Fordwich has something of the "cat's nine lives" feel at this point. After the initial burst of activity back in April, I've repeatedly lost interest in it, to the point that I was recently considering giving away or binning the baseboard. I'm not sure why I've found it such a battle. Perhaps it comes down to Fordwich's original conception as a Peco Rail 200 entry, as the need to fit peco's rules meant I wasn't building the layout I wanted, but rather what the contest required. The bridge also took an age, and was not fun to build in the slightest.
The decision to pull out of the competition provided a temporary boost, but fitting a cameo presentation around the existing board and scenics felt like a bodge, and I couldn't quite figure out what the layout was meant to be if not a rail 200 diorama. It never had a fiddle yard, and the deliberately-low bridge prevented me from running most of my SECR locos.
The layout sat idle for some time, until Saturday morning, when I felt a random urge to see if it still worked. I grappled with how to run trains on a layout with no fiddly area for a few minutes, before having something if an epiphany - I'd been thinking of the layout as a mini version of Rye Sands, but the tiny heashunt made operating it in the same way completely impractical. I realised that it was better seen as a twin tuning fork, with the two sidings being shunted separately, a bit like how model railroaders "spot" individual wagons in specific locations, rather than my usual "run train on, change the order, and run train off" style.
I also realised that Fordwich makes a perfect home for my growing collection of 0-4-0 shunters, and should be better seen as a home for this specific niche of stock, rather than as a SECR layout.
After a frenzy of activity over the last two days, the layout now has a fiddle yard, with a cassette system. This does allow trains to run around, but this provision was made more for flexibility, rather than being a central part of how I will operate.
In a moment of serendipity, whilst contemplating how best to power the cassette, I pushed it up against the end of the track and got a shock... it turns out I accidentally made the cassettes with a sufficient overhand on the aluminium L profiles for them to rest on the copper clad sleepers. The L profiles are also a smidge too wide, but this means they lock nicely with the end of the rails - alignment and power on one! I don't know if it'll work long term, but it seems ok for now.
I also repainted the baseboards in a pale green (it looks less putrid in person) as I felt the grey was a bit oppressive, and draws the eye too much. The green has the benefit of blending nicely with the murky colour of the riverbed, which makes the edge of the layout harder to make out.
The layout is now at the point that I can start doing scenics, which will be the first time I have reached this point with a layout in some time. Rye Sands didn't have much in the way of greenery, so I'm looking forward to getting to play with the static grass applicator!
I feel a renewed sense of enthusiasm for this project. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster to get to this point, but I'm glad I persisted. Hopefully it won't be such a long wait for the next update!
