Never finished...

It's supposed to be the model railroad that's never finished.

But the benchwork?

A couple of weeks ago, I assembled a supplemental section to complete the circuit and allow for continuous running. The added section was built fairly quickly, and used a much more basic approach: essentially, a flat 5/8-inch thick plywood piece with legs. It was further divided into two sections, so that one could be a lift-out.

 When I was finished, though, I wasn't satisfied. Then I finally let myself see another possibility that I had been resisting for the four original sections:  To move the other section A from the right side of the configuration to the bottom, and put a new section along the right side. Because that is the side open to the rest of the room (see the configuration situated in the overall room in this post), that's really what made the most sense for access. See the image just above at right.

Note, too, a couple of very small additions where the main sections have to be offset so that the configuration works properly and that there is overall enough clearance in the room. Those will be very basic, just bolted to the existing sections and needing no major support.

Of course, that changed the dimensions for the new section, which gave me a justification for starting over on it. So the original added section has been put aside (I will probably cannibalize some of the lumber). In its place, I am building a full-fledged section, to be supplemented by a small lift-out to allow easy access to the center:

The principal new section will be 18 inches wide. It will be framed differently than the other four. Those used a modified form of Jim Hediger's popular and very successful ripped-plywood framework, with bolted legs. The new section will be ripped plywood framing, the pieces will be smaller and lighter, and the support will be a simple L-girder system. I've been reading, and re-reading, about this in 102 Realistic Track Plans from several years back, and wishing I had followed my initial instincts to use that system from the start.

So once again, the next step -- putting down a layer of insulation foam -- is being put off...