Hi Nick.

Two things about the track really - I don't particularly like the way I finished it. It looks bit messy to close scrutiny, and has not worn well so far. Mounting the track on sellotape sticky fixer strip as a base was not a good idea on reflection. Some of the track has lifted as I only lightly ballasted the easitrac.

Secondly, the turnouts I can now make now are a lot better, stronger and more reliable.

The running problems are partly in the turnouts and in the stuff I'm running, as well as the dirt which has accumulated over the year and some rail expansion/ movement.

The Union Mills tenders, even though the wheels have been reduced to FS standards, are still occasionally in conflict with the existing pointwork, even though b2bs and rail clearances seem accurate.

A feature of 2mm is that it seems far more sensitive to such things than larger scales.

Thirdly if I started again I would use Templot more effectively for a more flowing and natural look. I would also extend the layout by another foot or so on the tunnel approach and use a lightly curved baseboard.

I also think that other aspects of this build could be improved - my buildings for example, are ok but window frames could be etched and as a result look much neater.

So ripping up the track would be perhaps too labour intensive to justify keeping the layout at all !

Balanced against this however is the amount of research / work put in to make it resemble the prototype reasonably well, even with the usual compromises.The biggest feature for me is the 3D historical reconstruction of a Midland Railway station which no longer exists, which means more or less mission accomplished, as a static model at least.

Regards,

Chris

It is a problem when you do anything that you realise how it could be improved by using a different medium/method/etc. These are things to memory bank for next time, or it really could become a vicious circle!