The Prototype
Plas Halt is an idyllic location on the Ffestiniog Railway; located deep in Tan-y-Bwlch woods it is easy to miss whilst passing on the train. Established in 1963, the halt was built initially to serve a proposed chalet development which never materialised. Instead, its primary use has been for walkers, and also in conjunction with activities at the Snowdonia National Park Study Centre, now located at Plas Tan-y-Bwlch.
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The Model
The layout is a representation of the halt, rather than an exact scale model. The straight between the curves at the ends of the board is compressed whilst some other minor details are missing but will be added in the near future. As with many layouts, there are a number of jobs left to complete, such as a new information board and a replacement backscene.
As the prototype is little changed since 1989 the era of the model is flexible and therefore a broad range of stock is included. On top of the iconic Double Fairlies & Englands, locos include the Penrhyn Ladies, a wide range of diesels and some notable visitors. Rolling stock includes modern stock in both Crimson/Cream and Cherry Red liveries, the vintage sets (including Bug Boxes) and a range of goods stock, including slate wagons. Having debuted on the exhibition circuit in September 2014, Plas Halt attended a number of exhibitions before being sold to a new owner in 2017. The layout was featured in the Railway Modeller in 2018. |