MichaelW

Hi Jeff, I go away for a week, and it's taken me the best part of two more to catch up! Progress is still looking good. I think you do need something above the tunnels - the photo's of Blea Moor tunnel may not show anything, but then it is forestry land around the tunnel mouth, you have open moor, which will have livestock, so you'll need something to stop them from sleeping on the track...

Looking at that last annotated photo Jeff, I think the wall at the edge of the open fell should stay at roughly the same height (which means it would cross the railway around the tunnel portal), rather than dropping down into the valley. The path would cross the wall and continue on down across the lower fields, passing near (as opposed to next to) the building, and crossing the bridge. Just a thought. I've been topographically planning the scenic boards on Faux Malton this evening. That's after I found and sorted the bits of wood I'd cut for them this time last year...

On that basis Jeff, you may need to add a couple more walls running up the hill to the one running along the fell. Of course they could have been allowed to fall down...

Or lose the centre wall just on the top of the fell - there are more walls lower down, generally with a change of vegetation...

Oh, and another thought - air vents could be quite close to the end of the tunnel, it all depends on where the easiest access to dig the tunnels could be found. I can think of a couple which are within two hundred yards of the tunnel mouth.

Hi Jeff, Nice to see the grass progressing, the fell is getting a lot more definition now it's not just a single colour. I like the idea of a sheepfold on the fell, but the one you pictured is quite big, which is fairly typical of ones you see in valleys. Up on the tops they tend to be smaller as they are intended for the sheep to shelter in when the weather gets interesting. Down in the valleys the profusion of walls would give them plenty of scope for finding shelter, high up on the open fells, there are few walls, and generally little natural shelter for them. Of course, these days the sheep are hard pressed to fit in them as they all tend to be full of walkers enjoying their lunches (and when the walker is only wearing a mankini, they wouldn't want to be near anyway!). Oh, and I agree, Spot is a silly name for a sheep. It is of course a name for a zebra. I'll get me coat...

Morning Jeff, Those walls look really good. Took me a while to spot that the brown hillside had turned green behind them. Must mean everything is blending well!

And just as importantly, Peco track! The change to marcway points and matching track certainly made a big difference!

Well, I think it may be safer just to give a link. After all, it is some $%*ss!

Have you been at the g*@!s again bodgit? Or were you just constructing the land this evening? Having said that, I've been playing with dead stuff on my 009 modules... [*photo has been censored as unsuitable for publication on Kirby Luneside *]

Hi Jeff, Been catching up again. All the hard work you've been putting into the ballasting and ashing has certainly paid off, the last picture looks really good!

Quiet! Quiet?!?!?! You think I've been Quiet? Hmmm... you may have a point.... You're making good progress Jeff. Your dedication to the boring task of ballasting your wonderful trackwork is impressive. I look forward to seeing the results of your latest experiments...

Gah! I wish I'd read this before I did the ballasting for my latest layout... As with all clever things, it's so simple, and so obvious, once someone lets you know how. Glad to hear you're still enthused and progressing Gordon. I thought you'd gone back to golf in the good weather

We'll have less of the "old" please Jeff! Young whippersnapper Lune

I hadn't realised the photo you were referring to was of Ribblehead post singling, it does make sense that the extra width available with a singleline on a double track viaduct would be used to make a 'safe' walkway for staff - it would also form a refuge for anyone caught on the viaduct as a train went past. I wonder if pictures of the other viaducts on the line give any idea of what the ballast should look like? I know we were looking at ones near Dent for inspiration when you were doing the ground around the viaduct - do any of them show the track? I've found the page I linked to originally, and what do you know, photo two on this page shows exactly what we are looking for - what the ballast on a double track viaduct looks like - normal ballast all the way to the parapet walls.