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So after the attic build and the baseboard construction were complete it was time to start laying some track. Now apart from the main central part of the layout which would be similar to CandO (itself based on Church and Oswaldtwistle (as was)) the rest would be a total freestyle and I had a couple of ideas in my head.
The right side was obvious really as it would only be a return loop...



....whilst the left side was a bit more of a conundrum. I obviously wanted a running loop all around the outside but wanted some sort of fiddle yard or sidings in the middle. After lots of messing about with various ideas I finally settled on a final design which I hope will be very accommodating for the layout. Please note the track in the following pics is just placed in its location so is not cut to actual lengths as yet...

The first laying of track incorporated a very large fiddle yard but after a bit of thinking i decided there were too many tracks and points thus access at the bottom end would be way too complicated within the space available.



The second plan stumbled upon was more to my liking but still seemed to lack something....



A few tweaks (and a scratchbuild!!) later and I arrived at something I was generally happy with and which would basically be my final laying.



I hope you can see what I am trying to achieve and any comments will be obviously be gratefully received

So there now follows a few pics showing the layout as I think it will probably end up. I'm hoping the points in the sidings will be adequate for all the engines to navigate but if not I may need to invest in the medium ones. Like before the gaps in the track in places need filling but more track needs to be purchased.

I'm hoping to at least get some trains running this month but time is very precious atm and with a new grand-daughter due in around two weeks it may be a little hectic over the summer

Hope you've all enjoyed my progress so far!