Wednesday 26th March 2024

Worklist: Complete stonework on bridge extension. Add scenery to new sidings.

Stephen continued to work on the new stonework. Once completed, the coping stones were glued in place.

Meanwhile Geoff removed half of the fence between the station and the new sidings. The insulation blocks were trimmed to shape and newspaper strips glued down with PVA.

We were surprised how natural the new point and sidings looked once the fence was removed - no longer something happening through a hole in the fence. The final task of the day was to mix some brown paint into the remaining PVA and paint the newspaper (sorry - no photo) , which enhanced the scenery further.

Monday 17th March 2024

Worklist: Progress bridge extension, paint the new track, start forming trackside ground levels.

Stephen was disappointed with the coping stones he'd produced the previous week and decided to remake them. Happy with the new pieces, the plywood bridge parts were glued in place.

The new Slaters coursed stonework was then assessed, but no exact 'match-up' was possible, so the walling was laid in a few strips. Some cutting and carving of stones might be possible to reduce the look of the joint; if not, option 2 is a pier and option three is rambling foliage.

Meanwhile, Geoff mixed some paint and worked his way over all of the new trackwork.

The short siding.

The long siding board, still on the rack.

He then cut up some rigid insulation and started to infill the trackside areas.

The area is coming together nicely. Ballasting next week?

Wednesday 12th March 2025

Worklist:

Fit the point and uncoupler units. Assemble bridge extension parts.

Geoff had been busy making up the MERG units in the comfort of a warm kitchen. There were some differences with the original batch, but they made assembly easier.

Finding spare 3D printed servo holders and bracket-arms for the points and uncouplers wasn't easy and entailed a trip to the loft. Enough for the 2 points and 3 uncouplers were eventually found. Fortunately, Geoff had taken assembly photos which made the job easier.

Holes were drilled for all of the anticipated wire-ways.

The installed servos were then tested with the fine adjustment unit and everything worked beautifully.

Meanwhile, Stephen assembled the 9mm plywood components for the bridge extension that he'd made at home. Adjustments were required, but it all went together quite well.

A batch of coping stones were made and glued in place, together with a ground profile. The siding stops well short of the bridge, so we see the ground rising quite high on the face of the bridge. 

Piers are planned to cover most of the vertical stonework joint. None of the extension pieces will be glued in place until the plastic stone sheeting has been glued on. 

Wednesday 5th March 2024

Worklist: Fit the three siding magnets.

The uncoupling magnets need to come up reasonably close to the underside of the track, so holes are required in the plywood base. The position of the magnets was carefully assessed to suit operations and avoid any framework underneath. 4 holes were drilled in the corners, then a small handsaw was used on the sides, before cleaning up using an electric file. 

The printed circuit board track is laid on thin cork, but as the Peco track sleepers are thicker than the printed circuit board track, it is laid directly on the plywood base. When everything was aligned, the Peco track was pinned down.

Thin card squares were slipped under the track where there were magnet holes. This will support the ballast which is laid later.

The completed new trackwork

The long siding has been given two uncouplers in case something needs to be left at the very end. Note: the Peco 0-16.5 Flexitrack sleepers were separated and moved to a more realistic spacing. 

Geoff is ordering more servos for the points and uncouplers and had purchased two of the 4-servo Merg controllers, which he will assemble in due course. Stephen had purchased more Slaters coursed stone plastic sheeting and will make a mock-up structure to extend the bridge over the new front board unit.

We were pleased to hear this week that Chris and Ted, who helped to operate Worton Court at the Birmingham NEC show in 2024, are available for the Aldershot show in October 11/12 2025. It will be great to have them on-board again.

Farnham MRC show at Aldershot