mick

It all just looks fantastic - and especially so with that bit of sunshine coming through onto the tracks. Can you send some of that our way please? The different levels are awesome, the suspension bridge stunning and the viaduct I can't wait to see in position. Really top notch all round - what more can one say....?

I logged on this morning remembering your post from a couple of weeks ago where you mentioned adding a O gauge circuit and was excited to see you'd recently made a further post. I was full of anticipation, expecting to see photos or even videos of that stunning Western circling the garden so I'm saddened to hear of the problems you've experienced but what's this? There's the possibility of you starting all over again in a new garden? You really are a glutton for punishment! Seriously though I'm sure the prospect of a house move must be exciting for you, providing of course that the garden is suitable for your needs. That is, of course, if you intend to continue your quest for a garden railway and that the new residence doesn't have a suitable indoor space that you could use. I've never run any of my O gauge loco's so can't really comment on their requirements regarding power supplies - in fact it's something I haven't even thought of. Perhaps I should try them as I have a couple of old Gaugemaster controllers that I no longer use, though I'm not sure what output they are. Interested to hear what your thoughts are regarding a new layout if that does indeed become a reality. Would you continue with OO, switch to O, or accommodate a combination of both? I guess it would all depend on the size and layout of the new garden? I was also interested to read that you had simplified the OO gauge section of your existing layout after the addition of the O gauge line. I've always believed that the simpler the the outdoor layout the better but have every admiration for those who decide to incorporate much more. I would never discourage anyone from building something complex if that's what they wanted but I know what an enormous task the upkeep can be. That's one of the reasons I opted for a predominantly single line with a minimum of pointwork outside.

On the 25th May I managed to catch a glimpse of LMS 6201 Princess Elizabeth at Hellifield station. 6201 was booked to take over 'The Pennine Limited' towards Carlisle upon its arrival from Norwich. I was on the hill overlooking Hellifield station to the rear. The train arrived at Hellifield worked by 47826 with 47245 on the rear. 47826 was removed from the front of the train and replaced by 6201 which is seen above ready to depart. And here's the train departing Hellifield and heading towards Long Preston and onwards to Carlisle with 47245 making up the rear.

While there's been no further visible progress on the layout I have managed to obtain photographic evidence enabling me to justify operating a Scottish themed model railway on a layout with a name suggesting a more Yorkshire location. A 'Scotrail' liveried class 158, minus the Scotrail branding, shortly after leaving Hellifield station. I've noticed this several times over recent weeks but never managed to grab a photo until this one. In fact I was lucky to get this because having noticed the unit working an earlier Carlisle to Leeds working, we worked out when it would possibly return towards Carlisle. Waiting at this bridge, along came the train but unfortunately it was a Northern Rail liveried 2-car unit and I lowered my camera only to discover that the Scotrail one was coupled on the rear! Quickly raising my camera I just managed to get this view of the rear car as it passed by. Anyway, that's my excuse for Scottish stock appearing on Worsley Dale.

This little chap, a young Great Tit, landed on our decking handrail and I had very little time to take the photo but quickly grabbed a camera and captured this shot through the window.

That's the type of scene I'd love to recreate. I've almost got the mountain. Scenes like that must be how many people fall in love with steam railways.

You've got that one absolutely spot on Chris! The background fence looks just like a warehouse. It's amazing what you can create outdoors with minimal scenic items and little effort. If only that blue sky would stay with us a bit longer.

It's time consuming, especially when you've a lot of track to clean but at least being raised off the ground it shouldn't get quite as dirty as track laid at ground level. You're lucky in a way that the layout is confined to one area and you can clean parallel tracks at the same time - without having to kneel down too which is a big bonus. I've found that rails tarnish to a greater degree when they're at ground level so there's obviously something down there that reacts with the nickel silver rails. Sadly there's not a lot you can do about the bird droppings short of deterring birds from the area. Someone told me that putting out a bowl of fine grit can be useful. Doesn't stop the birds messing but it does look more like ballast!

Now that's some bridge! It looks like being a 2-person job for moving around though and heaven forbid you should ever decide to relocate. What length is it overall? Counting your block pavings it looks to be about 170 inches or 14.1667 feet to be precise! (Google's your friend)

That's looking superb Thomas! What a difference it makes. My mountain is taking rather longer to complete as you've probably noticed but seeing you making such progress certainly spurs me on to do some more too. What are you using to create the landscape? I can see expanding foam around the tunnel portals - is there plaster/filler too? And the green landscape fabric, that looks to be in sheets? What adhesive are you using and are you confident it will all be weatherproof?

We've all experienced the lack of motivation at some point Shaun - in fact I think it comes with the hobby. The important thing to remember is that normally we all return to it a little further down the line so it's nothing to be too concerned about. I've always felt that once you've been bitten by the model railway bug it's something that never leaves you completely - at least that's my experience of it over the past 30 years or more - and I still don't have a layout that I can call complete! Anyway I'm pleased to hear you and your son have been operating together. The class 66 looks great and is ideal for the garden layout and it's good to hear I'm not the only one giving in to temptation. At £70 it's a great deal too considering the prices of many other models.

I could probably do with a 'mini-me' stuck up there Roddy as when I look at what's left to do on the layout I regularly feel like I've got a mountain to climb! Well unfortunately I've had little time to do anything further since my last update other than to add a bit more padding to my 'mountain'. I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with it even now but it's getting there and approaching the point where I'm going to have to add some paint and texture. The accompanying photo below may look very similar to previous ones but there's been work to the very top of the mountain and to the area above the tunnel portal. Had the weather been a bit pleasanter over the past couple of days then I'm sure there would have been further progress but all I wanted to do was stay indoors where it was warm and dry. There's also the fact that my knees are playing up and I've been finding it very difficult to get down onto the floor in order to work and excruciatingly painful to get back up again.

Great to see you back on the forum Jim and pleased to hear that the railway is still progressing. I think it's the first time we've seen an overall view of the layout as in the above photos and you've certainly got yourself a grandstand view of the action from the adjacent shed. You say it's a 'humble' effort but there's a heck of a lot of work gone into it and it all looks stable enough to me. Wiring isn't my favourite project either but it's an important task in order to achieve reliable running so don't skimp on it - just do a little at a time and it will soon all be done and you'll be glad you did it. Keep us updated on progress.

You're not kidding - I couldn't stress that enough. For anyone contemplating starting out with an OO garden railway it's got to be the belt and braces approach otherwise it's pants round ankles I'm afraid. I can understand people using insulfrog points but in my opinion nothing beats electrofrog and really, once you've soldered a link between the rails the only additional wiring needed is to the frog and doing that is becoming easier than ever with a range of 'autofrog' type options. It's worth the additional effort but may not suit everyone.

That's most unlike you Andrew! I normally rely on you to keep us posted with new photos. How are things with the layout?