Bildeston

I agree about the J15, but the D16 is also a nice-looking engine, I think. Still waiting for someone to produce a RTR E4. Might be waiting a while! It's nice to follow someone's progress. I think how much internal lighting, etc, you do is very much down to what you want to present at the end. If you want to have a very detailed exhibition layout, for example, then a lot of detail helps to focus attention when there's little happening. Personally, I like internal lighting in buildings anyway, because winter or nighttime running is definitely enhanced by it. My Suffolk branch is dragging along, but other commitments (even in lockdown!) get in the way sometimes. Also, a malfunctioning point held me up - I'm using handbuilt pointwork as I prefer it to Peco track. It was glued down, but had to be removed and was damaged in the process. By the end I had almost entirely remade it!

This looks like fun, and progressing rather faster than my Suffolk continuous branch (still at the bare boards stage, and even they are not complete). But that's what I get for trying open baseboards and relocating to a new house in the middle of contruction! Do post more as you go along. Always like to see works in progress. As a matter of interest, whereabouts in the house is this layout to be, eg, loft or spare room? It sounds quite large. Mine has to go round the walls of my home office, which is a major limitation, though knowing how over-ambitious modellers can get, maybe that's not such a bad thing.

Sorry to be so late to the party, but I only just joined this forum. What a beautifully presented layout. I have a slightly smaller space and will shortly start on a layout. What format does the layout take? It looks like a junction to branch terminus layout, with the junction not being part of a continuous run (one photo suggests the double track stops at the backscene in one direction). Is that right? Does the other end of the junction lead to a fiddle yard?