Phase 2 of Northumberton involves the track bed up as far as the entrance to the station level (Phase 3). I have already cut the track bed - (see entry "Frames complete - now the track bed). I use an extended 1m straight edge/rule to measure track height from the frame work which was levelled in the early stages.

I'm rising from 1005mm to 1105mm above floor level. I was able to take the levels where track crossed the frame work from the SCARM software I'm using, (see entry "Backscene")

Sections of ply and softwood have been cut to raise the track bed to the correct height. Pine battens for mid way supports and plywood profiles where the route is a bit more tricky.

This does take a long time; I'm also using a great little spirit level that I have which has a digital readout including one for gradient percentages which made checking the track bed much more straightforward.

I'm still using metal washers on the outside edge of curves to induce a very slight camber, especially on the tighter hidden curves. Also I'm allowing plenty of room for long coaches on tight hidden curves by cutting away the curved section shown below in the support for the upper track.

My trusty glue spreader from Amazon filled with Woodland Scenics foam glue, this spreader works so well and as I'm also using DCC concepts Power Base I have a lot of gluing to do. I split all the track bed in two down the middle to ease installation. I coat the track bed and the foam underlay separately, leave for about an hour and then lay the underlay following the centre lines shown. This method means no pins required or additional drying time, just make sure you place it very carefully as once its down its down! Same method for laying the Power Base, coat the foam track bed and the metal plates. to hold the metal plates whilst applying glue I use double sided tape in strips on an old board, place the plates in place on the tape and then go over with the glue roller. After an hour the plates are lifted off the tape and placed onto the foam - again an extremely strong bond is achieved.

I'll carry on now until Phase 2 has all it's track down and has been tested. Cheers for now, P.S. no prizes for spotting the glass of wine, it was very late in the day