Hidden Trackage Section

Hand lay or not hand lay...that is the question.  This layout is designed to accomplish my NMRA Achievement Program requirements.  I could hand lay all the trackage, but that would lake an extra month and a half.  Or I could just hand lay the two turnouts and the crossing required by Civil and then build the rest in Micro Engineering track (very close to prototype).  What to do?

 The reason I'm talking track now is that I need to finish the hidden trackage.  I brought out the textile mill to look at its size again.  I'm going to put in the side boards this weekend and need to figure out how it will fit.

 The building will need to be raised a bit, so that is fine.  The profile board on the side will be cut straight across.  We may do that tomorrow night.

 The foam sheets that I bought here in Utah are thinner than the foam I bought in Georgia.  I'm going to add another layer to raise the roadbed up to the risers.

 Here I was test fitting the cork roadbed that I plan on using.  A little low...so yes, we need the second layer of foam.  First, we need to check and make sure we have clearance.

 Nothing gets lost faster than the handy NMRA gauge (HO for this one).  So I have a badge neck band that has a metal clip on it.  This way I can keep it with me and won't lose it in the mess.  I also have a belt clip for it.

 Using newspaper I made a template of the sub-roadbed for cutting the foam.

 Speaking of organization, everything for the layout is in one of two boxes.  One box has all the premade structures.  The second box has everything else include track, turnouts, rolling stock, crossties and other things that I bought specifically for the layout.

 Here you can see the tube of ME track, some crossings and turnouts and a few cars.

 Using the template I cut out the second foam layer of roadbed.

 I used the hot wire cutter to trim the ends up.

 Here I've glued the next layer in place, careful to make sure the glue leveled out.

My caulk gun stinks.  It has a smooth plunger and the trigger won't always grab it to push out the glue.  So I'm throwing it away.  If something bothers you...do something about it.  Don't let it keep nagging you.  This detracts from the fun of layout building.  I'll buy a new one tomorrow.