You may have noticed a change in ground color too.  I ran out of my “red dirt” color and switched to an can I had from two layouts ago of ‘”tan dirt”.  I kinda like it better after using that red for so long. I might even re-do all the red with it.

Next up I began working on placement of structures.  I dug a few small items that’s been packed away for a while and placed it out on the layout.  I also got around to cutting out my background flats from Kingmill Enterprises.  Started placing them all out along the background of Elmwood.  Really does help fill the scene with them in place.  Once I’m happy with the look I’ll use some Elmer’s spray adhesive to attach them to the backdrop.

Work on the control panel is progressing t0o.  Here’s a look a the panel after I drilled all the holes.

I’ve since added the final overlay of the track plan to the the metal plate. Just need to cut out all the paper holes and put all the switches and LED holders in.  I also ordered the DTM30 controller board this weekend.  So we might see this thing in action in a few weeks.

And lastly, here’s a new overall view of the layout.

More than likely I’m going to with one of these two molds (#1  #2) from Bragdon to mold the cliff face itself.

This morning I finished up almost all the cardboard webbing.  After taking the pics I started putting down masking tape but ran out! So I didn’t get very far there.

One spot I left open to give me access to the interior of the hills for where the overpass is (see pic #1).  Still working on what to install here, so I left this open so I can get and install a tunnel interior or something.

The bridge is a N.J. International kit built with searchlights by Richard at Custom Signal Systems.

So it was time to bring the modules back in and put them back together. Eek!  Luckily everything worked as planned except for one piece of track.  It was a curve that bridged two modules. I re-laid the section of track using rail joiners at the module break so hopefully next time it comes apart it’ll go back together nicely.

For the bus wiring I switched from the previously used Anderson Powerpoles to crimp bullet connectors and labeled wires for the connections between modules.  Much cheaper and much faster/easier to assemble.

After the layout was back together I decided it was time to fill  in the “blue foam hill”.  I used cardboard strips to fill in the empty spaces, then covered the whole thing in masking tape and painted.  I ran out of tape so I still have a little to do.

And while I had the paint out I also gave the plywood top a coating. Looks much better than seeing all that bare plywood.  Got about half the layout done so far.

Bus Wiring

All DCC block bus wires and feeders have been run, soldered, and connected.  The last bus to run is the general “Rail A” bus for my industry spurs. Here’s a look at my track diagram from Train Controller and my Block numbering.  I’ll eventually incorporate the info the diagram.

Fascia

With the bus wiring pretty much done I began installing some of the fascia to the layout.  Need to purchase one more 2×4 sheet of hardboard to finish the end of the island.  Everything still needs profiles cut, gaps filled, and some sanding.

I’ve also got the board cut to the correct width for staging parts of the layout but I’m going to install some LED bar lights first to light it up when needed and also need to add openings for access into staging in the fascia.  That should work should happen this coming week.

Wiring

A look at the 1/8″ jack on the fascia panel used for powering one of the bridge spans. This is the upper deck span.

Scenery

Using foam, I began constructing the hill that’ll cover the long staging lead running on the back of the layout.  It’s basically just strips of foam built like stairs.  They’re not permanently installed, just sitting there.  They’ll be setup so they will be removable just in case access to that track is needed.

Signals

With block wiring done I dug out the box of signal this afternoon. I can only setup 8 signal heads so far with 1 SIGM20 board so the Dixie Curve passing siding will be the first to light up.  I’ll be using two signal bridges and 2 double-target searchlights here.

And that’s all for now!