The first uncompleted version of Staplegrove Road used wire-in-tube for turnouts, the nylon / neoprene tube runs being glued into routed tracks on the top surface of the boards, and the slide switches operating them and the vee switching being set into the edge. But the edge mounting of the switches compromised the location of proposed low-relief buildings at the rear, as I needed to get my fat fingers in to operate the sliders. With the decision to use sub-surface mounted Blue Point units with rodding operation coming out of the rear face, I ran-up up a full size set of templot printouts to check position of the under board units and the additional magnetic uncouplers; and to confirm the location of track feeds and section breaks for the revised goods shed track turnout.

Aaarggh! Sod's law immediately came into force with a number of the operating unit locations being compromised by either the end sections of the boards or the central supporting struts. Back to Templot, and the need to revise turnout switch positions. Having already cut most of the sleepering strip for the 12 turnouts, and soldered onto them a fair proportion of the Versaline chairplates, I have tried to sort this by sliding turnouts along either right or left a couple of inches, but without changing the basic structures of them. The main issue becomes a slight shortening of the end loading and cattle dock roads adjacent to the bay platform line, but this is compensated for by lengthening of two sidings in the main yard area. So no overall loss of siding space.

After reprinting the lot again, it occurred to me that I could have achieved the same result without all this faffing about by using the Blue Point units to operate wire-in-tube where location was difficult. From experience you can put quite a tight 'S' curve into the tubing without seizing up the wire. Before any of the new turnouts are built into position, I will have to decide whether to revert at least one of the units to wire-in-tube operated by a Blue Point to regain the lost siding space........ Decisions - decisions.

For the actual tie-bars, I will retain the system I used last time and have been salvaging the units from the older track as it gets binned. I have tried most systems over the years in 2mm, 4mm and 7mm scales; except the turnout units sold by the 2mm Association (now withdrawn) as they were just too fiddly, the PCB on edge with wire to blades as pushed by the 2mm Association beginners guide, and the bent pins inserted in tiebars as in the Normal Soloman video on trackwork in the Right Track series (well worth a view in my humble opinion for anyone contemplating track construction). Last time I made up tiebar 'sleepers' out of filed down glass fibre strip, and inserted into them turned 4mm coach door handles from Blacksmith? (They used to have a shop in Farnborough). These were fixed with a 14 BA washer soldered onto the spigot on the underside so they are free to pivot in the glass fibre sleepers and the tiny brass rectangular 'handles' provide an excellent flat-sided rectangle for soldering the foot of blades onto. No bending stresses on the solder joint as the handles pivot as the blades move, and as long as the tiebar sleepers are painted to match the sleeper colour, they are pretty much invisible. Last time I excavated too much of a depression under them, it would have been reasonably filled by ballast except that I also took the operating wire underneath to the middle of the tiebar, so needed clearance underneath. This time I will put thinner tiebars between the sleepers with the Blue Point operating wires will be inserted into the edge of the tiebar outside the running rails, so minimal clearance under the tiebar will be needed. The wire/tiebar interface will be camouflaged under point rodding cranks etc. The tiebars will be painted ballast colour so hopefully the actual operation of them between the sleepers will also be almost invisible, except to those watching very closely!

Assuming I can get my camera to focus close enough I will add below a photo of one of the old design units still awaiting destruction, so you can see how unobtrusive they were as individual sleepers, hopefully the revised ones will be even better. Note also the overscale opening of the toe of the blade!