Entry posted by ChrisG
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The last few months have been a case of taking a step backwards before moving forward again.
By July the layout was fully operational, and I had even started putting in the foundations of some scenic treatment. Testing locos and stock continued apace, but time spent "taking stock" whilst on holiday in the West Country confirmed something which had been on my mind for sometime which was that two sections of the layout needed drastic attention. The photos here show the results to date.
Firstly - the hidden sidings were re-modelled to give a couple of inches of valuable extra space behind Cowes. This seemingly simple job meant much re-wiring of the boards concerned, and I also built a new control panel with route indicating diodes to simplify the job of operating a section which will not be visible on the finished layout. This phase was finished a couple of weeks ago and is pictured below.
Secondly - the Newport section had to go. In its entirety, to be replaced by a slightly revised track layout, but more importantly a better configuration of curves and much better handbuilt points. On version 1 I had not stuck to the templates and had ended up with a lot of tight radius pointwork bunched into a corner. And, to be honest, some pretty ropey point building by me - learning the skill (slowly) as I went. So today I started to make Newport look liike it did in 1971 when it was raised to the ground to be replaced by a dual carriageway. The new turnouts are built so relaying should not take long. The first target is to restore the boards to a lovely clean smooth, covered with rubberised cork, level playing field. the picture shows one of the four boards with tracks removed, waiting for the sanders to move in.
So there we are - a lot has been done, but it will now take time to get back to the point where, for the second time, I have a fully functioning layout on which to start adding scenery
p.s. I may be mad - but this is not the first time I have pulled something apart and started again. It all comes from setting standards and then failing to meet them. This is one of those "layouts of a lifetime" and I figure a few months getting it right in the first place will be a guarantee of long-lasting pleasure in the years to come.
Chris
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