My internet is broken somewhat broken, hence the lack of pictures. I am down to 18kB/s on up to 4Mb broadband! On top of that the Sky+ box died overnight, refusing to come off stand by. That said there is very little to see with the layout.

I booked the week off work to do finish the to-do list so that the layout can travel, and would work. I even wrote the to-do list. This went something like:

Finish power supply enclosure

Build some cassettes

Fit adaptors for the cassettes to fit to on the baseboards

Fit stock with couplings

Get a fuse and test the uncoupling magnets

Attach rear fascias (back scene)

Cut and make fit central transport panel

It continued with a bunch of other items that I would like to get on to including the groundwork (which requires the completion of the road over bridge), track painting and ballasting.

In my head this seemed like a reasonable list and I would then spend the final week of evenings before Expo finishing off some items of stock and doing other little bits. So far I have successfully managed one item in the three days: The power supply enclosure has the fan fitted and the lid on, meaning no more exposed mains. The cassettes are built, but are not consistently the same width, and the adaptors are only okay at the Oxford end of the layout.

The problem is that I'm not good at finishing things. I have a shelf full of part finished stock and I like to pick at things as they take my fancy. This has resulted in the 295ft platform face having been pieced together from Peco parts, and the cutting of some pink foam for the near side of the layout, amongst other things. I've also been progressing a set of Worsley works four wheeled coaches too even though there is little chance they will be in a presentable state for the beginning of July.

This afternoon I have made a start fitting the rear fascia panels to the layout. I could have done this outside but decided that if I slid the layout across the room there would be space to get behind it to put the clamps on. I worked out towards the door, out of the door, and now am stuck outside of the spare room due to the clamps. I am now stuck for something to do having cut most of the various bits of wood that needed cutting (but not the central transport panel) and having ground the jaws of a set of pliers for coiling couplings. I am just waiting for the glue to dry before I can remove the clamps with no TV and limited internet.