Trackwork (plywood, roadbed and track) has now reached the south wall of the room, under the TV. All of the track power wiring (red & black) is in place; the dangling telephone cables you see in some photos are for the turnout motors. One of the scenes I'll be modeling, a curved stone viaduct crossing a river and valley, is shown here as a mockup This helps me visualize the scene in 3D, and give me a better feel for how things are going to look. The bridge at the right, by the way, is not the correct bridge that will go there - it's just a stand-in.
The double-tracked main line is shown above leaving the swing gate, while a wye branches off to the left. The "tail" of the wye will serve a TOFC (Trailer On Flat Car) operation - this is the forerunner of modern single and double-stacked container trains seen today.
A little further along, looking in the same direction, the main is on the left, and approaches the viaduct in the distance. Branching off here, coming at you to the right, is a spur track which will serve the coal mine.
A couple of photos showing construction in this area. The last shows a wooden trammel I used to swing the radius lines at the viaduct area - the inner track here has a whopping 80" radius. This is typically how I lay out the track centerlines and the cut lines on the plywood; I have plastic templates for the more common radius track on the railroad. The NHL Network has their "Winter Classic" hockey coverage schedule on the TV screen!
Meanwhile, upstairs, I've been working on some of the structures for the railroad - here's the coal mine head building under construction. This is a laser cut wood kit; structures will be both wood and plastic kits.
Next update should show the mainline complete!
