ian

Mmm! Rhubarb crumble.

As a result he never goes short of birthday cake!

It is already modelling on an epic scale but those shots do give a glimpse of the scale of the project and your vision. A layout that will become part of model railway folklore.

Read 'Kofi Anan a gram of' as Kofi an anagram of' and you'll be there. Edit - Tied with PhilW!

/pedant mode The front door to No.10 doesn't have a keyhole. As the saying goes, "If your name's not on the list, you aren't getting in." /end pedant mode

That would dent their ratings!

"Ancient computers, ranged in the long caves, deep in the bowels of the planet, tick away the dark millennia, and the ages hang heavy on their dusty data banks." This is the clever stuff that will operate the various things on the hill end of the layout. A similar installation will go on the town end board. https://ianmorton.me.uk/aberlaff/aber240630-2orig.jpg For those of you who want a closer look at the nightmare the link above is to a high-res square on view. Be warned, it is not for the squeamish!

Offer him a fiver - after all it is secondhand!

You may be gone some time!

Is that near

I hope it all goes well. It is a shame that your Bishop isn't cut from this cloth: He'd have found you space for some trains!

The NG section now has a control panel, albeit a work in progress. The diagram is behind a touch screen so touching a signal, point or track section will change it. The potentiometer in the middle is to control the loco's speed and the micro-controller on the right is the brains of the outfit. It links by its own wi-fi to similar devices on the layout which then operate the relays, servos ad so on. The bright yellow rectangle at the back is an LCD text screen that tells the operator what is going on or, if there is a problem, why things aren't going on. The panel currently shows yellow lights for the point settings, green or off for track section power and green or red for signals. At the top left there is also a green light showing that the controller is set fot anti-clockwise travel around the layout. Once the train detectors are linked up the track section indicators will also show when the detectors are triggered. A terrible photo of the hidden bit under the touch screen. The diagram in the first photo underlays the neopixel LEDs here. The diagram however is now a few iterations behind the current reality. The practical upshot of all this techno-geekery is that the NG section will be controllable from a wire-free box that can be situated on a suitable table or hand held.

I'll just leave this here... HAMPSON, F. W.The Railways of Rockall

That'll do.

Finding suitable coaches for the NG is a bit of a problem - things with balconies are vanishingly rare in N so I was very please to aquire a trip of Ibertren Mataro coaches. The red and cream example is still as the manufacturer intended, alongside a standard Z gauge wagon that will donate its chassis. On the right is a brown example that has had the two tanks removed from the roof, a large hole gouged into the chassis and its axle boxed amputated. The wagon has been shorn of its body and cut down at both ends. The next step is to put it together. The Cambrian lne on the far baseboard has been laid. The far end has a separate feed where the train needs to be stopped and magnetic detectors located for the far end and station stops. Whilst the standard gauge will use ordinary Peco Streamline Code 80 the level crossing will have a length of Code 40 2mmSA Easitrac to provide space for the Magnorail that will propel the cars. It will be hidden in the level crossing boarding so as not to show up the Peco stuff. When the layou was originally planned (as Aberlaff in 009 many years ago) I intended to set it in the 1970s and this got carried through to the plans for this layout. As a result I intended to have a traditional level crossing with 4 gates. However small local exhibitions do attract a lot of families and the 1970s were 50 years ago. The DMUs on the main line will be like the ones on current preserved railways. So, I am thinking about moving the setting to the present day. TfW liveried on the main line might be more relatable, along with some current issue cars and buses. This does mean a lifting barrier crossing though, so time to experiment... Going up! With a slightly longer bent bit the wire would clear the back of the barrier and let it reach vertical. I think it might work.