Tweedale was declared 'finished' over a year ago, and indeed nothing of great significance has been done to it since. It still gets operated fairly regularly though, and for a small self-contained system I've been very happy with it on the whole. However there are a couple of things I thought would enhance the operation. One is a basic sorting yard, from which trips could work out to other parts of the system. The other is a sea port, allowing the Tweedalers to join the global economy and dabble in a bit of import-export. All of which is a good excuse for extending the layout, especially as I'm now in the mood to get back into this barmy project.
　
The new extension is to be on a 48 x 14 inch baseboard, and consist of windowed scenes as before. As well as the port and yard, there is also room for a third scene which has been tentatively earmarked for an industrial estate.
　
Here are the track plans for the two levels...

As can be seen there are a lot of unnatural contrivances, in the form of sector plates and a train turntables, for connecting everything together. They will be hidden away beneath the scenery, but still accessible (hopefully). The sketch below shows the general idea for the visible parts of the three scenes...

No doubt things will change as construction proceeds.
　
Baseboard Construction
To get things started, the baseboard frame has now been made up.

It was built from 25x6mm pine strips, with 19x19mm square section for the uprights - quick and easy to cut with a junior hacksaw and glue together with PVA. Its a method I've used before, and while it's unlikely to withstand the sort of abuse that say a club layout has to endure, I've found it perfectly adequate for my own needs in the past. The frame is rigid and fairly lightweight, weighing in at 1.3 kg (a bit less than 3lb) on the kitchen scales. It will eventually be supported on shelf brackets attached to the wall. I've listed the order in which it was constructed below, in case others may find it useful. The glue was allowed to set for at least half an hour between each stage...
　
1) Longitudinal L girders for the base and top were made up by glueing and pinning together a couple of strips for each.
2) The uprights were glued to the bottom L girders. A set square was used to make sure they were vertical.
3) The cross pieces at the ends sit within the L girders and were glued to the uprights, again checking everything was square.
4) The other cross pieces were glued between the L girders.
5) The diagonal bracing was then glued in place. That quite magically set the whole thing rigid and eliminated any tendency for the frame to twist.
6) The front top Longitudinal L girder was just screwed to the uprights, not glued. It will support the flourescent light fitting, and is removeable to make working on the layout easier. The back and side pieces were glued in place. They will help support the backscene.
7) After leaving the glue to harden overnight, the main corner joints were strengthened with screws.
　
Cheers, Alan.