Hi,

Retaining Wall

Allot of hard work has been going into the Retaining Wall which runs nearly the whole length of the layout and this is really taking shape now. Along with the brick plasticard, 3D printed capping stones and laser cut arches, we are now making use of resin casting to create some of the wall parts. Here are some pics of the progress.

Ballasting

Work has also started on ballasting the main scenic modules. and we now have 3 out of the 5 modules with the 'first fix' ballast applied. I say 'first fix' because we are currently ballasting only the lines and in-between them, leaving the shoulders until we have a better idea of where the signals, catenary, point motors, cabinets and other items need to go.

Our method for applying the ballast is:

• Mask of areas of the board you don't want to get wet
  
• Plug any holes for dropper wires etc with cork underlay
  
• Sprinkle the ballast onto the tracks and work with a brush until you have a profile and coverage your happy with
  
• Wet the ballast with a Water (75%) and Surgical Spirit (25%) mix, applied with a small pump misting spray bottle
  
• Apply glue (PVA Water mix with about the same consistency as milk) with a syringe, running the needle down the inside of the rails releasing the glue as you go
  
• Wait an hour or two, then apply more glue to make sure everything sticks well.
  

Here are some pics of the process:

Masking off the area to be worked on

Masking off the rail ends to keep the ballast on the board and in place

Holes for the dropper wires

Holes for the dropper wires with cork underlay filling

Dry ballast applied

Ballast after wetting

Ballast after glueing, some touch ups needed where the dropper wires are

I also took a time lapse video of this work being done on one of the modules

Cheers, Mark.