Waihao Forks: Interlude

Am_Fet pulls out the "Prototype for Everything" file and recites:

One of my formative Model Train memories revolves around the many layouts that were built in KiwiBonds front room back when we werent old enough to know any better but before girls came along and changed all the rules.  Back in those days it seemed that the best train we could run was a long train of Hornby open 4 wheel wagons pulled by a cardboard DGr.  The load?  Why, coal of course!  To us, Coal was the raison d'tre of railways everywhere.  Everywhere you looked in books all you saw was long trains of black gold, and so thats what we modelled.

Everyone mellows with age however (except maybe Keith Richards) and the lure of Canterbury agrarian branch lines proved too much to resist.  Sure, it would be nice to have a few coal wagons floating about, but in rural South Canterbury?

Well oddly enough.....

Exhibit A, m'lud:  The Allanholme Coal Mine located on the table lands above Waihao Forks.  In discussions with the late and much missed Euan McQueen about this, he said the coal here was of the same type as that seen at several smaller mines all the way up the east coast of the island from Kaitangata to Shag Point and further up to Mt Somers.  However, as far as he was aware the coal was for local domestic use and was never railed out.

And then an article was found online from the Oamaru Mail from 1920 about a visit to the mine.  I wont reproduce the whole article here, but the highlights were:

- The Waimate Branch of the Sth Canterbury Development League visited to ascertain whether it was worth extending the rail line to the mine.

- Thanks to the amount of coal to be seen in the mine, it was agreed that an extension of the line would be of benefit to the community.

- "At present, Messers Meredith and Co keep a traction engine continually hauling to the Waihao Forks railway station...."

- Production was over 3300 tons per annum, much of which went as far away as Christchurch.

I can only guess that any extension would have branched of the branchline at McLeans Station and headed NW towards where the mine was located.

Modelling wise, it would make for a great scene at The Forks:  A Traction Engine with trailers in the goods yard with coal wagons awaiting loading.  Seeing as this was in the 1920's, it would be in the era when Waihao Downs still had a loco shed and staff and the main loco's on the branch were the Fa's.....not quite fitting in with what I'm aiming for, but definitely tempting if I feel the need to backdate the layout.....

Waihao Forks: The Fill In

Am_Fet explains:

Another momentous occasion in the life of the layout this evening.  After a tour of most of the region, it is now safely domociled in the Top Secret Layout Building Facility in Stokes Valley where construction will continue over the coming months.

This evenings work session had our protagonists mostly standing around and discussing ways and means....before seizing the day and just leaping in anyway.  The plan was for the landscape to be built up from 5mm foamboard before being covered with putty to recreate the undulations of a normal landscape.  The plan is for the switches controlling the points to be contained within a small "box" that can be covered for photography or if the layout is not being shunted.

In this action photo, we can see your scribe hacking merrily at the foamcore with possibly the worlds sharpest (and dangerous) craft knife, while 0-4-4-0T starts drawing landforms for the hill at the left hand edge of the baseboard.  Also visible is the first test of the putty (applied by Cabbage, who also provided the photo).

Hopefully these layout building evenings will now become a bit more frequent as the weather warms up and working in someones garage isnt the imposition it was in mid winter.

My plan now for the next few days is to finally get back into some CAD work and get the stock yards and goods shed drawn using the guild drawings.

Waihao Forks....Saturday Update

Am_Fet writes in block capitals:

Well, the weekend plans for the major protagonists to get together at Cabbages top secret layout building facility on Friday night fell apart in spectacular fashion thanks to illness and family commitments.  Poor Cabbage, he had to go and spend time with the Marklin Club....

Anyway, here is the latest email from 0-4-4-0T with progress:

"We now have slow speed running on all parts of Waihao Forks.

The electrical interlocking doesn't successfully stop the engine if the points aren't set completely correctly - essentially because everything ran fine on insulfrog. But we have slow speed running through all areas.

Finer testing is beyond the quality of my engines to date. The Graham Farish 0-6-0 has a very long wheel base plus its motor doesn't run well at very slow speeds. The Microace 4-6-4 doesn't run well on the slightly rough code 40 track because its power pick-ups (on the first two driving axles and the last axle of the trailing truck) are only just good enough for very smooth heavier track."

I believe the meeting will be postponed until next week when hopefully we can start the landforms.  There is also talk of sub-contracting out the grass planting to another well known modeller.  I'm waiting for Cabbage to confirm.

