While waiting for the circuit boards for the new electronics to arrive, I have started work on the main structures. First is the station itself...
 The stone and timber viaduct along the beach has been built and the track fitted. All 3D printed, as usual. Cleanup and painting still required. The first part of the sea wall has also been done.
 Back at things again after a break... The timberwork and all the track are now done, although not yet finally installed. The track includes a simple road loop along Chyandour Cliff.
 The trackwork for the station area is now complete, all soldered together into a single piece. These are the live tracks, and additional dummy tracks for the rest of the loco depot and the headshunt / carriage siding next to the main line will be added as part of the scenery. The next tasks are cutting out the plywood trackbed to support it and attaching the electrical connectors to the underside of the track.
Since Penzance is a terminus station, departing trains need to be turned around so a reversing loop is necessary. The station also had a short turntable, before the loco depot moved to Longrock (Ponsandane) the next year.
The layout is now (more or less) finished. Some more scenic detailing, minor software improvements, and another 80-odd goods wagons are in the pipeline, but these updates will probably be delayed until model railway exhibitions resume again down here in Australia, hopefully sometime in 2021 .
 After considering several possibilities for the next layout, I have settled on pre-1914 Penzance. At this time the station had only 2 platforms, but still had its small loco depot with turntable and the single-track timber viaduct running along the beach.
The size will be 6' x 2' and the scale 1:480, the same as Dauntsey Lock. It will be set up for automated exhibition running, both passenger and goods. Chyandour Cliff will have working road traffic, mostly horse-drawn at this period.  The scenic detailing is nearly finished, just waiting for a few more odds and ends to arrive (people, better signals, etc.).
The layout now has 130 or so goods wagons, about 2/3rds of the final number.
 The first batch of goods wagons is nearly ready. Like the passenger stock, these are paper sides stuck onto a 3D printed body. Some cleanup is still required, but they look quite reasonable at any normal viewing distance. As usual, the closeups (below the fold) are cruel.
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May 2021
AuthorMartin Kaselis |
