Part four (continued from Part 3).

March 2008 was a milestone. The lower level track was laid, wired and working. Scenery had been started. At this point it could be useful to look at some behind-the-scenes features of the layout.

Point control is manual, using the same system as we have used successfully on Chasebury. Cheap and reliable, it allows points to be operated from the front or the back. The slide switch controls the polarity of the crossing as well as locking the blades to one side or the other. The studding allows the control rodding to be screwed in and adjusted easily; it's available from Homebase among other places. Two points were at an angle to the baseboard edge, requiring a small modification as the movement was not parallel to the baseboard edge.

There's nothing unusual about the wiring. The common return principle is used. On the lower level there are only 4 power feeds to the track (including to the fiddle yard). One feature we've found very useful over the years is to have a track diagram under the baseboard. That makes later wiring or fault finding so much easier. When holes are drilled through the baseboard for wires, marks are made. These marks can then be joined as a sort of dot-to-dot puzzle. There is a separate circuit for the uncoupling electromagnets, which will also be used for the upper level. The plan is to use 'B & B' couplings, with their delayed uncoupling facility.

The cassettes are the result of looking at other layouts at shows and plenty of thinking. The aluminium angle 'track' strips overlap the ends of the wood base. They can then rest on the angle guide section, controlling the height and side control. The two brass strips have the effect of gripping the cassette and passing current. Plastic strips just under 16mm wide make it easy to move stock sideways in the cassette so it can be railed very easily (this is not our idea; it came from Mike Bell, the former Chairman of the E.M. Gauge Society Ltd).