I mentioned it the other day, but the length of the W1 shows up any unevenness in the rails and in one particular spot where I had obviously been too greedy with starting the slight incline leading to the viaduct, there was a distinct slowing and slipping.
Two hours later the two stretches of double track have been lifted, new track laid (no dip), tested, painted and ballasted. It’s going to take ages to dry at this time of year so I may put the heater on overnight to allow me to weather the new sections.......again.
2021-12-18_12-54-17 by
Steve Mumford, on Flickr
There is a small irony that I sent the loco down the branch line by accident - that goes up and down like a scenic railway (I was going to use a more colourful phrase) and the loco sailed through as if it was on a billiard table!
The memsahib is out with our daughter all day tomorrow so I may be able to spend some (uninterrupted) time adjusting the joints over the lift out section.
What is really frustrating with the board joints is that they were perfectly aligned, tested, then tested again before ballasting, then tested again - I suspect a combination of cold and damp weather is having an effect.
I had made the layout semi-portable, really so that I could lift a board to work on the underside. In reality, once the wiring was completed, I haven’t yet, needed to move a board so I am resigned to replacing two or three inches of track at each joint if and when they play up.