Thanks for all the the suggestions and general morale helping in respect of the frustration of the last entry, I'm not giving up on 'Banff-ish' but I am putting it away for a bit. Thanks also 'scanman' for the pm I will get back to you regarding questions/suggestions pretty soon. A decent day on the first day of BST has also confirmed 'modelling time' will be taking a bit of a hit- here's what its up against...

The baseboard has been mended (yes I did kick it across the room - and I'm normally so mild mannered! ) and modified as detailed in a previous entry. Its going to go into store now for the summer. I am keeping out the buildings and trackplan/track parts and will be working on these as time permits. A trip to the real Banff is also on the cards as our summer holidays are booked in the area.

So the outlook is good but for the now the enjoyment has gone out of it, trying to work on it is just a chore and I don't believe that a good model could come out of just 'carrying on' in that frame of mind. It will be back though.

I'd started modifying two box-files for use as a 'starter project' in N gauge about a couple of years ago, when I was thinking of trying the 'Deadwater' idea again but as a code 55 peco N gauge layout with Union Mills locomotives, this never went much further forward than the 'ideas' stage, but I've dug out the boxfiles again and started adding to them:

adding timber blocks to support trackbed and gluing the boxfiles together, using the timber and the outer coating of the boxfiles.

A Peco large point compares roughly to an A7 real point, that apart from sleeper spacing is why it looks wrong, I believe a point with over a 1 in 6 divergence (1 ft in every 6 ft) should have a B switch (a B switch is 6 sleepers long, compared to an A switch of 4 sleepers) the A7's were therefore subsituted with B8's and heres sleepers going down onto the templot plan.

The 2mm S.A. sleepers are much better than you can buy in 4mm they are a 'double track width' assuming siding/loop track centres rather than plain double track, so each time you cut one you get a 'partner' which can be used somewhere else in the turnout(s)

the last pic shows 1 rail which has been filed up in the easitrac 1in8 crossing jig. this has also been passed through one easitrac section, beyond which there will be a level crossing so its back to copperclad.

Buildings for this one are quite simple, a box like timber structure on the platform, a level crossing cottage which is already sourced from kit just needs adapting, and lots of trees - a simple life!