It's back!

I am continue to lay the track at Falmouth. Tonight I installed most of the ties. 

I made a few adjustments to the track plan, including bringing back the infamous double slip stub switch.  Why? My operators just love it!  Plus, it actually will save some work as one switch stand can serve two turnouts.  It's odd to realize that there will only be 5 turnouts at Falmouth plus the turntable. 

The arrival track is long enough to comfortably hold a 10-car train and a engine. Now, to lay the rail and install the spikes. I hope I have enough.

 

Track laying started

 I did a short video update on the start of laying track on Phase II of the layout expansion. I posted it below. 

Time to cut ties

 

No, I am not leaving, quitting my blog, or getting divorced. I mean this literally, it is time to cut the ties I will need for the new track.

It took about 2 hours of laser time and 7 sheets of 4 inches by 24 inches by 1/8th inch basswood to make a decent pile of ties. I like to use the laser to cut the ties with slight wobbly edges so they look like they were hand hewn. But I do not make the tops and bottoms rough in the interest of smooth and reliable running.

I stained the ties in batches with each batch using a slightly different color stain. I use alcohol and acrylic stain by Liquitex or artists inks.

Next is to start laying track. I think I  will start at the south end of the bridge so I can utilize the flex track I have already installed. I will remove the flex track when I build the bridge.

"If I had a dollar bill for every tie I cut, 

there'd be  a mountain of money piled up to my gut," with apologies to Annie 

Benchwork Completed for Layout Expansion

 I completed the benchwork for the layout expansion this evening. I thought I would do a video update so as to better show the extent of the completed section.

After I filmed the video, I put some cars and structures on the benchwork to get a feel for how the scene will look.

Floating Coves and Backdrops

I finished constructing and painting the sky and clouds on the backdrops for the Falmouth extension. A few friends requested that I do a video of how I paint my backdrops. So I put one together and uploaded it to YouTube. 

 

In the video I explain the concept of the floating cove to improve the appearance of the corners. This technique has worked well for me. I have not had any cracks develop in my backdrops over the 13 years the layout has been up.

The video was getting a little long, so I edited out the discussion of why I did not cove the corner by the planned balloon camp.  There is a window adjacent to that corner. This window is a possible fire escape for the room. So I did not want to block it with a section of masonite I would use for a cove. Solutions that involved a partial cove just didn't look right. So I plan to rely on the Lowe's observation balloon to help hide the uncoved corner.

I have not yet painted the ground portion of the backdrop as that will depend on how I install the 3D terrain.