As promised I am including some pics showing the evolution of my railroad over the last 3+ years. As stated previously, this is really two layouts in one with a DC elec loco layout and a DCC steam and diesel layout.

This was the original benchwork and location of my layout. It was 8' across the back and 5' down the sides. Since my wife and I rent I wanted to make sure that if we ever move I could take the set apart and reassemble it so each of the 4 sections you see are connected with bolts and wing nuts. Notice the drain pipes overhead. I am 5'10" and we have low wood beams in the basement which I have to duck under as I cross from one end to the other. I have hit my head on that pipe MANY times.

Marklin created a layout creating kit many years ago which I saved and used to help figure out what the layout would look like. Basically they include plastic mockups of their production track pieces in 1/2 size that fit together like puzzle pieces. When you are done, you can essentially add up all the different kinds of track you'll need so you know exactly what to buy. In my case, I planned on mixing track from different manufacturers for reasons I will explain along the way so the kit was more of an easy way to visualize what I wanted. I then traced what I had to end up with a rough blueprint of the layout. I then took the actual Marklin tracks and laid them on the plywood so I could trace them which let me see exactly where the track road bed would need to be placed.

I used Woodland Scenics as my inspiration for building my layout. I used their risers and foam stock to build the "ground" which is 3" above the plywood table. I then built and attached the fascia along the back and sides to create the contour for my mountains and glued in foam portals for the tunnels. I then used crumpled paper and masking tape to make the base for the mts which I would then cover with Woodland Scenics plaster cloth.

The next 4 pics show the layout ready for the plaster cloth.

It's amazing how fast this little world starts to look like something when you give it something of substance to look at!

In my next post, I will show more pics of how it progressed from here and ho I ended up moving it to an adjacent room.