The track plan for my Bavarian HO layout was largely frozen in the middle of 2013 and subsequently all the track laid, point motors and decoders fitted and tested. This has given the chance to get to grips with the 'finished' operation of the layout, and start to see what does and doesn't work. The one outcome of the testing was the lack of a real yard for the shunting and forming of freight trains. As there was no space within the built layout or in fact the room it's in, there was only one way to go; outwards. Next door to the room the Bavarian railway is in is an outbuilding that largely contained parts of layout and offcuts of wood. A few trips to the 'municipal recycling center' (tip) and a lick of paint and some extra space was available. There was the small matter of the available space being on the other side of a wall and/or window, but this was not insurmountable. The center pane of the window was replaced with a thick sheet of wood with a suitable slot cut to allow access between the two rooms. A sliding hatch was fitted to prevent drafts in the winter. Track has now been laid, and with a pair of DCC Telex remote coupling fitted locos, three addditional sidings have been added to the yard situated on the station approach, bringing the total to five sidings and a headshunt; enough for plenty of operational flexibility. The hidden sidings will be accessed between some low relief industrial buildings on the layout side. I am also giving some though to a remote camera so the sidings can be viewed from the control area, although having walkabout handheld controller should mean this is a nice to have rather than a necessity.
