I have spent a lot of today looking at peoples legs - yes my alternative view of the Stafford show! It is really surprising how many different ways people manage to put together a few pieces of 2x1. Although many of my observations were made from afar not one of my requests to go delving under particularly interesting examples was denied or even considered strange - perhaps it is not such an unusual pass time! You will have guessed by now that I have been thinking again about to how to display layout as I really am not happy with legs Mk1. I would be even happier if the weather would get a bit better so I could even consider cutting wood outside again.

I came away with a rather larger haul than I anticipated largely because I saw quite a few things on my wish list that were there at good prices and of course, no postage. I now have the wherewithal to replace the three way point and it's Peco motors at the fiddle yard with two ordinary small radius Peco points and two more Cobalt DCC motors. This approach (once the old bits have gone on Ebay), will be much cheaper than messing around with two systems and having to get a CDU and separate decoders. The other thing I equipped myself with was more wire as I have decided to double up the push in connectors on the Cobalts with a second soldered wire direct to the bus. Convenient though they are, some have fallen off already and the layout hasn't even been anywhere yet.

Another indulgence was one of the new Digitrax 166 sound decoders for the Dick Kerrs. I have used the previous 164s with mixed success (I persevere principally because they are cheap!), and am hoping that they have indeed ironed out some of the flaws now.

All in all a good show and a good haul.