In the meantime, I had better pickup my mouse and start designing the buildings and structures.

In closing, does anyone have any ideas for modelling stucco in the smaller scales?  Everything I read seems to be aimed at HO and bigger, ranging from sandpaper to talc or white pepper mixed with paint.

All answers on the back of a postcard please!

Waihao Forks.....On Point.

Am_Fet, with great relief, pens:

Whew!  We are up to date.  This is the latest report from Backward Engineering in Karori ("Where the past is being made today!").

The curtain wire is now glued down, and then the ends of the push-pull wire have been bent and threaded into the pre-drilled holes in the switches using small pliers.  The kink in the push-pull wire can be opened and closed slightly to make fine adjustments to the length of the wire.

All the brass dropouts to get power to the track from underneath are now fitted and soldered on.

Next, turn it all over and attach wires to the switches and dropouts."

Waihao Forks....gaining control.

Am_Fet enthuses:

Can I just start off by saying that although it may seem like this work has been moving quickly, nothing could be further from the truth.  0-4-4-0T and I have only really had the chance to catchup during the planned monthly meetings in Lower Hutt, so most of the work documented here has only really happened since the Palmy show...whenever that was.

So hopefully todays post will take us up to where things sit currently and you can then marvel at the pace that things normally happen at around here.

This pic arrived in my inbox last weekend:

As can be seen from this picture from Backward Engineering in Karori ("Where the past is being made today!") things are now focussing on the gubbins needed to make things work.

(Hilariously enough, my iphone autocorrected "control gubbins" to "control gibbons"....which probably isnt far from the truth!)

Anyway, here is the written report from 0-4-4-0T:

"The trackwork for Waihao Forks has been glued to some 10mm foamboard.  Head Druff says this dampens the amount of track noise.  Slots have been cut in it to take curtain wire which takes curved routes to the switches.  Music wire just under 1mm thick runs inside the curtain wire from the point blades to the switches.  Some 5mm foamboard in the slots holds up the curtain wire next to the point blades.

The music wire is bent through a right angle to go through the end of the moving sleeper that the point blades are attached to. Having the track on 10mm foamboard rather than 5mm board means Am_Fet will be able to shape the ground level in the area surrounding the yard to levels lower than the trackwork when required.  Otherwise the ground surface of the whole module would look dead flat and unreal.

Next job is to attach the music wires to the switches - to be shown in a future post.  After that, the electrical wiring can go in underneath."

Waihao Forks - Setting the Scene

Am_Fet Postulates:

After the baseboards triumphant return from its southern sojourn, the next task was to work out where all the scenic features were going to go.

A meeting was hastily convened at the monthly club night with plans and photos in abundance.  Some mad rash fool started scribbling with a pencil, and by the end of the evening we had the beginnings of what (we hope) will be a very attractive scene.

And...no one had a camera to record the moment...Doh!

So instead, lets revisit my favourite photo of the station from the 1920's:

The three structures that really anchor the scene are the goods shed, the stock yards and the pub.  The goods shed was a stock 60' by 30' shed but with a strangely steep pitched roof.  As it was a known size, it became the "anchor structure" of the whole precinct, meaning it was sited first and we used its place to position the minor structures that related to it, such as the station platform and shelter shed and the loading bank.

Then onto the pub (what a grand idea!).  As the building was separated from the precinct by the road, we first needed to make an arbitrary decision on what looked like the acceptable width for a 1950's metaled country road.  Once this was drawn in, the pub was located in relation to the goods shed and station shelter.  It became apparent that the pub will need to be "split" at the baseboard edge, but discussions came up with a good way to make the most of the situation.

The stock yards were next.  We made a call on the position of the stock loading race and then drew the rest of the yards in position based on this.  As with the pub, the position of the road was critical and this was also drawn in.

The final structure to complete the scene is that non-descript corrugated iron shed on the roadside past the pub.  It will serve as a counterpoint to the obvious railway designed structures, being a simple rural shed seen in thousands of places around the country.

Final job was to rough in where the scenic landforms will sit.  There is a perceptible dip to the left of the track in the photo as well as the small hill the photo was taken from to include.  numerous lines were scribbled until something believable was deemed to be acceptable.

Apologies for all the words (lack of photos of the process is a bug bear) but I thought it was important to record how the process went.

And to finish off, here is a more recent photo from Joe Wallace.....its a brilliant photo for landscape detail.  The old loading bank and road can still be seen, and the roadbed leading up the hill to Mcleans can be discerned climbing up out of shot to the top right.

