Progress on the Canadian Southern

[Wiredup]

I got the grades in place. I just don't have enough room to do what I wanted with 2% grades... so I upped it to 2.5% grades. it shouldn't be too bad as my last layout had 3% grades and the locos were doing just fine hauling stuff around.

Most of the mainline roadbed has been laid... I ran outa cork, as did my LHS, but I found two boxes of Woodland scenics roadbed in my closet from my last build (thats like 100 lengths of roadbed!!!) so I've got a mix of cork and woodland... its kinda strange, but whatever.

Now that the mainline roadbed is laid I'm starting to work on planning my sidings and spurs. I'll put in supporting photos much later tonight, but if you look at the plan posted in the original posting, I have this small area for a town in the lower right below the turnaround. I have a Walthers Santa-Fe depot w/freight house located here, and I also plan on putting some shops here. I'm trying to plan this town out... but got a few options to do it for the main lead into the town...

The first is that the lead comes off the far right side and heads into the town. Splits off into four tracks, crosses over alongside the other cross over, and then links up with the mainline again... it could also cross over, link with the main, then cross over the main, and go into my industrial district on the left side of the layout.... thus creating a branch line... but it would become a big jumble of track/junctions in the lower center. I'll take photos tonight and sketch what I'm thinking over the photos.



I'm also looking at what I wanna do with the main yard. Because of building placement I have had to move the mainline about 3 inches north. Also because of reach/walls I turned the turntable/roundhouse around so that the roundhouse faces the operator instead of away (why did I wanna face it away int he first place?) but I can only fit 8 stalls.... The Modern roundhouse and add-on stalls is sold in sets of 3... which gives me 9 stalls. I'm thinking I might put the extra stall in with the town on the lower right of the layout... or in the center below the junctions...

The problem I have there is.... do the add-on stalls include outer walls? should I buy two modern roundhouse addons, or just one, and buy another complete modern roundhouse kit?

I'm gonna go out and order my first BLMA kit this coming week... the new car lot kit that they just came out with. Any links on howto build a laser cut wood kit?