Scale/Gauge: OO9
Size: 8ft by 6ft
Theme: 1920s Welsh Highland Railway
Show Location: School Hall

Bryn y Felin (pronounced “Brinner Vellin”) is an attempt to capture the look of the old Welsh Highland Railway (WHR), in North Wales.

The WHR ran from Dinas Junction, near Caernarfon, to Porthmadog, where it joined the Festiniog Railway. It opened in 1923 and struggled on for 14 years before closure in 1937.

The station is inspired by Beddgelert, the main intermediate stopping point of the WHR, but has been moved a mile down the line and placed between the Bryn y Felin girder bridge over the River Glaslyn and the Beddgelert to Porthmadog road (present day A498). The model depicts the relocated station, the bridge over the river, and the first of three tunnels at the top of the Aberglaslyn pass. The original bridge remained in situ after closure for 60 years before it was removed, as it was unsafe. A new bridge with the same design was installed on site in 2006, in anticipation of construction of the new WHR along the former route.

The date is roughly in the second half of the 1920s, but the exact year is vague because the stock covers the range of the WHR’s life, and liveries and appearance varied during this time. Because of shortages in WHR stock, the line also ran vehicles from the Festiniog Railway, as the two were both managed by the same company.

Locomotive stock is kit-built, as until recently there were no ready to run prototype models. Passenger stock is mainly etched brass from a variety of suppliers with added details, while goods stock is mainly plastic kits.