Waihao Forks.....On Tour

Am_Fet continues....

With the completion of the undergubbins (as seen in a previous instalment), the time had come for the focus to shift from the wastes of Lower Hutt to the leafy gentrified suburb of Karori.  0-4-4-0T took the baseboard home from club night and started the careful and painstaking task of marrying up the track with the baseboard (i.e he winged it).

The track was gently cut in the correct places and located on the baseboard....

....before being transported across the water to play a starring role at the Christchurch Show, even if only as a workbench....

I have no idea what Cabbage is saying here....a caption contest, perchance?  Note 0-4-4-0T using the area earmarked for paddocks and willow trees to assemble wagons....the philistine.

Recriminations will be swift, and effective....

(Luckily for our protagonist, the track was completed over the course of the weekend, appeasing the landowner)

Next:  Setting the Scene.

Waihao Forks....what lurks beneath...

Am_Fet expounds:

In designing the baseboard supporting structure, I was keen to produce something that would be simple yet strong as well as providing suitable attachment points for the MMW module ends to be screwed into.  Being a curvy baseboard doesnt make life easy either....but thats the shape of the station, so it is what it is.

The design I finally came up with is:

Effectively there are 2 quarter circles CNC routed out of 12mm plywood with right angle bends to suit the MMW endcaps.  I did 4 in all so they could be laminated together for a total thickness of roughly an inch (I said roughly....).  The pieces on the inner edge have a 3mm slot cut in them (just visible here) so that 3mm MDF can be used as a layout fascia at a later date.  A smaller crossbrace is added to provide a bit of stability for both the baseboard surface and the fascia.

Here are the parts being routed out on the Atomik Design CNC machine.  BTW, I have seen it do 1mm brass, I'm thinking one day I might try a simple chassis on it...

Also starring in the picture of the leg components, of which more later....

One momentous club night, the components were bought together and securely fastened.  Tip it on its side and it looks like this:

The more clever amongst you will notice the distinct lack of endacps.  The reason is purely practical:  As it stands, the board can still quickly be flicked upside down/stored sideways/flown like a frisbee.

Next up, baseboard is reunited with track.

Waihao Forks....Now with added length!

Am_Fet continues:

Initial Permanent Way meetings were held between 0-4-4-0T and myself during one of the monthly club nights.  The layout was viewed from all angles and measured up to within an inch of its life....

One of the decisions coming out of the meeting was that the loops were just a little too short, especially when a goods shed sized cutout was plonked on for a good look.  After a bit of deliberation and dicking about (A Noble Art, Sir!), it was decided that the loops all needed to be lengthened by about 150mm.

To facilitate the building of the baseboards at this point, the track was removed from its paper template which was duly sent on to Atomik Design, leaving the good stuff in Karori to be stretched.

Once the paper template had arrived in the Seaview workshops of Atomik Design (Layout Baseboards a Specialty), a quick attack of the "cut and paste" machine added in the necessary inches so that baseboard planning could commence.

It was then a simple matter to lay the template out on a piece of 4mm ply (purchased for this very task) and start jockeying around until a suitable size, shape and curve radius could be established.

The ply was then measured up and cut with the CNC router....and set aside to get in everyones way as they moved between the machines.

Next up: the baseboard supports and getting the whole thing together......

Waihao Forks, the Rethink.

Am_Fet elucidates:

From the start, Waihao Forks was always going to be built with MMW endcaps.  Not only did I want to enjoy running it at home, but I also wanted to take it to shows and being able to join it up with other like-minded module builders made a lot of sense.

But I also wanted the chance to model what happened at each end of the station as that was just as important as the station itself.  Waihao Forks is located in a river valley with stiff climbs and bridges out each side.  To the west was Bridge number 9, the "Big Bridge" which was a multi truss affair:

To the east was the side by side bridges that carried the rail and road back towards Waimate as well as the start of the ruling grade up to McLeans (seen in the photo yesterday).

So already I had the idea that there were an additional 2 scenes that needed to be included to tell the story of the line.  It was a quick mental leap to decide that 3 scenes plus a fiddle yard equals a nice standalone 1 person layout perfect for exhibiting.  A quick CAD scribble confirmed that this was indeed a good idea.

