel in Britain.  Not being a student of the 'South Wales Valleys' I don't know the exact location but I think someone who follows this blog and hails from Glamorgan might be along soon to put matters right. * ( I was right see the first comment, thank you Richard ) :-). Were it not for copyright issues I would have posted the original photo by the celebrated Ben Ashworth but hopefully my tracing come sketch of this lovely scene will be acceptable?  As you can see the landscape dominates the railway and the civil engineering which I would model from 'Palight' foamboard would an interesting challenge.  This is the sort of modelling I enjoy, its like creating a painting in 3D, something which doesn't take up a great deal of space yet packs a lot of interest, provides plenty of photo opportunities and can be studied at will.


Fortunately I had a section of backscene left over from Llangunllo which would be cut down like this to give a big sky, gentle hills and towering mountains.  Though the real location is in South Wales I would place it between Llangunllo and Presteign, the canal becoming the River Lugg but further down stream, yet another use of modellers licence on my make believe line.

As for the plan, it could either be a simple diorama as intended or adapted to allow trains to run through the scene.