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I was doing some much needed work in the garden a couple of days ago and took the following photos to show the current sorry state of Worsley Dale. After removing the roof of the tunnel and the tunnel portals in order to relay the track beneath, one of my favourite spots for taking photos now looks like this. And from the other end:- I'm not happy with the roofing felt as the edges have come unstuck in this area - probably due to the fact that it did nothing but rain for weeks on end shortly after I had completed it. It was also a piece of cheap felt that isn't of the same quality as that I used previously. It shouldn't take me too long to get all this back in order and the track wired up to the power bus that you can see running through the tunnel. And just look at the state of my poor overbridge! Yes, those 3 segments were my bridge but they are to be replaced by one similar to the one I've used in the attic though cast in resin rather than stone.

Yes, it's a shame I'll be covering most of it up when I get round to landscaping. I could do with sourcing scenic materials in similar colours. I'm hoping so too Andrew. It's been fine so far but I've got a heater up there if ever I need to use it. To date I've not had to - just light the log fire downstairs and it's cosy. The drawback to that on my part is that I would have to keep putting stock on track and taking them off at the end of the session which is not my idea of a fun time. I've got at least 16 full length freight wagon sets and that's before I even start thinking about passenger stock. At least in the attic I can make use of them all and leave the majority of them on track all the time. 

The scenery is looking good in those dark colours, Mick, and the whole thing is coming on impressively.  I hope you can keep up the good work even if/when the weather gets colder. It was interesting to see your comment a couple of days ago: and the whole point in building a layout up in the attic is to run all those trains I've been hanging on to for years and which wouldn't fit in anywhere else. That well sums up my reasons for building a garden railway - nice long trains, and of course the scenery is already there.  Anyway, each to his own.  It's great to be able to follow your rapid progress, and to see the videos.        

It took me a bit longer than I had anticipated due to my delayed start but I've finally managed to get 'almost' all the droppers added along the entire scenic length of the layout and connected up to the power bus. I say almost because just as I'd put the soldering iron away I noticed a short length of track between two sets of points that I had overlooked so that's a task for tomorrow. As a reward to myself I managed to locate my set of HEA coal hoppers and placed them on track for a quick run as a change from the usual MGR's. I wasn't sure how many I had altogether as some were in boxes and others were in a tray in the shed but I've put together a rake of 38 all in Railfreight livery. I've coupled them up to the class 66 for a short video though I think it's unlikely we would have seen a full set in that livery behind an EWS class 66 loco. My personal recollections of them were almost always behind a class 37. This rake of wagons will be modelled in loaded condition once I reach the stage where I can concentrate fully on the rolling stock. Sorry about the picture quality - I think I need better lighting above the layout!  

The improved weather over the past couple of days reminded me that I still have the ground level track on the outdoor layout to finish off and I would do so if it wasn't for wanting to get the attic layout completed too! I think the outdoors will have to wait for a while until it's warmer - it won't come to any harm. I'm also looking forward to running trains outdoors again - as I said earlier they look so much better in natural outdoor lighting. It's a bit of a late start but I'm going into the attic shortly to continue with my soldering duties.

Thanks Mick,                               I do like my profile picture hopefully I can buy one from Hattons when there released I have started my a few winter repairs on my outdoor layout  as the temperatures have been reasonable the last few days looking forward to running trains again in spring time.

Thanks Dean. I've been collecting the wagons for a number of years just waiting for the opportunity to run them somewhere. There have been times when I thought it might never happen and I'd be selling up without ever getting the chance to put them on track again so that's really the motivation I've needed to return to the attic layout. Without a lot more space it wouldn't be possible to run them outdoors due to the length and number of roads required for stabling them. It would be great to see them outdoors but it's just impractical to be putting them on and taking them off track all the time. The attic gives me the opportunity to run them of course but when you compare videos taken up in the attic with those taken outdoors I don't think anything compares to the delights of a garden railway. By the way, you've been quick on the draw with the profile pic!