I managed to get a few hours in on the layout in the last couple of days. Much pondering of how to approach the crossing of the Medina, and at least one false start. Track coming in at the top of the photo is from the hidden loops. The first stretch of viaduct will be hidden behind 1) Cowes Station approach and 2) Newport Gas Works. The line will become visible as it crosses the twin drawbridges. These were what I had to engineer in order to get the track into Newport. I hasten to add the drawbridges will not be operational.

The challenge was to replicate the real thing which appears to have been flatbottom rail bolted directly to transverse timbers with occasional timber spacer bars. Having rejected the first thought of superglueing the rails to wills timber planking sheets I worked out the following layered method.

Bottom layer - 6mm plywood (standard on my baseboards)

Second layer - 1.5mm cork sheet glued down

Third layer - 1.5 single sided pcb sheets glued and screwed to the plywood through the cork

The 2nd and 3rd layers get the trackbed up to the 3mm cork standard for the rest of the layout

Double sided pcb 1.6mm thick sleeper strips soldered to the pcb sheets - this brings the height up to the required rail height above trackbed of 1.6mm which matches the C&L track and turnouts. These appear as the pink bars in the photo

Infill between the widely spaced sleepers is the aforementioned Wills timber planking sheet, glued to the pcb using impact adhesive.

The rails will be soldered to the pcb sleepers.

So fulfilling the requirement for solidity and height.

Tomorrow - lay the track!

Chris