Progress has continued throughout the year & all the track has now been laid & ballasted. A major change took place to the track plan during March when we decided that the middle 2 tracks should be removed to enable wider platforms to be installed. Another change that was made was the addition of extra DMU stabling at the far left of the layout to enable a greater flexibility for the branch line.
Wiring commenced (a mammoth task for 80+ points across 4 boards) & to date all the point motors have been checked & all the D –plug connections across the board joints are in place.
Control panels have been built & studs & probes added for point operation.
On the scenic front the back-scene artistry has begun & is progressing well off the premises. The right hand corner (near the water feature) has been wooded & grassed with the rock face cuttings installed which lead down to the station approach.
All of the track has been ballasted & the DMU stabling point has had concrete hard standing installed.
Work is now on hold until the middle of October as Newcastle by the Water is erected to check for faults & is spruced up for its next outing at Peterborough on Oct 15/16.
Whilst the 2 layouts were being swapped over we took the opportunity to make a structural change & redecorate the N Gauge section of the clubhouse, I am sure we would all agree this has resulted in a more open & spacious environment.

Looking from the bottom left corner which provides a view of the storage
sidings with the branch running over the top & the control panels