After six weeks and an un-countable amount of cash, I've finally completed my son's (Jude) train set for his Christmas present.
He told me he wanted a "Bachmann James with moving eyes". He's been into Thomas and Friends since he was 1 year old, so absolutely loves trains. I had a quick look at Bachmann James and the door was liberally kicked open to the fascinating world of Hornby OO gauge railways. Man, I never knew one could get so much, and that the demand is still strong.
Now obviously I knew I had to build a track of some sort, but rather than just a loop of track on a piece wood, I thought I'd have a crack at building a 'little world' for Jude to enjoy. Now, I haven't gone for Thomas and Friends TV Production levels of perfection here, just a believable and fun environment to drive trains through.
I bought the track new, and a few of the little bits (lampposts, trees, hedges, benches etc), the rest comes from job lots of 'stuff' bought from eBay. It's amazing how when one gets creative, one can 'make' things from bits of other things.
I've made it so it can be moved in its entirety; it will be going in another room permanently after Christmas.
So, this is the sum of my efforts so far. I've left space for more things to be added, something Jude and I can do together....
(Click for higher resolution)
Obviously it's all illuminated; I've set an illuminated switch into one corner of the board which triggers the separate 3v circuit (and I won't tell Jude what it does, I'll let him discover that).
Not bad for a budget-conscious, first attempt. Ok, maybe not budget - I think I've ploughed through about £700 building this!