While I was thinking about the layout and the exhibiting thereoff, my mind turned to how to support everything.  MMW modules are designed to sit comfortably on tables, but I wanted something more "leggish".  Remembering photos of tab and slot structures from the UK, I started playing around with some slot together leg structures that will clamp the endcaps together and hold the layout at a consistent height, yet be lasered so they can be produced accurately ad infinitum.  Here is the prototype undergoing testing:

So thats the civil engineering sorted.  The next things to discuss with 0-4-4-0T at a club night was rolling stock and operations.  My goal is to be able to run a B 4-8-0 (No 305) and Wf 389 (which was the mainstay back when the branch closed in the 50's) but maybe mix things up a bit by running a Red Dj to show "what might have been".  Wagons will be lots of J's (those sheep yards will need lots) plus your joe-average L and K wagons with a few interlopers thrown in.

SO!  Thats the thinking out of the way, tomorrow (with 0-4-4-0T's help) we can start looking at the revamping of the trackwork and the new baseboard.

Waihao Forks....Reborn!

Am_Fet blows the dust off his quill pen and writes:

Many of you will remember that ages ago (possibly in a previous geological epoch), I contracted the Civil Engineering arm of Dandruff Labs to build me a layout.  After much sweating and burnt fingers (who would be mad enough to try this Code 40 rubbish?), a layout was produced that looked a lot like this:

And then.....apathy set in.  And life.  And lots of other excuses to tedious to detail here.

Fast Forward to earlier this year.  11 years of working at KiwiRail had evolved into a full blown mid life crisis, complete with unemployment and wondering where life had gone.  0-4-4-0T of this parish, under the tutelage of Lord Druff, was making a damn good fist of laying his own track for his Conns Creek layout (which has featured here previously) and enjoying the process.  Somehow (and I've still got to get this right in my mind) he made me an offer I couldn't refuse.....to work in partnership to get the ailing Waihao Forks layout back under way.

SO.....here we are.  Work has been started and an exciting concrete plan has been formulated to create a "Roundy Roundy" layout for display.  Over the next few posts I'll bring everyone up to date with whats been going on and where we are aiming to get to in the near future.

As a teaser, here is an excellent photo gleaned from the Interweb (courtesy of the Waimo Hysterical Society) showing things sometime during the 30's.  Admittedly we will be setting the layout in the 50's (just before closure), but looking at photos like this it seems not a lot changed over the decades.

Next up....plans and philosophies.

Gadzooks! We're Credible!

Am_Fet writes:

Its interesting that whenever I think of "our" scale, I always get the impression that we are a minor side shoot lagging well behind the major juggernaughts of S and 9mm.....almost like the poorer and significantly smaller cousin.

Cabbage however, seems to have different ideas.  He quite frequently proclaims in a loud voice on street corners to startled passers-by that Nz120 is the scale of the future.  Sure, I snigger, and make rude pointing gestures towards him behind his back....

NO MORE......After todays wee episode I am truly a convert.

This morning this got placed on my desk with the question "Can you make it go?"

"Its....a box", I retorted, quoting Woody from Toy Story.

"No, can you make whats in the box go?"

So....what I have in my hot little hands is a factory built 1:87 scale DL made entirely from brass.  To make it move under its own power will require the sourcing of a self contained power bogie....investigations are not just continuing, they have yet to start.

And the reason?  Unless you missed it (I know I have), apparently rail in NZ is 150 years old this year.  To celebrate this milestone, KiwiRail are putting together a display train of old to tour the parts of the country the tracks still reach, and one of the display containers will include moving model trains.  I've been told the shopping list (to match the DL and Frateschi DX's) is for 10 container wagons, 10 log wagons and 10 milk wagons......

.....And this is when I thought "Where are we going to find those in HO?  It would be so much easier in nz120...."

TRUE STORY!

Its a pity theyve already decreed Nz120 to be too small for the display.  But even if you moved up to S for display you couldnt do it.  Your minimum radius would screw things for a start (I think we're already overstepping our bounds with a 600mm radius) and then once you factored in 2 DX's ($500 a pop) followed by 10 container wagons (thats another $400 without even trying) youd be well on the way to bankruptcy and the display train would end up consisting of a life size cutout of Jim Quinn on a Hi Railer....with a flag...

Take it as gospel....Nz120 IS the best scale to model modern image.  And I think we can all be proud that we've played a part in that.

