Busy day on the layout today – ballasted the line on the viaduct and made the plinth that the Engine Shed stands on. Both will be weathered when glues are dry.
Busy day on the layout today – ballasted the line on the viaduct and made the plinth that the Engine Shed stands on. Both will be weathered when glues are dry.
On Sunday Pegasus Cement Works was at The W & R Exhibition. We always enjoy this Show as it always has a great atmosphere, this year was no exception with lots of great comments and conversations. Pegasus is in a little bit of a transition at present with extra buildings, cameo scenes and fencing being added, but not yet blended by weathering.
Been doing quite a bit of work on the layout. Viaduct walls weathered and planted, Engine Shed walling weathered and planted, position of Engine shed tested and marked and lastly the Coaling Stage has been painted.
Over the last few days I have been working on the viaduct and associated walling on Wyke St. I have decided to do the brickwork as ‘engineers blue bricks’ for no other reason than, I have never done them before!
There are two bridges at Ely that were built using these blue bricks – I went over yesterday to photograph one of them – when I got there it had been 99% graffitied – sad people.
The back-scene has had the sky painted and a start made on painting the background vegetation. I will touch up the sky and greenery later adding a few highlights etc.
As you see them here, they still need weathering, quite heavily, as the line that runs over the viaduct is unused and overrun by nature!
Nothing is glued down yet, so that the weathering can be done easier!
Two days exhibiting in a row at two different venues. Firstly Saturday at the Sudbury MRC Exhibition and today at the the Stowmarket MRC, Swapmeet and mini Exhibition. It was a bit tiring but oh so enjoyable!
Photos taken over the two days.
John and Graham took my layout ‘Dark Lane’ to the Bury St Edmunds MRC 75 year anniversary Exhibition at the Cathedral today. I went over for three hours in the middle of the day, and what an Exhibition that was – probably the best Exhibition I have attended since the heyday of the Colchester Exhibitions many years ago.
Congratulations must go to all the Club members, especially their Exhibition Manager Chris Day on his last show before handing on to someone else.
Today was the first time Dark Lane had been run with its DCC Sound operated through a Mobile Phone – it ran faultlessly all day – thanks Graham for introducing us ‘to the modern way’
I spent the afternoon testing all isolating sections and power feeds with Locos with no auto couplings. This was to check that all locos fit where they should and check clearances, all worked fine. During testing I checked one final time if any amendments were worth thinking about – I identified two further isolation sections that may help – we will see!
The extra point duly arrived and has been fitted. This gives the final track plan after the extra siding was added. The next job is to reinstate the isolating sections and wire up the new point. I am now happy after the amendments and glad I carried them out, instead of wondering ‘what if’ at a later date.
The adding of an extra 6″ continues to progress. I have added three of the four extra track lengths in the sidings, I am waiting for another point to arrive to complete the head-shunt and then start the extra siding. After moving some isolating sections the layout will now hold 14 locos and three wagons.
Decision day today. After a lot of thought I decided to lengthen the layout by 6″, making it now 5′ overall. This modification allows another point and siding to be added, and three sidings to be lengthened. It will increase the loco isolations from 6 to 11 on the layout. The reason I did this was because if I had not done it I would have always wondered why not!!! I have also got 15 BR(E) Engines!!!