The layout room is a finished space of 22’-6” by 11’-0” over our garage.  It has textured walls and ceiling with outlets and lighting placed to serve the needs of the railroad. The layout itself wraps around the walls and a large island towards the middle.  In order to spend more time on the operation and details of the layout pre-manufactured benchwork was chosen vs. homemade and multi trips down to the garage and saws.  His would also permit the layout to be built in sections as time and funds allowed, plus the benefit of easy moveably. 

After reviewing multi manufactures of pre-made benchwork I chose Sievers Benchwork. Their modular system again allowed the railroad to grow as desired, provided 1x4” sectional kits that fit the room without cutting, with predrilled wiring holes, heavy duty legs, and fast simple assembly at a fair price.  The benchwork for the Rockwood, Hermosa Park and Timberline was assembled and in place within a day, leaving only Scotch Creek left to be built.  Three power busses were installed next, one each for track, switch machines and railroad effect lighting.  At the main modular section joints, buss bars were added to allow for moveability if ever needed. With the main wiring in place, 3/8” ply-wood for the sub-roadbed was installed; making sure joints of the plywood matched the main module sections.

Track center lines for hidden yards and Rockwood were drawn directly onto the plywood.  Since Hermosa Park and Timberline would eventually be directly over the hidden yards, large pieces of craft paper were marked with track center lines, so that they could be used later as cookie-cut templates for the 3/8” sub-roadbed in those areas.  In Rockwood’s engine service area and in the hidden yard area large pieces of Homosote® were installed, and in all the remaining track locations Homosote® roadbed from California Roadbed Co. was added before starting the process of track installation. 

Track installation was again an item I wanted to be done with sooner than later. Shinohara® flex track and switches are being used throughout the layout, only over bridges or as needed will hand laid track be installed.   Using flex track and switches still require some adjusting and customizing as they are put down, Track Tools sweeps makes the process go a lot faster including the soldering of the joints and the laying out of the curves. The track was “spiked” down to the roadbed along the outside edges on the ties every 10-12”, drops of “super glue” were placed at the track section joints and where electrical gaps were cut in the rails.  Wires were added to the tracks either by directly attaching them to the outside rails or via the use of “PC’ ties. In the hidden yard “Circuitron, Tortoise” switch machines were mounted above the benchwork to control the yard, in Rockwood and on the balance of the railroad, New Rail Models, “Blue Point” MANUAL, switch controllers were mounted under the benchwork.  All the switch controls are to be recessed mounted into the fascia once it is installed, but are currently attached to the benchwork during construction.

Wiring for the railroad is on the overkill side of doing things when using a DCC system. Large area or section blocks were added to help trace shorts and/or to operate the railroad in sections as well as a whole.  Rockwood, Hermosa Park, Timberline and the hidden yard are all on separate block controls.  The railroad is powered by NCE’s “Power Cab” system, with the switch machines and special effects lighting both by separate 12v transformers.  The only turntable on the railroad at Rockwood is a Diamond Scale Products controlled by a New York Railway Supply, PTC III Controller.  Special room and spot lighting will be added once the final edge on the railroad is determined and before all the structures, scenery and fine details are added.