First some good news. The Dapol 57xx arrived with chip complete and did not work on our test track! Solution? Clean the track, at which point it worked fine and Martin's modified loco also worked. Martin is now fitting the pukka brushes and we will then have two locos.

Track laying is under way. I have had two sessions and a third should see it done. Then it will be the point motors and wiring. The main line is dead straight so I wanted a way of trying to achieve this. I settled for screwing a straight edge to the baseboard against which I pressed the sleepers whilst also using a Tracksetta straight. The end result is passable so long as you don't look too hard.

The MDF had a slight bow in it so at present it is screwed to two temporary battens, as if it is a flat baseboard unit. Once the point motors are installed I will fit the actual spines, remove the battens and jigsaw away the surplus board which will then be ready for installation in the loft.

Meanwhile up in the loft I realised that the fiddle yard was too wide so I lifted it, split the boards down the middle and reinstated them to form a 12'-4" long yard which will have just two long roads with two crossovers. Thus we will have six sections. When a train arrives I will reposition the loco and brake van if applicable, and then reverse the train to the furthest available place in the yard, ready for future dispatch. This way I will only require generous access for my large hands (strangler's hands as my loving mother used to call them!) at one position. It's a great theory. I'll report again when the scenic work is complete! It just occurs to me that if I want to operate a FIFO system then it would make more sense for the first train in to go at the front of the yard. I will give this some thought.

Turn Number One

Why is the piece of sheet material which you want always at the back of the store?

It looks like it will fit!

Straight edge and Tracksetta

Work in progress