July Construction

 Due to various circumstances, I did not get much construction done during July.   I did glue the roadbed down for the two lift outs from the staging tracks.   I also made all the car cards and waybills for the layout.   I have also been making some adjustments to the junction area.

June Construction

 I only got part way through what I was planning to accomplish in June.   There were too many other things to take care of the last part of the month.   I did complete the backdrops and most of the sub roadbed.  The benchwork sections are bolted together.

I found that I will need to cut out at least two more 30-inch radius quarter sections and maybe a third.  These will be for the town at the end of the line and/or where the track will pass over the interchange line as it goes to the mid-point town.  I will also need to cut risers for the highest loop.

I have also been experimenting with different arrangements of the yard and engine service facilities tracks.   The engine house and service facilities will be moving to the left end of the yard.  this will help protect the buildings.

The lift-out sections between the two halves of the railroad use door hinges to hold them in place and keep the tracks aligned.  Only one hinge for each end of the lift-outs is needed.

Some photos of the bench work and sub roadbed.   Also, the latest track plan.

For the sky of the backdrop, I found out about these rolls of bulletin board paper that come in 4 foot by twelve foot rolls and 4x50 foot rolls.   The roll was cut into a two foot and two one foot wide rolls.   The shorter side took slightly more than one roll to cover the hard board.   I used some double-sided tape to attach them to the hardboard.  Total cost for the four rolls of tape and one roll of paper was just under $65.  Next step is to paint some clouds on them and probably some mountains.

Revised yard area

The engine house (outlined building and sand house and fuel dock have been moved to the left end of the yard.  The caboose track is now at the front.  The team track has also been moved to the left of the new station location.