Did I miss the memo?

Rob? Are you keeping the tripled decked narrow gauge line or is that gone now? Say it isn't so!

Well, I'm watching. You a a fantastic and prolific model railroad empire builder so looking for more great things!

"benchwork is underway on the

   Does "modern" refer to layout era or layout construction method? ......DaveB 

It isn't so!

Neil, the Narrow Gauge is still there and prepping for some ops hopefully this spring.  I will post a little update on it soon as some of the structures and this and that from the old modern layout found their way onto the narrow gauge. 

This is indeed the start of a brand new "modern era" layout that will replace the old one that was torn down in December.  The garage was completely refinished and I have a plan for expansion using a heavily modified TOMA that will accommodate multi-decks. 

As you can see space is at a premium so inhabitants of the old modern layout are currently hanging out underneath the narrow gauge (NG). It turned out to be very fortuitous that there is so much space under the NG because of the center column design!  Progress on the NG will be much slower from here, though in a sense the NG has reached its first level of completion.

Also spent a little time developing a v1.0 draft of the touch panels for the layout. Here is a test one of Burbank Jct.  Feedback, etc. welcome.

Also a quick question, I have a lot of yard space on the new layout.  I ordered 1/4in cork from Home Depot.  has anyone used it for yard trackage?

Best,

Rob

Thanks

Almost had an ambulance on the way - mild heart attack at the thought of your narrow gage going down. 

The new control panel is sweet. I know little about modern rail but that looks good to me. For that matter,I hate wiring and controls in general and have a lot of respect for you doing this and keeping everything running. 

You clearly do not have another half asking where she is to park the car ... a bit envious.

Stunning

Love the panel Rob. How did you achieve the carbon fibre effect?

Too cool, Rob!

I'm looking forward to following your progress on this one!

Thanks guys

Neil, that's what the carport is for! 

Glad the carbon fibre effect came through, Peter.  It's just a texture that speaks, "modern" to me as opposed to the burlap background I used on the narrow gauge panels.  I forget the actual name of it at the moment but it's a common metal flooring, sort of like what you might see inside a military ship, or aircraft.  Not carbon fibre perse.  I wanted the colors on the narrow gauge to be more reds, browns, and oranges, and the modern to be more navy blues and greys for a tonal difference.  But that may change when I get to the desert scenery on the modern layout. Navy blue facia and desert scenery may not mix!  I know it's way off but I was also thinking about having the facia reflect the host railroad of the scene modelled, with yellow for UP, Navy Blue for Amtrak, and orange for BNSF.  If you notice in the last photo the old facia was more-or-less yellow for the whole thing. Plenty of time to think about it!

Thanks, Rick, looking forward to plenty of sunshine for construction this weekend!  And I haven't forgotten I still owe you all a cab ride on the NG!

Rob

@Rob...

Yes I've used the 1/4" cork from Home Depot. I cover the entire railroad with it before I laid track for my yard and laid Midwest cork roadbed on it for the mainline as well. Is deletes the drumming of the 2" foam I use for sub roadbed. Check out pages 20, 21 & 22 of my blog for photos.     John

Keenly interested in

Keenly interested in following this thread. Amazed by the "other layouts" too.

Tread plate...

is the name of the pattern on your panel.        John

Tread plate!

Thanks, it was on the tip of my tongue! 

Had to take the weekend for family stuff but will be back at it next weekend.

Rob