LDM34046

Happy Boxing Day! The first job today was to cut out a small hole for the NCE Powercab to sit in. With a few rounds of the drill and then sanded down to shape the NCE power unit now sits flush on the fascia of the board. It’s only push fit for now but once the wiring is done behind the plate will be screwed in place. Next job is to get the track cut and laid and then wiring can commence later today and tomorrow.

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has managed to celebrate the festive period in the best way possible despite the setbacks! Having stuffed my face with roast beef and all the trimmings I sat down for what was a rather productive evening. With the cork laid channels were cut out with a craft knife. Cut outs were made for the slide switches to sit flush. The PTFE tube was then superglued in place with copper wire running between the switch and the blades through the tube. With the points glued down with PVA the wire-in-tube method works a treat. The slide switches have enough throw to push and pull the blades perfectly. Next step is to wire each of the point frogs to the slide switches so the polarity gets changed when the switch is thrown. Tomorrow's job will be to cut and lay the remaining lengths of track. Won't be far off having the first train running! With the superglue and PVA drying overnight the next job tonight is to sit down in from of the TV with a cider and ice cream and watch Indiana Jones. Raiders of course. Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!

Slow progress yet again, waiting for more eBay supplies. I suppose in hindsight I probably should have ordered all the material at the same time! With the board dry next step was to cut a glue the cork sheet down. 2.5mm cork was used with the plan to cut out channels for the point wires to lay flush on the board. Time to finally start on the track work. The points were unboxed and laid out on the board to get a sense of scale. The first length of track was then cut however a bit more finesse maybe needed on future cuts. It seems a bit of a skill to cut the correct length so the sleepers and fish plates don't clash. I may resort to cutting a few sleepers out each end and gluing them back on once the track has been laid. I would cut more track however my final Dremel blade has finally snapped and shot off into the abyss! So back to the waiting game! More blades to arrive on Friday with the final supplies for the point system hopefully arriving in a few days time. Only then should I have everything to finally get some momentum behind this project!

A productive day complete! The postal gods were on my side today and the base boards arrived from Tim Horn today. Super impressed with the quality of the workmanship. Super helpful instructions and nice laser cut and engraved pieces. The boards were sturdy enough to be able to do a full dry run. After the test fit was done each panel was carefully put together with plenty of PVA glue before letting it dry slightly and then securing with countersunk screws and panel pins. Glue was then used on the inside edges. The construction is rock solid as well as being lightweight to move around. With the baseboards left to dry overnight I couldn't resist in putting the paper track plan on the layout to put the size into perspective. No changes with the track layout, there seems to be enough space for operational interest and scenic potential. Next step is to let the boards dry completely before laying down the cork and getting stuck in with the track work and electrics. LDM

Slow progress at the moment, what with all the postage delays with Covid however the boards have been dispatched today so hopefully mid-next week a physical layout may start to emerge! Much to my excitement various parcels have been arriving containing plenty of goodies. Two lovely new locos arrived from Bachmann today, a Midland 1F in BR Black with early crest and a Class 57xx in BR Black with Late Crest. Having previously owned a modern image layout this is my first dabble in steam locomotives and the first locos I've purchased in over 6 years. Clearly I've been out of touch with the modelling industry in my time away as I'm blown away by the level of detail on the loco and the inside the cab. Today's little project consisted of fitting decoders into these ready for the new layout. Whether it's always been this easy or times have changed I was impressed that it was a simple job of popping out the couplings and undoing two screws to remove the body and install the decoders. I seem to remember in the past having to dismantle pretty much the whole loco. Although a simple job it's satisfied my daily fix of railway modelling. Hopefully the post man get's a shift on with delivering the baseboards and I can get stuck into building over the next few weeks! LDM

That canal boat looks smart. Excited to see it in place on the layout. It's slowly transforming into a really interesting part of the layout!

It's impressive nonetheless. Keep the photos coming!

That looks much better. I suppose it would be easier if you have a 4mm canal boat to hand?

How times have changed! I didn't realise they do 'murky' resin now. We did this about 6-7 years ago and I think it was just crystal clear resin of eBay. Interesting to see how the woodland scenics resin turns out, not seen or heard of it before.

Interestingly, on a previous project we painted the base and then poured the two part resin on top. However we later redid it and painted directly on top of the resin however this was replicating lava (don't ask) and the first method looked like water. I suppose it depends how murky you want the canal. I reckon with only 2-3mm it should be fine, coupled with some nice tuffs of grass waters edge.

How deep do you plan on doing the resin? I'm guessing you're painting the base of the canal prior to filling with resin?

All the best! Keep us posted, sounds like a perfect property!

Looking great so far. Can't beat some long, mainline running! Keep the photos coming

Welcome back after 10 years! Loving the progress so far, the baseboards look good! Look forward to seeing new photos in due course. LDM

Loving the photos so far! Keep them coming! Have you got a photo of the whole layout? From the photos it looks like a great use of space. LDM

WOW. That viaduct is incredible. A great model and love watching the long rakes pass over it!

Welcome! A great start and excited to see the progress! LDM

Incredible layout. I'm loving the images provided so far! Keep them coming! The weathering in particular by Grimey Times is nothing short of a work of art!

Incredible work. Loving the track work in particular.

Thank you Dave Yes I've had a look back at your old posts and taken a few notes. It's a much smaller board I've ordered however the same principle. Good strong glue, plenty of clamps and don't rush. My plan is to build the small fiddle yard first to get my bearings with the build process before attempting the larger board. Ordered a few weeks ago so should hopefully have them by the end of the week. Luke

Excited to see the progress. Ordered my own baseboards from Tim off the back of seeing your build and the quality of his work. Excited to get started! Keep the photos coming!

Looking good Tom! Loving the progress so far! My girlfriend is a midwife in the NHS so it's not been an easy year but thank you for your hard work! Keep up the work!

Great progress coming along nicely! You've managed to create a good scene in the space provided. Keep it coming!

Been following the progress for a few weeks now! Loving the work so far!

Can't beat a good canal scene! Loving the progress! Keep it up