The video evidence is here! Click on the links below...
Everything is running pretty smoothly, although there are a few minor electrical problems where, for example, the class 50 suddenly starts reversing without any changes from the controller. I'm not sure whether this is down to the DCC decoder or something else - it always does it at the same point on the track, which is a bit odd. Whatever the cause, I remain unconvinced by Hornby's DCC decoder. It will have to do for the moment. There are also a couple of dodgy curve transitions that I will need to look at before the lid goes on .
Before doing the test, I took some time to re-align the throat to the storage sidings on B1l/B2l. Aside from some re-laying of track to get rid of bad rail breaks, this involved a major decision: to join the track across section breaks, using rail connectors. Without the connectors, the alignment was just proving too difficult to get smooth. Now, the junction alignment poses no derailment risk, but I will have more work to do if and when I ever have to move the layout, because the baseboard sections are more or less fixed together. I just have to hope we don't move for a while...
Next step: put in some lighting and webcams along the storage sidings, and then rig up the control panel. Slowly but surely, I'm getting there.
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