A good start... I hope


Act 3 Scene 1

Wow, I need to stop checking out everyones awesome layouts... I will never finish mine!:eek: The other night I stepped back and took a good look at my progress so far. I realized that I was complicating cornflakes... I had track everywhere with no cohesive purpose. There was no realistic operation, no definitive beginning or end for freight or coal.
I decided that I wanted certain things from my layout. A large yard, double track mainline, over and under action, a hidden reverse loop, plenty of switching, a nice tunnel, a shipping yard with a warehouse and a freighter at dock, a coal mining operation with a powerhouse as the destination, a small town for freight to end up, and a nice waterfall scene. (Oh, and the duckunder had become very old...)
After sketching what must have been a dozen track plans to fit my space, I had an epiphany... A simple loop stretched out and folded under allowed for me to include everything I wanted. Simpler is better!
So, I tore up every inch of track and plywood, modified the benchwork a little and started over. Here is some progress so far. I will post a video of the maiden voyage of the first mainline loop soon
 
And a couple of the hidden reverse/staging loop. I built the subroadbed in my shop/garage then carried it up to the layout. It was easier to splice all the sections that way. Because cash is tight I reused almost every piece of the original plywood. I still had to buy a couple more 2x4 sheets though
 
Well, I finally got some time this week to spend in the train room. I got rid of all the brass track and turnouts I had (sold on Ebay for a fraction of what I paid but, live and learn) and bought all new Atlas nickel silver code 100 flex track, turnouts, and Woodland Scenics roadbed. I owe much gratitude to member Myowngod for recommending NHS Hobbies. They really do have the best prices of anyone I have seen.
My son spends his mornings in preschool now so I have a good 4 hours of time to myself after midnight shift to really get going. I have nearly half the roadbed and track laid out! Some adjustments to the benchwork were needed and I decided on a definite plan before the first bead of silicone adhesive hit the plywood. Sixteen hours later, this is what I have. The most time consuming aspect has been cutting all the slits in the roadbed to dado it for the curves :eek: but, all test runs with the CSX GP38-2 have gone without a hiccup...
 
Wow nice looking progress, neat to see some track being layed!! :D

Good move getting rid of the Brass track, you will thank yourself in the future LOL
 
Making Progress!!!

Making Progress :)
The first is the main yard looking north bound, the focus of the layout and the first thing you see as the room is entered. The spur on the right will be the unloading dock of a large factory or trans-shipping warehouse. 18 wheeler traffic will be entering the yard complex from the overpass at the far end. The opening will be a "pop-out" with a roadway for the trucks.
Next, is the yard looking south. The area on the bottom left of the picture will be diesel service / fueling facilites, and a RIP track.
Then we have the over/under tunnel area.
And lastly, the coalmine yard area of the layout.
 
Wow you guys are still following this post?! I am honored! Well, shortly after my last post I decided that my yard was not a pleasure to operate. So, I tore the entire layout down and started all over again!!! I will post some progress pictures soon. Have not done much since before Christmas now that Im working 2 jobs and Mama and I are expecting our third little person!!!
 
what do you think of my home-made dual transistorized cab control in tethered walk-around format? I still dream of dcc, just not in the budget yet
 
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