Unteren Hirschsprung Tunnel by Will Vale, on Flickr

Well, it's showtime tomorrow! I've been finishing things off as best as possible this week - as ever there's an awful lot which could be done that hasn't been done, but I think the overall result has the right kind of consistency. The deciduous forest also failed to materialise - I made and planted a lot of trees, but they weren't really good enough to they ended up getting yanked out agian. The bog brush firs are a cliche but they're one I quite like, they don't stand out as being wrong to me in the same way.

My main complaint is that it's a little dull - there aren't any people, vehicles, buildings, signs, or details apart from landscaping, so at the moment the layout feels a bit like a canvas waiting to be filled in some strange way. I'm quite looking forward to approaching this job at a slightly gentler pace - three months for one layout isn't enough time really, although it does help to keep me motivated.

Luckily my DB stock in both Epoch III and Epoch V modes is nice and colourful, and everything works well, so tomorrow I can run trains and chat to people without having a late night beforehand - I think that's the first time actually!

Big thanks to Murray for securing our group a corner where we're all together, and scaring up some barriers from the Kennel Club - that means I can put the layout up on crates on top of the trestle table to get the right viewing height. I'll try and get some better pictures tomorrow, but for now here are some grab shots (with slightly off colour balance - some kind of ICC problem maybe - and blurry moving train) of the new bits:

Here's the bridge over the Engenbachdobel - I made a nice set of checkrails and centre walkway for this, but they don't fit as the locos seem to protrude slightly beneath rail-top level - ah well.

and here's the narrows of the Hirschsprung itself. My dad found an N-scale goat on one of the trade stands, I might grab that tomorrow as a stag stand-in

If any Kiwis are reading this and fancy visiting tomorrow or Sunday, come to the show and say hi!

http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/2011/nov/porirua-mana/railex-2011