Up and running again - some comings and goings at Charlton station

The next move has been completed and we are all settled in.  A hectic few months, although overall for us it has been a good time.  I know many people have had a far worse experiences over the last few months, so I am counting my blessings in life.  So with the majority of the stuff moved in I have had some time to set up the 'office', aka the modelling room.  One of the first things I did was to set up Charlton and have a good old running session or two.  It was great to finally have some time and space to do this.

Class 25 bringing in the milk train.

Class 22 on an engineers train.

An early morning parcels train.

Another view of the class 22 on the engineers train.

I also took the opportunity to take some pictures of the some of the recently finished rolling stock to see how it looked 'for real', placed on the layout.  In short, I am pretty happy with it all.  The LNER CCT and Ling wagon, both had badly applied transfers, but some with some weathering, at normal viewing distances they look passable.  The SR CCT and milk tanker look the part in my opinion and the post office van looks just right sat at the end of the platform!  The layout as always has performed faultlessly and it has been very enjoyable to run some trains.  

Class 47 bring in the evening passenger turn.

A view looking up the platform.

Engineers train shunted to the siding.

Recently finished sealion wagon.

The recently finished Royal Mail van ready for loading with parcels.

SR passenger C in the parcels rake.

Recently finished LNER CCT.

However, the limitations of the layout have also resurfaced when playing trains.  The terminus to fiddle yard has limited operation possibilities.  So, to cut a long story short, I am embarking on a much more ambitious project.  The plan is to build two stations on separate scenic boards, with a middle scenic section.  I am going to build this in discrete sections, to save being overwhelmed by the project!  So what to do with the Charlton layout in the meantime?  I am going to put it up for sale I think.  If no one wants it, then it might just have to storage for a while.  It would be a shame to break it all up and it has been a great learning project, but it is time to move onto a bigger project.  However, this said, it is still great to play trains!

Class 25 bringing in the evening parcels train, to collect the mail.

Class 25 collecting the milk tankers and a CCT from further down the line.

Class 47 on the early evening passenger turn.

Class 22 pulling in the engineers train.