Many thanks for all the comments and likes.
So, deep breath...
I can't deny that the announcement received on Saturday that Cessy-en-Bois was no longer a contender in the Challenge prompted a complete and immediate loss of mojo followed by a long night of reflection during which I decided to revisit my original motivation for the project starting with the initial entry form, moving onto the status report and finally reviewing all of the posts I'd made here and on
l'autre side.
As I did so I came to realise that I have long and most wanted a shunting puzzle layout and that it wasn't the Challenge deadline that was spurring me on, it was and is the desire to have a completed shunting puzzle layout that I can take pride in, enjoy and tinker with over time.
And what hit me like a brick wall was the realisation that I now felt free of both the time pressure and the constraints (meaning the necessary elements for the layout to be considered a Cameo) imposed by the requirements of the Challenge.
But on the flip side, I don't want to start to drift and never finish. I want to be able to pursue all of my other interests and activities that have been on hold over the last several months without that sense of reproach that unfinished projects seem to emanate. You may know what I mean!
So, I reassessed the amount of work left to complete the layout according to the original plan and I spent a lot of time assessing what features I might want to add/modify/remove, if any.
Here's what I came up with...
With the area around the mess room and weighbridge complete, the following tasks remain:
- Complete the scenic strip along the front of the layout
- Complete the goods shed and surrounding area (which is relatively small given most of the available space will be occupied by the large shed building)
- Weather the stock and fine tune the couplings
- Add a clear perspex front screen/layout name sign (already made)/translate Arduino menu options into French (currently all in English)
- Complete the storage sidings and traverser
As to any modifications, I really would like to improve the design for the traverser. The original plan specified a simple, manually operated sliding tray that would have been quick and easy to build (I already have the slider mechanism) but I would really like to build an Arduino controlled turntable having been motivated by
this over on
l'autre side. And maybe with some low relief buildings to create something a little less functional and a bit more interesting - a form of cameo within a cameo perhaps?
And I have some inklings for other changes I'd like to make but need more time to consider these further.
So, suddenly, by changing my focus slightly, I'd managed to turn my complete lack of mojo on Saturday into feeling fully motivated again on Sunday and eagerly looking forward to the next steps.
As to those next steps, my primary focus will be to complete the outstanding tasks by the end of April, with the exception of the storage sidings. They aren't needed for a fully functional Inglenook - the scenic section is all I need to be able to run the shunting puzzle. I can add the storage sidings later and with them the added operational interest they'll bring. I had always committed to completing the layout in April and I've always worked in deadline driven fields and have taken pride in meeting my deadlines - so I don't want to let myself down now by failing to meet that commitment, even if it's no longer important.
Then I will take a break (coincidentally or perhaps providentially some friends have proposed a trip to the Yorkshire Dales in early May) to ponder the development of the storage sidings.
But...for me the Challenge has ended. The spell has been broken and I just don't find a do-over of the Challenge next year at all appealing and I'm out of contention for this year. So it makes sense to discontinue this thread as a Challenge entry and I've asked the WT admins (thank you Adrian!) to move the thread to the Layout Progress forum where I will continue to document the completion and any further development of the layout.
So, it's not
Adieu! but
Au Revoir!