A glimpse of the future!

So the weekend is already over, boy did that fly by quickly! However, as you will see from the following photos, a lot of work has been done today getting the trackbed cut and layed roughly into position. This is probably one of the more rewarding parts of the process for me, as I can get a real glimpse of how the trackwork flows and imagine the trains trundling around the layout.

Above: The old jetty from the diorama has been precariously balance on the edge of the board to help give an idea of how it fits in. You can also see the original ropeway house I made. It is sitting at the wrong angle because this one does not have the angled back wall needed to clear the high level track. It really proves to me that it is in fact the brightly coloured mock-ups that are clouding my vision (as it were!), as the building really lifts the appearance of the layout!

Above: One of the only bits of trackbed that hasn't been cut out yet is the low level main line on the corner. I'm going to have to make up the curve as 8 or so straight bits of ply trackbed as we don't have a piece of ply large enough to do it in one go. (It is also very wasteful to cut out the half circle as a single piece!). You can see how I have opted to go for seemingly random shapes on the ply trackbed. Not being a wasteful person, I like to use offcuts wherever possible!

Above: This is the rear hidden mainline. It's hard to tell from this photo as the ply hasn't been glued down yet, but this whole strip goes downhill from left to right. This is to give enough clearance to fit under the high level lines. The same will be done the other side, but it will be a lot steeper gradient due to limited space. This is no problem though, as 90% of trains will be going down the steeper gradient, and up the shallower one!

And finally, we can see a glimpse of the future! The Simplex hauls the flat wagons with asphalt drums away from the intermediate storage area to the jetty. The lone wagon will soon be joined by 8 or 12 more, and it is likely I will turn this one into the "passenger coach". I use the term loosely as you'll see later. That is, of course, unless Mark decides to design that as well!