Sunday Family Movie

Am_Fet writes:

Yet again, the rabid foamer community has come up trumps....maybe their habit of pointing cameras at everything that moves (and most of the things that dont) might not be so annoying after all.  Case in Point:  Already this morning the foamer jungle drums are beating as news comes out that 2 DL's will be running light up Westmere.......and I fail to see the point.  In a few months you wont be able to move without falling over one....in fact, I'd be more inclined to record DC and DXB movements.....

Whoops, let me dismount from my hobby horse...there.....Wow, everyone looks so much taller from down here....

While the Patea layout is progressing, planning is still moving forward on the Castlecliif layout made from MMW modules....in fact, I might even post some of my scribbles this week to put the latest design thoughts up for debate.

I did come across this gem however, and it shows quite well one of the movements the Castlecliff Line will support.  Here are "The Twins" (1267+1200) coming back from the terminus with a rake of containers.

As stated previously, working around this service will be the DSG and DSC shunt teams servicing the local warehouses and industries, of which the Castlecliff has (or did have) squillions.

The Field Trip (How not to do it)

Am_Fet writes:

After the sterling work so far on the Cheese Store Roundy Layout I had to face the fact that at some stage I would need to get to Patea (somehow) and get some photos from the correct angles and resolution that would allow them to be used for the "photo building" method.  A set of decent photos for the backdrop were also on the shopping list.

A chance comment by Drew a few weeks back spurred me into action.  He announced that the DL invasion was imminent and the chance to ride a DC might soon be gone.  Right then!  Operation "Last Chance to See" was underway!

Tuesday night found me ensconsed in the salubrious confines of the Capital Connection to Palmy where I had a midnight connection with freight 522 to New Plymouth.  After a pleasant evening playing trains in the ManSion, I was duly delivered to Milson depot at 11pm ready for the nights adventure.  Luckily the heater in the cab of 7186 worked well and with 7158 and 4692 on behind we made short work of getting to Whareroa and the joyous reunion with Drew who was down to take the train the rest of the way to New Plymouth.

After dropping off 7186 (which was down to run 537 back to Palmy in the afternoon) we headed to all points north.  Another stop at Stratford has us dropping off 4692 which was slated to run 52 shunt before heading back to palmy that evening on 521.

It was around about here that I fell asleep for 30 minutes or so, not having slept for the previous 24 odd hours.  Oddly enough, I'd slept through the same bit of countryside the last time I was through as well!  Apologies to all Inglewood inhabitants, but it possibly doesnt say much for the scenery....

The plan was for Drew to tie up 522 then drive back to Stratford to run 52 to Kapuni, but a complete lack of tonnage killed that plan.....so after service 7158 we headed for home and breakfast.

With the weather looking threatening, I made the call to pass on the chance to sleep and to head to Patea while we could.  As it was the weather was freezing, overcast and a bit damp, but I still took the chance to get the photographs that I needed while Drew just basically ran riot, occasionally yelling from a different part of the complex "I feel like I'm on Time Team!" and imitating ghost noises.

After getting the photos, we went on a general fossick trying to work out where the old buildings were and their uses.  The engine room took a bit of nutting out, and I still dont think we worked it out.  There are remnants of where the boilers poked through the walls, but where the attendant stuff went (coal piles, chimneys etc) is still up for debate.

Treasures found include

...finding the trolley tracks along the loading bank at the front of the complex were to the weird gauge of 2'6".

and this old wagon door with the intriguing lettering "R E" on the top.

After a bit of siteseeing (Patea river mouth, Tawhiti museum which was closed, Normanby diary factory, Te Ngutu Battle site where Von Tempsky was killed) it was back to Drews place for a few hours kip before being dropped back at Whareroa around 5pm for the trip back to Palmy on 521....and that elusive DC ride.

After 521 came a quick dash back to Welly on 229 with 4191 and crawling onto the couch outside my lab at around 2am for 6 hours kip before work Thursday morning.

SO.....that was the easy bit, now I've got to use the photos to make the backdrop and buildings!  ARGGHH!!

Workbenches of the World Part 37

Tonights workbench:  Cabbage from Marks Model Works.

Or.....maybe not.  Doh!

....Lost Control (Again)....

(Ian Curtis RIP)

 Am_Fet writes:

Way back in the dim dark past (actually here), I wrote about the idea of taking a layout "Off Grid" by relying on battery power to run the toy choo-choos.

