Construction Update #1 - Benchwork

Benchwork

 

All of the lower level benchwork is in place except for the section in front of the garage door.  The benchwork for the helix is in the foreground  and framing for the upper level has started.  This picture was taken from the entry (on the south wall) looking towards the north wall on the far side of the room.

 

The view was taken from the northwest corner of the room.  With the exception of the verticle 2x4/'s and a couple of 1x4's on the upper level, all of the lumber used to this point was salvaged from the old layout

The elevated floor is 21" off the floor and this view is taken from my eye level, about 69"  At 6'3" I have about 4' of headroom.

The final two pictures in this update are a look into the future.  I taped up a section of backdrop and sat my under construction engine facility in the foreground.  This scene is only 24" deep.  The backdrop is from Trackside Scenery; highly recommended!

 About 60% of the layout will be build directly on top of 3" of "pink" foam.  Currently I am using Micro Engineering Code 70 flex track and #6 turnouts mounted on cork roadbed.  Almost all of my locomotives are equipped with Tsunami2 sound systems and TCS Current Keepers.  I am using a NCE wireless 5 Amp Pro System along with a 5 Amp booster.  My original DCC system was from Lenz followed by one from Digitrax.  In my opinion, NCE is by far and away the best of the readily available systems.  Mine, with a few updates, has worked flawlessly for about 15 years.

Out with the old, In with the new

 Sn3 Layout Removal

 

The first step was to remove the section of layout in front of the garage door.  This section was designed for easy removal and the whole process took about 2 hours.  It was cold outside so I left the door closed until I had a pile of scrap ready to load in my utility trailer.

January 29, 2020

At this point, one trip had already been made to the transfer station and the second load was waiting in the driveway.  Most of the lumber, including over 100 feet of L-Girder was salvaged for use on the new layout.  The heavy duty shelves, seen in this picture, were used to make up the elevated floor for the interior section of the "Mushroom"

February 8, 2020

After the third trip to the transfer station, all but one section of the old layout in the main room is gone and construction of the elevated floor is about 50% done.  Cabinets, from my old store, are also being placed around the elevated floor.  As they are placed and leveled, a lot of stuff that was sitting around is getting put away.  The new layout will use most of the perimeter bench work and backdrop.  The old photo murals were removed and with a little filling, sanding, and a fresh coat of paint the backdrop will be ready for some new photo murals from Trackside Scenery.

February 10, 2019

The elevated floor section is done, four base cabinets are installed and the inner L-Girders have been attached to the lower (outer) section of the "Mushroom".  The room is a lot neater as more things have been put away.  The helix will be in the foreground in front of the elevated section.