Some decent progress this weekend; I figured out the easement issues and created a couple of reversible plywood templates to use in laying out curves - easements included, each 1/8 of a circle. By flipping and / or combining these, I can trace any curve I need in a 30" radius (my minimum). I laid out the curves on either side of Lizard Head, and completed grades and subroadbed for the McPhee staging and most of the Lizard Hd main above it. Here's a shot, w/the Lizard Head grade above, dropping toward the Ophir loop area.

Well, this makes 3 weeks in a row w/o much railroad work. Just a busy period I guess. I did get a couple of hours in this weekend, making a template for curve spiral easements and working a little on the grade behind Vance Jct, near Lizard Head.

Another VERY busy week, and weekend. No layout progress at all.

The weekend ended up being very busy, so not much done on the layout. With basic framing done for everything except Telluride (and that'll wait until, since I need the space to cut plywood), I thought I'd start on joists and sub-roadbed support. I got a little of that done in the Lizard Head corner, adding some support for the holes coming thru from the laundry room, and starting to think about the complex 3-level trackage in that area. No photos this time. The crazy link behind the furnance is going to wait until I get more experience with the simpler roadbed. Another milestone... actual track-layout supplies are in the basement! I had to spend some time at Mom's this weekend, and while there I dug around the old layout and found a couple cases of cork I'd forgotten about, and a few lengths of leftover code 100 flex, and other tracklaying supplies, and brought all those home.

Lots of wall-cutting this past weekend. I've now cut holes thru the closet, bathroom, and laundry room. It's kinda scary cutting walls in otherwise nicely-complete rooms, but it was the plan from the beginning of this layout project. Here's the exit from Ridgway yard - both levels.

Here's the same hole, looking out from bathroom closet into the Ridgway yard. The upper level will have 5 tracks, while the lower level is the main sneaking under the yard.




With another helper in hiding here, this is looking toward Ridgway and the bathroom closet from inside the bathroom - looking thru both walls.




Another helper shot of the opening!





Here's a shot looking thru all 3 openings, from inside the laundry room, into the bathroom, then the closet, and finally into Ridgway.





And a closeup from the laundry room into the bathroom.




Getting the line behind the water-heater and the furnance is going to be quite a trick... I'm still not sure how to do it. That section will need tracks on two levels, and slight curves in the most inaccesible spots (see the track plan). Luckily my kids are still small enough to fit back there - just gotta teach them some additional construction skills. Perhaps I can build the unit as a couple a bridges, and just slide them in there.