Back in August when I started this Blog I made a back of envelope calculation based on a test length of 150mm which indicated a requirement for circa 3.5 kg of ballast.

Four 1kg bags of poppy seeds were purchased. and I set off ballasting. Now some four months later all four bags have been used up and the work is not yet complete. Not a bad calculation given that I have increased the spread of ballast for parallel sidings and some open spaces around goods and engine sheds. My back of envelope calculation also suggested that the work might be complete by Christmas. That seems still a possibility - but did I know that we would not be seeing the sun here in the west of Scotland from August right thought to November?

The views above show the south end of the main station with Peco Inspection Pits for the 'new' diesels. The other view shows the carriage sidings awaiting ballasting with a row of Skaledale houses waiting to be elevated onto a retaining wall which hopefully will hide the entry to the reversing loop.

Two more views of 'progress', below showing the south end of the main station with some Bachmann favourites reminding me of a misspent youth collecting numbers on Newcastle Station.

The second view below shows the Scenecraft Brewery - another 'work still in progress' (Chris Nevard has a lot to answer for).