It’s high time for a layout update, and you may remember back in the summer I did a roundup of Langstead’s complete story from start to finish…
…At the end I hinted towards what was happening next: Construction of two new upper tiers, a tube station and a small yard above that. So let’s back peddle slightly to how I arrived at the picture above.
Those of you following me on Twitter will have no doubt noticed a few dramatic developments on my layout of late. Whilst these will be worthy of their own posts as they advance, I thought now would be a good time to take stock of my layout thus far and see how it’s progressed over the 2 years I have been working on it.
August 2012 marked my return to the hobby I took up in my teens after I rediscovered my old models on a visit to my parents loft. At the time I lived in a shared flat, meaning I couldn’t have anything too permanent, however a plan started to develop…
So I realise there hasn’t really been a layout update since May! The last you will have seen is the work I undertook to permanently fix my two base boards together by building a new underframe.
This enabled me to properly complete the ballasting over the gap between the two boards as seen here…
You may notice that there are two types of ballast here. The reason behind this dates back to the expansion project I undertook last year when I happen to use a different type of ballast on the outer loop. For consistency purposes I’ve re-ballasted the entire layout using this new mixture.
Today I drastically changed my layout. Not in a way that has changed the track plan nor altered the scenery as I have done in the past… No, today I joined my two base boards together.
Why is this such a drastic change? – I hear you cry. And for those just joining this story (and hello, by the way) you might be wondering why my layout was in two halves and wasn’t joined together already?
Original design concept showing how the track would be laid across two boards.
Well all the way back at the beginning I implemented this design for two main reasons: Continue reading
OK, it’s been a little while and it’s time for an update. As always, here’s a reminder of how things looked last time...
Well, sort of last time, this picture was taken before I added the 2nd bay platform to the station under the bridge (Langstead Junction) seen here top left bellow the speaker. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture after this was done, and before I’ve done some more work. But anyway, you get the jist… Continue reading
Calling All Stations 