 Its an idea that still intrigues, so today I started doing something about it. Cabbage had previously provided me with a circuit:

 

Today I found myself coming back from the Safety Shop in Petone (I was eligible for a whole swag of work clothes...after 9 years with KiwiRail who knew!) and decided to drop into our comms workshop in Kaiwhara to gently loot their electronics drawers (now mostly redundant).

5 minutes later (and a call to the Cabbage Support Customer Care Line) a wandered away with my little grab bag of bits.

Here I've got a 5K pot (a double one here, but thats fine), 2 LM338 Voltage Regulators, a tape of 1K resistors and a collection of knobs.  Next to source will be a DPDT switch for reversing and things will be ready for the next build night.

(BTW, the pot came from a draw labelled "Bow Thruster Sensor Relays"....so if an Interislander ferry hits anything, I know nothing!)

Look Ma, a Train!

Am_Fet writes:

This just in fresh off the satellite from tonights club meeting....

I am reliably informed that those present managed to scrape up a Df, 3 ZH's, 2 Ia's and an Ib....not a bad effort at all, really!

BIG happenings in Castlecliff...

Am_Fet wonders:

Is it time to change the operating parameters of the planned Castlecliff modular layout?

Oddly enough, it seems to have co-incided with the arrival of this on Peters layout:

Hmmmmm.......

Putting the Mockers on it....

Am_Fet writes:

With the threat of an impending public showing of Patea in its bare bones state, I got my skates on and spent a few hours during the week calculating the building dimensions from the pictures I had taken from a past visit.

Monday evening was set aside for a go at mocking up the buildings with whatever materials we could lay our hands on in the shortest period of time.  First up, tonights surprise guest:  An etched MMW OM wagon, complete with a piece of aluminium representing the tank:

So, without further ado, Cabbage and I leapt in with scalpels slashing and after a seemingly never ending supply of different materials, we had this:

I was slightly surprised how unimposing the buildings were and how they lacked some height when seen from this viewing angle.  However, the join between the backdrop and the baseboard is hidden behind all of the buildings (even the low one at the right) and we should be able to hide the rest with scenery.  Of course, this will look infinitely different once the backdrop is done and the final building added.

Here are the "buildings" in close up showing how we cut, hacked and ripped anything we could lay our hands on to get the general shape of each of the buildings in the complex.

And of course, this is how its supposed to look, as viewed from the cab of a passing DXB (apologies for the wiper blade...Doh!)

Finally, here are another couple of pics of the OM.  Cabbage has said its a low priority job to complete as there arent enough crazies to make it viable, so I might have to wait a while to do train 547 for the layout (I only really need 8).

"Hang on, let me just straighten it...." (graunch)  "Thats better..."

Patea in the Round: Dropping a Back On.

Am_Fet spurns writing reports for work and instead:

Another 3 hours in the top secret Stokes Valley Layout Building Facility has completed the structural elements of the Patea layout ready for the pretty bits.

So here are the photos:

You may remember this is where we left our intrepid heroes last week.  Surprise guest in the shape of young Tims DF.

All clamped up and no place to go.  The MDF backdrop has been screwed into side pillars and joined at the back.  The seam will be hidden by a photographic backdrop.

Cabbage investigates building Shrodingers layout (Is there really a train in there?).  In reality, marking out the proscenium arch for cutting.

Yes Virginia, Kilroy was definitely here.  The Arch glued and clamped on with 2" by 1"'s to hold it straight.  An exceptionally rough mock up of the Cheese Store is in place showing where it will sit and its height (not as tall as I'd thought!)

Viewed from the correct height (eyes level with the bottom of the arch) and the correct distance (600mm correct to at least 7 decimal places)

Viewed from behind showing the backdrop supports made from old layout legs and some excessive glue on the back of the arch.  I'm thinking we will need side wings to hide the ugliness from anyone approaching from an oblique angle.

An overall view showing how the wings make an attempt to hide the holes in the backdrop.

Cabbage and I also played with train lengths.  I had in mind the train I wanted to recreate (Train 528 consisting of Blue 7239, Black 4398 and a collection of 8 UK's, 2 CF's and a ZH) while Cabbage advocated that the train should have just disappeared by the time the loco arrived back on the scene.  By some weird quirk of fate, we found the length of the hidden trackage was an exact match for my chosen consist....score!

So that was it.....apparently its getting unveiled at next weeks modellers night, which could be a laugh.  Plus I'm making plans for a visit to play trains with Drew on the 10th, so if the weather behaves I should be able to get all the photos I need of the Cheese Store and environs.