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Great share have a good 4th of July!

Hi Steve! Glad you had a great holiday! Such a shame that the PVA hasn't worked out... yet! Having not done this kind of thing before, I've no clue whether it will dry out eventually, but it's been more than a couple of weeks, so I would be inclined to think not! Not sure I'd paint over it though! Digging it out may be a better option and starting again? Good luck! All the best, Ian.

H Steve, welcome back. Shame about the PVA. I might be inclined to follow Stephen's advice and paint over the whole thing and use several layers of varnish - worked ok for me. The type of varnish I used is featured in my latest video. Chris

Hi Steve - glad you had a great holiday and that everything worked on the layout when you switched on the power. Must be frustrating to see the expected canal basin results not materialising on your return. I see our "water" experts have provided plenty of suggestions as what to do ! Cheers Euan

Hi Steve, I'm pleased you've had a great holiday. That's a real shame that the canal basin hasn't turned out as well as you had hoped. Hopefully, you'll be able to rescue it without to much work... Cheers James 🙂👍

Hi Steve. Good to hear that you had a good holiday. I agree with Chris that I would leave the PVA to dry as much as possible before you try to do anything. Personally I wouldn't use any of the realistic water on top of the PVA. You have a very large area to fill and I had terrible cracking when I tried a test with realistic water over a large area. It's great for rivers and small streams (although John at Piccadilly had problems using it) but I doubt its value over a large area. One thing you need to do is find a way of smoothing it where it has cracked. I'd be tempted to try painting some PVA in the cracks. That can then be covered over when you paint it, which seems a good idea. I wonder if some thin layers of varnish might then give you a better result. It may well take five or more layers but that may give you a better result. Stephen

good update on layout thanks lee

It looks like Ice Steve, someone modelling a winter scene would die for that. Maybe wise to let it completely dry out before the next step.

Looks like a lot of fun! Have a great weekend 👍🏻

Wow! there's some patience there awaiting that lot to dry! Enjoy your break! Jules

Hi Steve i don't want to put my foot in it, but if the pour is to think it may not go clear, it may seal in the white but i hope I'm wrong and it does clear. I do hope you and your wife have a fantastic holiday. Colin

Good to see the PVA going in Steve. You will need it to dry completely so your holiday is very well timed. I wouldn’t water the glue down just apply thin coats. If the coat is too thick it will affect its translucence. Nice running session that really shows off how much you have achieved. Stephen

It's getting Steve, the extra two weeks drying may pay dividends. Have a good Holiday.

Lovely running shots, they layout is looking great. Keep up the great work Allan

Hi Steve! Wow! Who knew it would take so long for the PVA to dry? Fingers crossed that it's done by the time you get back off holiday - have a great time! All the best, Ian.

Hi Steve, have a very enjoyable cruise when you get back the water should be dry lol 😂 cheers Al

Hi Steve, not much you can do about that mate, I’m sure it will be dry on your return. Really enjoyed that running session. Have a great cruise, we love a cruise, enjoy, cheers for now, John

Enjoyed your running session Steve. I'm sure it'll all have dried on your return from holiday. You've certainly packed plenty of detail into your layout. Enjoy your cruise 😊 cheers Euan

Have a great holiday! Waiting to see the canal and turning basin look in 2 weeks time. Bill and Janet from California

Greetings Steve 🐲🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿👋 Those must have been nervous days 😬 with all that white still showing 🫣 As they say " the first pour is the deepest" 🤭 Have a great holiday 🌞 and very best wishes from the Emerald Isle ☘️

Hi Steve, fingers crossed it's all dry by the time you get back......... Chris😆

Have a great holiday, Steve, and let's hope it's finally dried when you return... Cheers James 🙂👍

That's looking more and more sorted. Well done. Loved watching the trains go round at the end. Cheers!

Good morning Steve! Everything looks like it's coming together nicely! Lots of little jobs finished off here to bring the finishing touches to a lot of scenes! I know I always say it, but I really am amazed at the speed you work! Looking forward to the canal pour - no pressure! Lol! All the best, Ian.

Hi Steve it's looking fantastic you have put in a lot of work and is really paying off. Have a good week. Colin

Hi SAteve, really good update mate, the Canal basin is really shaping up and I’m so looking forward to the water going in, probably more than you at this stage!!!😁 Loved the running session, I just can’t wait to have a full loop again so I can have the trains running! Good luck with the PVA pour, cheers Steve, John

Hi Steve, I finally got round to catching up with your video. The new areas are coming along nicely, just be careful when you're digging out areas, you don't want to hit a custard pipeline like our road maintenance team did ...cheers James 🙂👍

The running sessions really d show off how much you have achieved Steve. All the details help the layout come alive. The canal will look good once it is has its 'water' in it. Your area is a bit bigger than mine but for my four layers I used something between 1/4 to 1/3 of a 1L bottle of PVA. You won't see much effect on the first layer though so don't be disheartened. The effect emerges the more layers you add. Stephen

Coming along nicely, station arrangement works well. The waiting room is kinda similar to that at Dinting. Great to see the new scratch build structures, especially for the first try. May I suggest another layer on the roof. Even strips marked with the tiles using a pen or pencil, press hard, (Tony North Eastern style) and layer them over each other from the bottom. Do need to check every layer for square though, very easy to go wonky.

