After I took the decision to dismantle the old set and build a new one, I got straight to it! Track taken up, scenic mats ripped up and chucked, buildings removed (but stored for possible further use), and then an ideas session where I looked at track available RTR and thought long and hard about what I wanted and what I needed from this new set.

Shots for filming meant that the layout would be seen in extreme close quarters. There would be no snow to hide the lack of ballasting or weathering! The shed would have to be 5 roads and closer to the real thing as much as possible. I elected to scratchbuild this, and the carriage works, which I felt I had never really done justice to the first time around.

With that in mind, I bought some select pieces of track (Peco code 100 3-ways points, Hornby Flexi-track and a few Y-points), and started playing around with track formations. I have started using some software to plan layouts, but I always find you get a real idea of how everything fits by - well! Fitting it all together in a dry run:

I used the old Carriage Works Backscene to provide an idea of how I would be setting up the camera to shoot the films. This track layout would be changed in a few ways - two more sidings would be added, and the derelict turntable well of the reall 56C would be too.

You can see in the above shot a mistake I made early on that I have since corrected. The five road shed was separate to the running lines, each going into a single road which branched off towards the main lines and sidings. Here, my branch off to the mainline comes off the nearest road, which was completely wrong and not in accordance with the track plan for Copley Hill I had. I soon changed it!

I had a little "Golden Pin" ceremony with a special train running round after I'd decided upon the final look of the layout. And which engine better than my RMweb build, 60163 Tornado and support coach?

Until next time!