East Wall Layout Design

After a bit of overanalysis, I've finally settled on the benchwork for phase 2 of my layout build. The first phase, as I covered in previous articles, encompassed the upper staging yards in the north end of the basement, as well as a combination lower staging yard/industrial area. Phase 1 also served as a testbed to try out construction techniques, etc.

The next phase of construction has a total of 12 sections of benchwork - 6 on each deck. For ease of construction, I'm installing the upper deck sections first. The sections to be built are:

• U3/L3: 2' long x 1' wide connection between staging yard and sump pump room. 
• U4/L4: narrow roadbed mounted on shelving brackets in the sump pump room to connect the north and east walls. This double track section will also be used to let engines run around their trains. There is also a lift out section that can be removed in front of the circuit breaker panel. 
• U5: 18" wide / 8' long section that will have a small interchange yard to be used during operations. 
• U6: 18" wide / 8' long section that will have some sort of industrial/switching area. 
• U7-U9: 12" wide / 8' long sections that are just mainline track. These sections are above the main switch yard. By having just mainline track, it eliminates engineers trying to reach over the main yard. 

The lower deck sections are:

• L5: 24" industry/switching area
• L6: 12" mainline section that connects to the main yard throat
• L7-L8: 30" main yard
• L9: 30" main yard, engine facility, mainline curves to the south end of the basement.

Most of the industry and yard modules will have plywood and Homasote tops, but the mainline modules (U7-U9) will be open grids with plywood pieces to hold the roadbed. After the first two modules (U5-U6) the track will transition to single track to add some operational variety. 

There is a lot of work to be done on these new modules, as well as the old ones:

• Backdrops need to be painted
• Homasote tops need to be painted to seal them for dust control
• Wire bus holes need to be cut through the cross pieces
• 1/4" Homasote shims are needed under the crosspieces 
• As the modules are mounted on the wall, they'll be connected to each other and I'll drill holes between the modules.
• Bus wires need to be run down to the main panel area

Once the modules are secured to the shelving brackets, I can start putting down track at long last. It'll be nice to be able to run trains, even if it's just back and forth on the top deck. Once the bottom deck gets going, I'll have some actual operational possibilities, moving trains between the main yard, the industrial areas, and the staging yards.