Mark 2

the success of the set piece has made me re-consider my layout, and I have started again from scratch. The new layout will be modular, so it can be taken apart and potentially a section can be worked on in the house, and the wiring accessed relatively easily. It will be narrower too, with sections typically 18" by 4'.

Work started a couple of months ago. This image shows an early view:

Phase 1 involves the "lower" station (to the left in the image) and "middle" station (to the right), with the line between running over an embankment and bridge over a river.

Phase 2 will be further to the left, a single baseboard featuring a dock. Phase 3 will be to the right, coming back down the third wall, three baseboards including a viaduct, quarry and the top station. Phase four will be to complete the fourth side of the loop.

Last weekend I finally finished wiring. It was not a huge job as far as these things go, with only 9 points and a single isolated section, but not my favourite job!

So this is the current state of the lower station. The buildings at the back are all SuperQuick, and date from my childhood. Eventually they will be replaced by scratchbuilt models. the station building is the one from the Mark 1 layout, so does not fit. Replacing that will be a priority. The old one might be suitable for the middle station if the bottom story is removed.

Clearly a lot of work still to be done, but it does feel like I am gettng somewhere at last!