The Union Pacific Elmwood Route

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The other day I was in the garage when I looked at the layout and thought, "Hmm... that 4' wide section looks longer than it does on the plans." And sure enough, it is. Stupid me only made it 2' long rather than 4' long.

So... that means I've got some extra space to fill. I thought I'd toss in some kind of mainline junction here running off the layout. Might be useful as a little staging track or something.

Here's the plan I'm playing around with now.



Today I finished up the benchwork by adding the bench-top. I first installed several risers on the outside edge of the layout. These risers will let me contour the terrain down a few inches on the scenic side. Once I get track down and see where turnouts will go, I'll add some more risers in the middle for additional support.



Then it was time for the top. I used 1/2 birch bought in 2x4 sheets cut as needed. I was able reuse everything from the old layout again, along with 1 new purchased piece.



Not shown is some changes to the legs. I decided to remove the wheels and make the layout stationary. The layout was a little heavy for the wheels on these thing legs. So those got pulled off, and I then I added 2 additional legs on each side where there was a module joint.

Next up I'll be printing out the latest track in full 1:1 size to layout and plot the backdrop (and then track).