Last weekend I got Newport back to "bare baseboard" state. The job took less than 12 hours and I was ready to start again with tracklaying. Having read as much as I could find on the subject I resolved on a process which involves positioning (lightly pinning) the track to a printed template (I used "Trax" but realise it would have been better if I had bothered to learn Templot and drawn it with that). My local printer printed the pdf onto three sheets of A0 paper. During this process every track joint is fettled, turnouts checked for smooth running, dog legs ironed out, etc. etc. The sleeperless gaps you can see in the photos are a short term expedient and allow rail joiners to be slid back easily so that turnouts can be removed for "fine-tuning", they will be filled in with sleepers prior to the final sticking down.

When the track is all down and signed off as being as good as it should be, the paper templates will be removed by cutting and tearing. Then I can proceed to the next stage of fitting turnout motors, putting in dropper wires etc, before finally gluing the track down with Copydex (recommended in many places for noise reduction). Then electrical testing, and when that's done, then, and only then, painting and ballasting.

I've been at it a week and have just run out of track. Pete Llewellyn (of C&L Finescale) had to pull out of the South Hants show at the last minute on Friday, and so I was unable to collect the track I had ordered from him :-(

So far so good, feeling a lot better about it than the first time around.

Chris