Saturday Morning, I'm Tired

Talk about overdoing it.  I took off two days from work to kick start my layout.  Well, problem is my work normally consists of sitting behind a desk for most of the day.  End result?  Man I'm sore, though, I guess it was worth it since I now have the start of a basement layout...

As you can easily see, there is still a lot of work to be done.  On my short list of things to focus on are...

• Add adjustable feet to the bottom of each module leg (T-nut with 5/16 bolt).  There are just too many incompatibilities, the floor, warping wood, construction mistakes, etc. that a small investment in being able to level each module independently seems like a really good idea in the long run.
• Add in extra bracing on the first few modules.  I changed my construction style a bit between when I started and ended.  I need to go back and update the older modules.
• Experiment with lighting options before too much layout gets set down.

Aside from those items I still need to finish mounting all the jousts, develop the backdrops, and develop the fascia   Wow that sounds like a lot of work!

In the mean time, I can stand in a basement, looking at raw wood and imaging trains running over it.  Here's some sketches to show you what I have in mind...

Bourbon is the western terminus of the line.  I'm imagining it as a bit more quaint, backwoods southern-ish town.  Even though it's the end of the line it's not a hustling, bustling metropolis area.  That would be Linville. Linville is line's western hub and likely where most of the switching will happen.  It will be a bit more city/industrial like (at least for the 1940's).

Between Bourbon and Linville is another yet-to-be-named town.  This will be rather small, perhaps just a passenger depot and something else, to give the passenger traffic a stopping point though most trains will probably be express from Bourbon to elsewhere in the world [ie. staging yard].

I have 2 online industries planned, though looking at it now I'm wondering if it's not good to have them right next to each other.  I haven't decided what those industries will be.  Possibilities include:  coal mine, lumber mill, brick yard, distillery, or something else.  Who knows.  That's not super important at the moment.

All of the module sections that are up against a wall will have a backdrop behind them.  The two peninsula modules in the middle will have a back-to-back view blocking backdrop as well, and the Linville module section will have a backdrop too.  From the vantage point of the camera (above), the Bouron module sections will not have a backdrop.  The picture above is taken from where visitors will likely view the layout.  I wanted to keep 1 module section without backdrop that allow people from outside the layout to view the whole layout.

Well, I guess that's that.  Still have a whole ton of work to do; will keep the blog updated as I go.