In my most recent post, I concluded with the comment that my biological clock is ticking, and indeed it is!
Philip's Creek, in one form or another, has now been in existence for almost 30 years. As I am now 70, I probably won't have the opportunity to invest another 30 years on the layout. I don't want to be morbid about this but I recognise that my remaining time is limited. I'd like to get the layout substantially complete in or about the next five years so that I can enjoy it before my energy, enthusiasm and/or capability fall away.
This is not the first time my biological clock has impacted on my railway modelling. For most of my early life, my family lived at Normanhurst, a northern suburb of Sydney. My father fixed my train set to a board in the garage creating my first model railway layout. The only problem was that it was hinged on the wall and could not be used when the car was in the garage, so everything had to be unpacked and then repacked each time I wanted to run my trains.
In 1969, my parents decided to move to a bigger house in Wahroonga, an adjoining suburb. The bonus for me was that there was a small room available under the house where I could set up my layout permanently. I quickly took advantage of this and built a new layout including basic scenery. However, my lack of planning led to frustration and within the space of about 12 months, that layout was also dismantled. A third layout was constructed to the point where track was laid and trains could be run but there was no scenery. But then, the biological clock interposed and I started to focus on members of the opposite sex. I also learned, very quickly, that mobility was a key enabler for that pursuit. Consequently, I also had to learn how to maintain and repair old cars, a task much simpler then than these days. Very quickly, the layout and 'train room' became a storage area for car parts and spares. A few years later, the uncompleted layout was dismantled and packed into boxes. It took quite a few more years to work through that biological clock impact and get back to modelling.
Coming back to now, so what do I mean by "substantially complete"? The following is a summary of the tasks I'd like to complete to achieve that state.
This is the largest single job and work is well underway. It was the subject of my most recent post.
The quarry module is a discrete entity on the lower level and is a complete new build. The quarry siding branches off the main line just north of the Hunter River bridge. The module fits under the helix and requires the operator to move to a different operating position.
The Mount Windeatt module needs be refurbished and the adjoining module is to be sceniced. The Mount Windeatt backdrop will also be extended to conceal the Singleton staging area behind it.
To get to my "substantially complete" state, I will be focusing on finishing the major items of each module. More detailed work such as small mini scenes or automation will be left to later as or when I am motivated.
The reader will notice that this is all about scenery. While individual items of rolling stock may be acquired, there are no glaring gaps in the rolling stock fleet. I'm still patiently waiting on SDS D53 Class but that's the only future planned motive power acquisition. However, a further rollout of sound for some locomotives is on the agenda.
But enough writing, as I said before, the biological clock is ticking!
