A long break without posting anything, but work on the model railway has continued. I got a lot done during the COVID lockdown, but waiting for certain parts and materials to arrive in Kenya from UK often slows me down.
The shanty town has really developed and, like real life shanty towns, continues to grow haphazardly. I've installed some lighting.
The lake scene is now quite well developed, with cliffs overlooking the lake, a steamer coming in to dock at a stone jetty, hippos and crocodiles basking by the lakeside, and a dozen or so flamingos which I haven't yet fixed. The lake itself is made of old pieces of glass.
The desert airstrip and station scene is pretty well developed, still adding details - indeed the addition of details on the whole layout will continue for many years to come. There's always something more than can be added or changed. Semaphore signals are in place to protect the station, but they're not remote controlled.
I'm now concentrating on the main loco depot and the posher area of town which overlooks it, including the Catholic church and some Cape Dutch architecture. I'm waiting for a parcel to arrive from UK with a few more houses in it.
I'm also gradually developing a small industrial area as a transition between the town and the shanty town, with the coaling stage in the foreground. I'm scratch-building low-relief warehouses and have ordered a factory chimney kit and an industrial scenic backdrop. On other parts of the layout I've already mounted rural scenic backdrops from Australia, which feel more African than the European or north American backdrops. The Aussie ones are not cheap, mind you!
I've struggled with mounting points motors under the baseboard, but now I have some side-mounted points motors which I hope will be easier to fit. I've got a couple of points working manually with long wires in plastic tubing, and I plan to do one or two more like that, the ones which are nearer to the operating console but still too far to reach comfortably. I'll gradually start connecting up the colour light signals to the control console.
I've decided to have a small narrow gauge (OO9, 9 mm gauge) feeder line running into the main station, with a siding into the goods yard. It'll add a bit of variety. I've just ordered a small narrow gauge diesel loco and some other bits and pieces; again I'm, waiting for them to arrive from UK.
I've received a replacement engine for my Garratt, so one day I'll fit that and get it operating. I've also received a couple more British-pattern steam locos which have a vaguely African feel to them.
Not much progress on the main station and town, but I've decided to use MDF for the platform, nearly 2 metres long, as we've had some wardrobes fitted and there's plenty of this good quality board left over.
