With the main up and down lines completed and running before xmas the remaining scenic pointwork now needs completing and laying. Tonight Dick has been laying the goods loop at the right end of the layout on the outside of the running lines while i've made a start on the crossover from the branch down into the goods yard. I've started with the point on the main running line and will do the other point that leads onto the headshunt later. There is a board joint in between the two so they have been modified from the original templot 1:7s to something like a 1:6.5 and a 1:8 to avoid issues. This was the same sort of thing adopted for the good loop exit crossover.
The running line is on a 110" radii with the turnout road on a 48" curve. The 110" curve used in the initial laying out of the 1st rail is in shot. This is the first bit of pure ply and rivet i've done and follows Dick's approach. Note I only fitted minimal sleepering at first and the other sleeps will go in later allowing the riveting to be more accurate. It also means its much easier to get it off the paper again as only 6 sleepers have tape on them!
Although I said the crossing on this was a 1:8 I ended up making a 1:7 from the Portsdown models jig as it fitted the plan better for some reason. I didn't bend the rail through the nose of the crossing just the loose rail sticking out. Wagons run nicely though it so far but I need to file up the blades and fit the check rails yet. Cosmetic chairs to finish after i've replaced the initial sleepers which had roughly placed rivets which end up a bit misaligned.
The Exactoscale 1:7 shows the straight nature of even the best settrack but also the extended nature of curved pointwork on the closure rails between crossing and switch.
General view through the flow of the track.
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