This year on the occasion of the now traditional Christmas shopping, I killed two birds with one stone after convincing my wife and friends to go to Munich. Not bad at all, but being there I also had the chance of visiting the numerous shops for model enthusiasts and then, when I had more or less given up, I found that for which I had been seeking: a perfect copy of the background! I had had the problem of trying to finish the lateral parts of the background but my only possibility was to find the same article. After a few trials on my PC I was able to create the necessary inserts and the final result I feel is satisfactory also because as far as the colours, distances and height is concerned, I think it would be difficult to improve. The only adjustment that still needs to be done concerns the left hand corner (near the station) so that the contours of the mountain match perfectly (as they do on the right hand side) and to modify the cloud which finishes in a manner not altogether realistically...

For the movement of the points, after having evaluated some of the offers on the market, I decided to go for the slow-motored Tortoise. Having a fixed table I had a few difficulties to position and fix the motors underneath which I got around by means of the following method. Each apparatus was screwed on to a wooden plate which was then positioned under the points. After having inserted the needle into the eye of the mobile sleeper, the piece was then fixed by means of self-tapping screws (photos refer to the trials). As is described later, for the three track points in the tunnel, the motors have been positioned directly on the table, simply modifying the needle.

For the connections of the synoptic board I preferred using connectors rather than soldered joints in that I consider it to be a solution that is equally reliable but easily modifiable and adaptable to new needs. One important characteristic is that all connections can be effected from outside the model. Only when the final fixing of the panel is due do the connections between the internal mammut and the external wires need to be done. (The [not definitive] photos show some parts of the work in progress).

To do something different and to avoid stressing my eyes (well past their sell by date), I decided that the time was ripe to fix the tracks. This is a process of fundamental importance in the construction of a model. Among the various models I have seen, in many cases the tracks had been laid truly badly and with scarce attention to detail. When a train and its carriages jumps or has small sudden transverse movements, I start to shake my head. Even if two rulers and a few millimetric measurements would be sufficient to gain a straight line, who knows why, often it seems that the tracks are laid one after the other without recourse to even the classic line of sight (which, however, would still be insufficient for our purposes). As far as I am concerned, it is useless to have a marvellous train set moving around on terrible tracks because the only remaining memory will be that of a shuddering motion which is light years away from reality. Terminating this outcry it remains for me to say that the tracks were provisionally blocked by drawing pins which were gradually removed once the fixing, glueing and covering of gravel were effected.

Before the laying of the gravel however, another job, simple but of great effect, has to be done. Anyone who has given a glance at a real track of a real railway cannot not remember that except for the upper surface where the wheels pass, all the rest is rusty. To obtain the desired effect it is sufficient to choose a good quality paint and a colour that resembles most closely that of rust. Personally, I used Humbrol no. 113 diluted to 40%. To paint one coat of paint on approximately 18m. of single track, and bearing in mind that only one side was treated given that the other side is invisible, I took about 3 hours. In the photograph it is clearly evident the substantial difference between the coloured track and the original.