Chaos at home ...

It's been pretty manic recently. After a plumbing leak a few weeks ago, we've had the decorators in doing the lounge, and the house has been turned upside-down. While it's nice not to be doing the decorating myself, it has still meant limited work on the layout. Having said that some evenings forced to sit in the dining room has provided the oppotunity for some painting! Also we bought a new Computer just before Christmas, which was great apart from a persistant fault. After weeks of wating hours on the phone to technical support, we've sent it back (tip - don't buy a Dell!) which has meant another distraction from the layout.


Before the builders moved in I did get chance to realign some of the uncoupling magnets, which should make them more reliable. If they are off-centre to the track both couplings swing the same way, rather than apart. While I had the board on it's back and the hot-glue-gun out, I tidied up the wiring. I used bits of wire tags, dozens of which seem to be used to attach children's toys to their card packaging, though the sort that come with freezer bags or just offcuts of wire would do. Attach them to the board with a spot of hot-glue, and when solid twist around the cables. This prevents them getting snagged when the board is moved, and keeps things tidy.

Last Saturday I took my little boy to the Brighton Modelworld show. It's the first time I've been to that show, and from a model railway point of view it isn't great. The layouts are scattered through the multiple crowded halls of the venue, however there were some nice layouts (including the Sussex Downs group's Everleight - sorry I didn't have time to help out guys!) and the other models - cars, boats, planes - were interesting too. My 2-year-old loved it, though I got pretty tired from lifting him up! Also taking photos was pretty difficult, so here are just a few shots to give you a taster.

Unfortunately, with a family do this weekend, and another business trip next week, I might not be able to do much on the layout. I do need to pull my finger out though, as the show is on the 7th March! I haven't even made the layout legs yet - but I have bought the wood!!