Northstar Subdivision: September 1st, 2019 - Mainline Construction Completed

At long last, the connection between the upper and lower deck is complete and trains can traverse the entire mainline. I've decided to do a lot of finishing work on what's been completed prior to starting the peninsula, including:

Powered turnouts in staging yard and on mainline, including fascia-mounted controls
Fascia installed and painted
Ground throws, where I'm not using PECO turnouts
I'm also considering starting scenery, including ballasting track, lineside buildings, etc.

The peninsula will add a lot more switching opportunities, but having this phase of the layout completed will let me start having shake-out operating sessions and make some needed fixes/improvements to what I've built so far. I have a very busy fall coming up, so I'd rather focus on what I've built so far, enjoying running trains, and perfecting the known bugs. Having additional people come run trains on it will also help shake out bugs, since every software developer knows that users find bugs far faster than you do.

Construction Timeline

I went back through my Facebook posts to get an idea of how long it took to build the layout so far. Based on when I posted pictures, descriptions, etc. and allowing for some notable gaps in construction due to life events, it looks like it took about 14 months of construction over two and a half years. The false start in 2016 was preceded by basement painting and some family medical issues that took precedence.

Phase 1: Test Phase

During phase 1 of construction, I did a lot of research into how to build the layout, how to construct the modules, and so on. I ended the phase by completing the first few modules and getting them (roughly) installed on the wall. This also let me confirm heights and viewlines.

Jul 16-20, 2016 - Initial lumber cut and first modules constructed
Apr 21, 2017 - May 11, 2017 - U1 installation

Phase 2: Outside Walls and Helix

I next built the sections to be installed on the north, east, and south walls of the basement, both upper and lower deck. I built the upper deck first and then built the lower deck.

Oct 2017 - U1-U3 completed
Nov 2017 - U4 (Sump room connector), U5-U8 construction
Dec 2017 - U5-U8 construction
Apr 2018 - L1-L3 construction
May 2018 - L5-L9 construction
Aug 2018 - L4 (Sump room connector) construction
Sep 2018 - L4 construction, L1-L3 track
Nov 2018 - L1-L3 track, L5-L9 track
Dec 2018 - L5-L9 track
Jan 2019 - engine facility
Jun 2019-Aug 2019 - helix and south wall benchwork
September 1, 2019 - Mainline construction completed, first trains run between staging yards

Phase 3: Peninsula

The final phase of construction will be to build a double-deck peninsula originating from the south wall, running parallel to the east wall. This peninsula will add a number of industries and switching districts to make operating sessions more interesting. However, I'm not planning to start building that until I've gotten a lot more of the work done to "finish" the phase 2 sections.

Current Layout Photos

I've been making a habit of taking pictures along the way during construction, since photos can often help explain how someone else can take from what I've done for their own layout. These photos show each of the sections of the layout, as they exist in September 2019. The sections are shown in order from east staging (lower deck) to west staging (upper deck).