Morning Steve Well someone been busy looks brilliant mate love the canal basin Take care matey Sion

The canal area is going to look great Steve.

Hi Steve - I do like the way all the roads, buildings etc are carefully thought out - not just "plonked" on the layout. Well thought out little country station is a prime example. Nice running session to boot. Cheers Euan

Greetings Steve 🐲🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 The Canal Basin scene 😍 is really bedding in well ✌️ and looks magnificent with all the lights 💡 I do hope you get an Elvenhome reflection 🪞 after the "water" pour 🫗 🤩 Looking forward to the next update already 😇 Very best wishes from the Emerald Isle ☘️

Nice update Steve, I enjoyed the running shots at the end....... Chris

Hi Steve, glad all went OK for you 🙂 You make such rapid progress on the layout! Like you say, it's coming to life. Looking forward to seeing how it looks as a completed canal 🙂

Everything is coming long nicely Steve. I was reflecting watching the running session, that it wasn't so long ago that the trains were running around a layout which was only track. Canal and its basin coming along nicely. You were right to raise up the bed of the canal. I think they are only about 5-6 ft deep. Could to see you sealing the new layer well. If the PVA can find a gap to leak away it will. The first layer of PVA will also act to seal the foam if it needs it. Look forward to seeing the results. Stephen

Wow Steve you have been busy. I hope you take care and a speedy recovery to your health. Your Layout is great well done. It's a great Hobby. Best wishes Richard Canterbury

Great to see you back in action Steve! I see you've been busy building again! Great idea to have a brewery next to the pub! I love the look of the canal basin walls! Hadn't thought of using Balsa wood in that way, so must put it on my list of materials to try when I'm building Shelfington reservoir! Good luck with the PVA water! I'm sure it'll look great if Stephen's is anything to go by! Looking forward to the next update already! All the best, Ian.

Great to see you back on action Steve. Layout looking fantastic. Canal basin certainly taking shape. Cheers Euan

Glad you're on the road to recovery. The areas you are working on look really good - keep up the good work! Chris

Looks fantastic Steve love the canal walls Really coming together now matey

Hi Steve, good to see you back in the shed. Great, to see your progress and a nice running session. We're looking forward to seeing the next update on the canal basin. Over in Dylington we've been cleaning up the custard spillage 😂 ...cheers James 🙂👍

Love it mate I'm doing a canal aswell be watching yours closely for ideas 👍 love your videos 👏

Well done with sorting the running issues, the new loco sounds impressive. Never heard spoken word on a sound decoder before. The layout is coming along nicely. Keep up the great work Steve, and it's so true that they are our layouts and we run what we enjoy. All the best Allan

Good afternoon Steve! You packed a lot into this video mate! Well said, this is a great hobby, and you do it your way! Don't pay attention to any of the negative nonsense unless its constructive or useful, at least that's how I approach those types of comments! If they come back for more they get blocked and can argue with themselves in their own private echo chamber! Lol! Glad you got to the bottom of the derailing loco, and sorted the track work out to prevent it from happening again! I agree, the Farish 5MT is a magnificent loco! Before you go playing with CV values though, have you figured out how to use the active brake function? You press F2 to latch it on, then the speed control will bring the loco to a halt much more quickly! Just don't forget to press F2 again, to unlatch it, otherwise you'll find your loco won't move when you try to pull away again! It's a great feature! Wishing you a speedy recovery and looking forward to seeing what you build while in recuperation! All the best, Ian.

Great update Steve, love the work around the canal😁Smashing new loco as well, looks smart hauling those Teaks😇Best wishes pal for your visit to the hospital, here's to a speedy recovery🤒Chris

Very enjoyable, I’m only a year into this hobby so still lots to do and learn . Please keep em coming.

Very good Steve, sorting out these issues is all part of the fun apparently, like the new loco and coaches.

Hi Steve, that's nice new addition to your fleet, and the scenic area you've been working on is coming along nicely, we enjoyed the update. Hope all goes well, and you're back in action soon... Cheers James 🙂👍

Well done on persevering through that derailment issue - the burr(s) must have been very small to not be detectable when you ran your fingers over the join! I find sound-fitted steam locos particularly satisfying, and it's great to see yours can pull a reasonable load up the incline 🙂 The rivet counter topic is interesting - I saw that first video you mentioned, but found the guy slightly contradictory in things he said. Charlie, too, in his videos has both mocked lack of accurate representation of reality as "playing with a train set", whilst then in another video called people who care about particular accuracy of signal behaviour "sad". I think people who say they're aiming to make something as accurate as possible, on social media, are implicitly inviting feedback from those who know more, but I also think that feedback is best phrased kindly and constructively. Personally I'm not very knowledgeable about the real railways, so run it more like you describe, and love it! 😂 Great to see the greenery and buildings spreading onto more of your layout. All the best for the operation - I hope it's all straightforward and that you recover quickly 🙂