149th Street Harlem Station

[sailormatlac]

You built a fine solid base. Must be a pleasure to start on such a perfect surface.

Ahah! It's millions light years away from our Hedley-Junction roller coaster!

Seriously, things are going fast since the benchwork had been completed. Being in vacation really helps!



Previously, I said I would add a layer of cork so I could nail the tracks, but I finally decided agains it.

My reasons are manyfold. First, rolled cork is always hard to glue in place without kink here and there. Second, I didn't have enough cork to cover the entire layout and didn't want to induce delay buying more. Third, I thing I invested already enough money in the benchwork. Fourth, the more material you layer together, the more chances are you induce undesired surface ondulations. Fifth, Walthers apron and carfloat are 1" high which fit perfectly the 1" styrofoam. Adding the cork would only more elevation, which translate into a steeper grade on the apron.

So, let's keep things simple and move forward.



I also applied a coat of flat exterior brown paint to the styrofoam and water body to have a basic scenic color to work with... and protecting the foam from melting when spray painting the track!!! Been there, done that! Since Harlem Station was a very muddy and dirty place, that dark brown seems a goof fit. As for Harlem River, I suspect it's water are everything except tropical blue! Can't wait to continue working on the layout! But there's a big challenge as I must build the concrete piers and carfloat apron as quickly as I can if I doesn't want to delay the building process. So time to go study the prototype again.

Matt