Looked at some finescale track and was impressed. However...........

Then looked at contents of my wallet and what I had leftover from previous projects and a compromise was required.

Seeing as I made the trackwork on 'Two Way Traffic' look quite realistic I have decided to go with Peco 75 and the ballasted underlay rather than the more expensive route of breaking new ground with C&L stuff.......another time maybe !

Anyway, soldered droppers onto 5 lengths, incased them in the underlay and glued them down into position. A quick test with the Dynamis connected to the DCC bus I have fitted revealed all my solders were good.

Marked out the area where the depot will sit using some L shaped plastic strips and filled the area with plaster repair. Smoothed over and misted with water its drying nicely with no signs of cracking. When dry I shall spend time cleaning up and sanding smooth and using a sharp knife to dig out the inside of the running rails to allow locos access to the depot. Did this sucessfully before on Brooke Wharf so i'm not too worried even though it can be a nightmare job.

To get the same sort of finish on the track as the last photo board I will be spraying all the track and ballast with Railmatch Sleeper Grime, weathering in places, rust side rails & pick out the sleeper chairs. Much of the track work will have weeds in the four foot and I expect on some photos, with the length of vegetation that the track work will be obscured anyway.

3 buildings are at the final stages of weathering, detailing and lighting however for these to progress an online shopping spree for lights will be required so post Christmas for that one !!

The final 2 buildings to make the magic 5 are still at the 'planned in my head' stage but with a good supply of card, plastic and balsa I can make a start over the coming weeks.

Seeing as I made a saving/compromise with the track I plan to indulge on the scenics and its likely that the ground cover base will be the rather expensive but completly brilliant Silfor grass mats from International.

Simon of this parish has very kindly decided to let me purchase the re spray of 001 so thats on the Christmas list as a present, 10+ ECC PGA's have been secured at the model shop and will be held under the counter until next year when financies allow.

I also plan to have re sprays of 005 & 010 before October next year and this will bring the Construction Tug fleet to 4 all operating on the board. All sound fitted its not going to be cheap but with a Christmas, Birthday & plenty of summer time OT it should be affordable.

The rough timetable looks like this -

Now - New Year = Buildings, trackwork, electrics

New Year - March = Scenics

March - April = Building placement, further smaller detail

May (Birthday month) = Purchase DCC system (Lenz or Prodigy ?)

June - July = The finshing touches

August - September = Fleet upgrades, wagon weathering, late summer sun photo sessions

October = Final presentation

Really enjoyed todays session and coupled with the enjoymant of seeing everyone elses progress via the forum i'm getting really excited by the potential photographic trips in the summer. Already found 2 cracking locations out towards Mountsorrel with the quarry and blue sky as backdrops.

2010 sq in but the views will go on for miles !!