Just a quick update, I have bought a small camera and sat it on a truck on my model railway, here's the first video from this experiment.

Click here to view

A lot has happened since the last blog. Firstly the girder bridge was getting in the way so it has been removed. The track to the sidings is now under cover, the inclined track is functional and has a station at the top so trains have a reason to go up there, a village is appearing in the back corner, a warehouse has been added and where the sheep were is now housing. Lots more needs to be done to tidy it up but the video will show some of the changes. Click here to view the video

Testing an incline

I have added an incline that leads to a high level siding at the back of the layout. After a few trial runs with boxes I have decided that the Woodland scenic incline gives a reliable surface to work with, compared to the boxes I was using before, although I haven't yet pinned it all down or covered it.

Here is a short video of a black 5 attempting the incline with a few trucks in tow.

More new track - Part 2

Continuing with the line at the back of the layout, the video shows how I am testing it as I build it up.

Click here to see the video.

More new track

The plan here is to create a hidden track that runs at the back of the layout, so one train can disappear and a different one can reappear from the same area. I am also hoping to put a high level track over this hidden one. The hidden track connects to the siding without returning to the main line and will be hidden by a retaining wall created from a Scalescene kit.

I have a plan to make level crossing look more realistic which I will reveal later.

One of the Points is on the edge of the board so it will need a surface mounted point motor which I will hide in a lineside hut.

Not sure when I will be working on the model next as I am hoping the weather will improve so I can get out.

Adding the next extension.

I have decided where to extend the layout and have purchased two points to use for the extensions. First problem was removing ballasted track to fit a point. I was able to pull it up and fit the point but the level wasn't right and I have had to pack a few bits of cork in place to level up the track. I ran a few engines over it and although it is not perfect the trains will pass over it without falling off the track. Re-ballasting will come later as it's not my favourite task.

As this point is at the front of the layout I will be able to operate it manually, so no point motor is involved. Here is a picture of a train over the point.

Help - what next

The more I look at the layout the more I realise I'm not making best use of the extra space available, so I am currently looking at alternative track plans which I could use without too much disruption in changing the layout. One plan involves an incline, so I am trying to construct one to see if locos will pull a load up it, or if it is too steep. Watch this space.