New Year - New Goals

2011 done and dusted and 2012 shaping up to a very busy one train wise. 

I have been thinking about what I should set my sights on for 2012 now that I am back in civilisation with a couple of hobby shops for bits and pieces (like fishplates, track pins, brass etc) and DIY shops for things like baseboard supplies and so forth.  The major improvement in my lot since starting this blog (and the previous threads on RM Web) is I now have access to my train shed - work on which is progressing to get it to the state I envisaged when it was erected in 2007!

So goals - the first one is to take a 2mm Finescale layout to the Darling Downs Model Railroad Club exhibition in June.  This is assuming they still hold it!  Must email them and ask.  Now before anyone says this is overly ambitious (particularly since Swallow's End hasn't progressed since I decided the track needed attention and I hadn't managed to get a working point on it!) it won't be as Amity reckons I should get around to building the rest of my W&U stock and building Elm Road to run it on.  So the challenge will in fact be to get a working J70 or Y6 tram (or two) done and dusted.  Of course, if worse comes to worse, there is the pair of Class 04s which can sub.  As this layout is merely an oval with no points (and either a cassette or traverser system for a fiddle yard) there is nothing complicated track wise to cause issues.

Second, get at least 12 UFOs done - one a month.  The list, in no particular order, is the Cartic4, my Royal Train (vinyl overlays from ERG), a Class 33 which needs repainting, DCC chipping my Blue Diesel fleet, my NSW C38 and VR K steam locos (so that gets me to May or June!   Must look at the box but will publish the list and then tick them off - lists help get things done I find).

Third - Swallow Street.  Long time readers will know this was the BR(S) third rail layout I build and chronicled on RM Web 3 in 2009.  They will also know I wasn't particularly happy with some aspects of it and it is now 2/3rds of the way to being scrapped.  I have plans to redo it - same track plan and scenic aspects but 1 1800mm board instead of 3x600mm boards thereby making it run much smoother.  I am tweaking the track plan in as much as I am putting in a single slip which will move some points closer to the station and hopefully mean one of the signals is easier to see by viewers rather than just the driver!

Fourth - well this is a surprise which will be revealed in the fullness of time!  A third layout (what I hear you say!) is a distinct possibility (well the Australian stuff will need somewhere to run won't it?) but I don't want to over reach (or fill up the shed too fast!)

Fifth - go over my layout which has been in storage for the last 4 years (last run in May 2008) and hopefully have some trains running by February.

Sixth - form a NGS/2mm/BRMA Area Group.

There - that, along with family and work should keep me busy!  Stay tuned and see how I go.