Finished the second of the two turnouts for section three. Two more sections to go – one more turnout and one more crossing and then I’ll be able to assemble them together. I’ve decided not to lay the rail on the straights as I want leave the area free for landscaping the trackbed.
This is a super important issue for me. I really want full control to make the trackbed as realistic and as close to prototype as possible. This doesn’t necessarily mean ballasting the track. The effects of age and weather may have left certain sections free of ballast and covered in dirt and vegetation while in other parts the ballast may have washed away leaving the track high and dry. I want to be able to capture all those effects and I find that leaving the rail laying to last makes this kind of landscaping much easier.
