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For most of the photos on this page, you can click the image for a larger picture.

	September 2023 Dapol are making these smashing bracket signals. They don't have the problem with the single post signals as they are servo operated so you can be sure of what setting the signal is at. I've installed on near the canal bridge which was relatively straightforward. However I needed a bracket signal at the east entrance to the carriage sidings. It needed a dwarf arm on one of the dolls. Its a bit daunting to start to dismantle a brand new signal. Once the arm was removed, the bearing needed filling with a bit of 1/16" tube and a 1/32" tube inside it. Getting the arm attached to its operating while took a lot of patience.
	September 2023 In contrast, the bracket signal for the goods loop was much simpler to install.
	14/01/2024 The Metcalfe terraced houses were a stop gap. The kits are good but the exterior detailing could be so much better. In particular, the roofs are very unrealistic. I've been looking around for alternatives and haven't had a great deal of success. The Scalescenes kits are good but I don't particularly like the end finish of printed paper. I stumbled across the ChrisInDen web site who make a card kit for the Scalescenes terraced houses. . This saves all of the effort of cutting out the cardboard mounts, something I found out when I had to make some when I made a mistake earlier on. So I'm going to use a combination of the Scalescenes kit, the ChrisInDen mounts and Brassmasters etched windows. The latter really do make a difference - unfortunately they have stopped making them which is a pity. I'm going to use Plastikard embossed brick sheets to give a better texture. I first replaced all of the individual back walls (6 in all) with a sheet of 2mm ply. I shall also use a 1mm plywood sheet as a base. I found the Prittstick glue to be not very useful and am using a wood working glue in a Metcalfe bottle.
	14/01/2024 I wasn't very happy with the signal box at the junction and have been looking around for a replacement. I spotted a kit at the MMR models stand at the Manchester model railway show and bought one. This is a nice little kit and well thought out. Now I need to add the interior and it would be good to have some point rodding.
	January 2025 Having been avoiding the gantry for some time, I thought it was time to get a move on. I thought it was going to be a nightmare to try to set up the servos under the baseboard so I've cut a hole in it and made a piece to fit. 2 supporting pieces underneath give it something to sit on. 1/16" guide tubes have been glued into the cut out piece. Now I have to make 4 operating tubes of 1/16" that will connect the operating links to the servos.
	Point Motors Right at the beginning I decided that I didn't want solenoid motors as the motion is too quick. I started off by using Tortoise motors. These have been 100% reliable - my only criticism is that in some places with a sticky point they don't have enough strength to push the switch blades fully over. The operating wire just bends. I've had no problem with contacts. I was seduced over to the DCC Concepts Cobalt point motors and have a lot of these. They have not proved to be reliable especially the early ones. The 2 in the photo are both dead. The top one just clicks endlessly at one end of movement; the other just whirrs and doesn't move. I'm experimenting with the MTB motors and initial results are good. The use a solid operating rod and have fixed 3 of my slightly sticky points where the Cobalt motors gave up. I'm using the 6mm throw which gives good, positive results with PECO points. I like the way that they can be adjusted once screwed in position.
	The terraced houses are coming on. These are a lot dirtier than the Metcalfe ones I build but they remind me of my summer holidays in South Shields in the early 60s when everything seemed to be more grimy. I need to add the gutters and downpipes.
	I bought some servo mounting brackets some time ago and one has had a slight modification before being glued to the underside of the cut out piece. With the servos installed, I've bent some 1/32" brass tube to make the operating links.
	Next job is to remove the operating tubes. I then filed a narrow slot at the top of the tube so I could see the inside of the tube. The tube was then installed again and the operating wire was inserted into the operating tube. These excellent servo control boards (from GF Controls) have a safe setting which sets the servo mid range. Making sure that the signal is set midway, a touch of flux is applied to the slot in the tube and a quick touch of solder fastens everything in place. Once all of the servos were connected up, I could check that everything was working before installing the gantry in the baseboard

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