The layout extension (aka Tweedale Lite) is now nearing completion for it's exhibition outing later this month. The photo below shows it set up on a table at home.
 

There will be curtains around the base but they have been left off here so that you can see the leg assemblies. These were kit-bashed from what was described as a mini-greenhouse at the cheap and tacky discount store from which it was obtained. For transport, the tubes can just be unplugged from the plastic fittings and flat-packed.

The viewing height is a compromise. Adults will have to stoop for a decent view and children will have to stand on tiptoe. The height was actually set to be a little less than I would normally have the baseboard at home, so that I could easily see over the back to operate it from there. The hinged lid is propped at an angle preventing viewers from peering over the top, but still allowing me to peep in from behind. Under the lid a strip of card hangs down to mask the fluorescent lighting tube, so that I'm not staring at it for hours on end.

Regarding the lighting, the tube produces a 'cool white' colour which made some of the foliage at Tweemoor look decidedly weird. I thought it might be worth seeing if a colour filter would warm it up. For that purpose I invested in a box of Quality Street, which provided a good supply of coloured sweet wrappers. A couple of yellow wrappers taped around the tube were enough to give a subtle colour cast that improved the look of the foliage. I was so pleased with the result that I also had a go at the industrial Frog Fen Lane scene. Here rather more red and brown wrappers were used, which gave the dark-skied scene a ruddy rust-laden glow, like summer in Scunthorpe (I imagine). I was very impressed. Although the fluorescent tube gets quite warm, I don't think it's enough to set the papers alight. What is more likely is that the tape will come unstuck at an inopportune moment and the wrappers will drop down onto the scenes like autumn leaves.

For operating this layout at the exhibition it seemed a good idea to devise a sequence, rather than just move wagons around willy nilly at random. The siding capacities are so restricted, that if I was winging it, there is a very good chance I'd shunt myself into a corner and everything would grind to a halt... embarrassment all round, go back and start again, people walking away in disgust, etc. Hopefully, working to a rehearsed script should keep things moving without having to think too much.

To that end the simple sequence shown below has been created. It involves 5 wagons, 3 of which work their way between Tweemoor yard, Castleport, Frog Fen works, and back to the yard, while the other 2 shuttle between the yard and Castleport. The complete sequence consists of 4 trips from the yard and back, and takes about an hour to complete. Actually there are 2 sequences. The other has 2 wagons for Frog Fen and 3 for the port. As both sequences start and end with the same configuration, they can be alternated or repeated as desired. The 'crew instructions' for each trip will be printed on cards that can be displayed at the front of the layout, to inform the public what's going on.

As to the show itself, I believe there will be 8 or 9 layouts and one trade stand. A copy of the flyer below gives other details.

Cheers, Alan.