Some Progress. . .

We have nearly all of the sub-roadbed installed. The white styrofoam will be underneath all tracks except for the bridges. Also visible is a passenger station and a white rectangle representing the future gravel depot.

Not many places sell curved trestles or bridges. I had no choice but to scratch-build this double track trestle. Fortunately, there is a company that makes pre-made I-beams, H-columns, channels and other structural members. The black parts were cut off of pre-made bridges from Atlas Model RR company. These plate girders, combined with the other structural pieces (white) make an excellent bridge. I had to trace the curve and make the straight segments fit as closely as possible.

We will have an unusable track running under the trestle and bridge. Hopefully, this will look like another line passing through the area. Additionally, it will serve as another display area for our many trains.

After much planning, labor, and concentration, I have something that resembles a real trestle. It lacks only paint, tracks, some better scenery in its foundation, and a few minor detail items.

The Birth of a Layout

Amanda's dad helped us build a coffee table that will also serve as a foundation for behchwork. On one side is a drawer, on the other is a door that opens to reveal the sliding control panel.

The white strips are carefully cut pieces of butcher paper to serve as track planning templates.

An old hobby - revisited

Several months ago, Amanda started me talking about trains. I don't remember for sure how it got started, but it might have involved a trip to the Hobby Bench in Prescott. As we started planning to design our new entertainment center, the topic resurfaced. I hasitated to build a layout since HO trains take up so much space. Amanda suggested an N scale layout instead. Then I recalled an idea I found in a book when I was younger. We could build a coffee table with trains encased in glass! Amanda liked the idea almost as much as I did and we started designing. We built the table and have yet to have trains running inside it. This blog will highlight the progress we make.