Wow! It looks like I haven't posted anything since last December. I suppose that's because there hasn't been much to share of late. I finally finished the construction of my Jubilee, which is now away being painted and I have also recently finished off the Caprotti Black 5. The last items on this one being the sand pipes and their support brackets. This loco is now ready for painting and is shown below.

As for the layout, sadly there's been almost no progress since I completed embossing the cobble stones in the goods yard and coal drops. However, a friend and colleague in the 35006 P&O restoration team has kindly turned two alternative mill chimneys in wood. You may recall that my original intention was to replace the actual mill at Delph with a much more aesthetically pleasing (in my opinion) mirror image of the Regent Mill at Failsworth; one of the reasons for changing the layout name to Holt. I subsequently decided to revert to the original mill, at least for the initial presentation. As I will be placing the mill and other rear scenic features on separate "hang on" boards, there remains the possibility to have alternative versions of mill. The attached photo shows the huge difference in size and style between the two mill chimneys. The larger, tall one is for the Regent and is a scale 210 feet tall (quaintly, the original architects drawing specifies this as "70 yards"), and the much smaller one is for the actual mill, reflecting the difference is boiler plant for the vastly different sizes and power of engines provided. Obviously, both will need to be covered in brick and stone/brick paper, respectively, in due course.

Dave.