Phase 2 started on Saturday 24 February 2001, with the marking out of the positions where the first few Metposts were to go. Two fence pins were hammered into the ground six feet from the boundary fence, and a length of string was tied between them, to ensure that the eleven bolt-down Metposts were all fixed in a straight line.
On 10 March, I started fixing the bolt-down Metposts. The concrete is about 2½ inches thick, and very difficult to drill through, so much so that it took about five hours to drill five holes. The Metposts were bolted down with just one bolt, through the hole in the middle, which could make adjustments difficult, if not impossible.
In order to avoid gradients, I tried to make the track in Phase 2 level. This means that the track is 4 ft 6 in above ground level at the furthest point from the house (it is just 3 feet above ground at the entrance to the staging).
On Sunday 22 April I got phase 2 finally connected electrically and tested. The first train ran round this part of the layout at 3:45 p.m.
The total length of the continuous run, both phase 1 and phase 2, is 339 feet.
In summer 2002 we had a terrible time keeping the track clean under a plum tree that overhangs the layout. In order to try to divert windfall plums away from the track, a “plum shed” (this is similar in concept to the snow sheds found on lines in Canada and the northern U.S., but it keeps plums rather than snow off the layout) was constructed and installed over the track at a convenient spot.
Click on any of the following pictures to see a larger version.
The return loop at the bottom of the garden. The roofing felt had not been completely fixed in place when this picture was taken. |
The return loop at the bottom of the garden as relaid with gentler curves, with some track moved to make room for Bowling Green Junction Station. |
The Plum Shed is designed to keep the branches, leaves and fruit from the nearby plum tree off the track. |
Bowling Green Junction showing the connection from the down branch line to the main prior to its doubling, and the bay platform line. |
Bowling Green Junction, overall view prior to doubling of the junction with the branch. |
Bowling Green Junction, showing where the existing phase 2 track has been slewed to make room for the station. The plum shed is visible in the left background. |