Tracklaying Is Underway!

Progress continues on the new CB&Q in Wyoming, albeit a bit slowly.

A couple weeks ago I started laying track on the NP mainline on the side of the peninsula opposite the Laurel yard. The mainline track is code 83. The yard, when I get there, will be code 70. Not sure about the siding at Laurel yet, but I'm leaning towards 70 there as well.

About 15 feet of track is down, including some superelevated track around the end-of-peninsula curve that will skirt the roundhouse.

As you can see from the shot just below, lots more stuff I need it for construction is winding up on the table. I'm short on work table area, so it winds up on future ROW for now:

Here's a close-up of the loco on the curve, showing the superelevation in the loco's inwards tilt:

I've borrowed a set of Fast Tracks #8 turnout jigs from a friend, and will soon be building the mainline turnouts that will go into Laurel yard. The first of these is necessary before much more in the way of track can be laid.

Plywood and Roadbed

Part of the Laurel tabletop for the yard and engine servicing facilities is down, and I've begun laying roadbed. As of April 3rd, it looked like this:

The framing square is in the future turntable / roundhouse area. The roadbed that's laid is for the big turnback curve at the end of the peninsula. The squiggly cork not yet installed is some stuff that was in boxes for our move. I don't know if it will ever flatten out, so I may never use it. What's laid is stuff I cut the previous day from the roll I bought years ago (the roll survived the move in pretty good shape).

This is just a close-up of the roadbed, showing how I simply pin it in place on curves until the glue dries. On tangent sections I just add little bit of weight to ensure that the cork doesn't pull upwards from the roadbed in spots before the glue dries:

Sorry for the marginal photo quality - Clearly I need to get my tripod out to take better photos under room lighting - the flash doesn't cut it very well.