One day we decided we had been stagnant for too long, and what we really needed were some projects to get the old juices flowing again.  Some people may say this is the time to tear down the layout and start over, but I dare say now is the time when a layout gets Truly Exciting!

When we build a layout, the first 80% of the work is a mad rush to get to something half resembling the final finished product.  We make shortcuts, we do the quick and dirty, and things like scenery can be little more than an afterthought.  In short, there's still a TON of work to do on an 80% layout, but it takes going out and FINDING the work!

So here we have the meadow between the mine of Jerome, the station of Sonoita, and the Town of Crown King up on top of the bluff.

See that culvert to the left? Where's it coming from?? And how about those ugly rocks around the tunnels? Hideous! This is all wrong, just...wrong...

Perhaps this was all good and well for a 50% layout, or a 75% layout, or even an 80% layout, but the SASME layout is closer to 85%; this scene is a travesty!

We send out a surveyor's expedition, where our engineers and geologists go out and render what can be with what is.  We ask them to find a better arrangement...

...and they break out the string and stake out their suggestions.

This little survey by our engineers suggests what would be a more asthetically pleasing arrangement...1, remove the culvert [red], 2, cut a creek [blue], 3, build a ridge [green]...

The excavation crew makes quick work interpreting the survey. 

There is No Good Reason to tolerate nonsensical scenery! The culvert is gone first!

The fascia is cut and the old culvert is extracted right quick.  The faux fur field is then pulled up and relaid; it's as if the culvert was never there! 

 We then attend to the new Creek by cutting into the fields.  This creek shall be named Turkey Creek, for the creek that runs near Crown King, AZ. Perhaps we'll use the old culvert on the back track this time around instead of the front track. Notice how we're allowing the fields to naturally taper into the creek.

We'll leave the excavation crew for a moment, as the fabrication crew has arrived.

The erection crew arrives to tackle the new ridge.

The ridge begins with an underlying framework.

We create a foundation for the new ridge out of Styrofoam, toothpicks, a moderate amount of hot glue and a little white glue with paper towels to hold it all together.

We cover the earth with a little paper and tape, so we don't make a mess...cause we're about to get dirty...

Our masons arrive to being the process of stabilizing our new foundation.

Out comes the plastercloth, and we wrap our foam frame

Here you can see the emergence of the hidden pool, as the creek meanders down the grade.

And here, an old diggings, an old mine...the southwest is full of these holes...

Looking over our new ridge, we see the scene from the other direction, where we can't see the tunnels.  This may be a useful vantage point for photo opportunities down the line. It's coming together.

And with the plastercloth in place, our masons can lift the whole ridge up as a single peice and move it offsite, free and clear from the sidewalk superindentents who'll no doubt come moseying by on meetin' night!!

We want to get the front fascia replaced as soon as we can, but first we have to address a couple issues in the substructure.

We seem to have a couple homosote splines in our way...we're cutting all the way through the front spline.  This could lead to the spline collapsing between risers, so our engineers brace the section with a couple blocks and a piece of timber.

We can now cut the roadbed. 

We had the right saw on hand, by jove, a coping saw! It's the only saw in the house other than a couple old shallow razor saws...and it's perfect!  It makes short work of the Homosote...

 The rear spline is a bit more obstinate. No problem, we get out the drill and drill it out the hard way, one bore at a time!

With the cutout complete, we may now see our creek.

Onwards to the Fascia... 

Fabricators repair the damage done to the fascia by removing the culvert.

We use the pieces cut from the fascia as a rough template to reduce our masonite into a more manageable section.

We put up the new fascia board, trimming it as necessary until it fits, and then fasten it with drywall screws.  Spackle is used to cover and fill any imperfections.

This end is not over a joist, so we used a butt joint reinforced with a plate on the reverse side, glued and clamped into position.

Since now we have to wait for the glue to dry, it's time for more work on the substructure.

Engineering decides this culvert set will be used instead...it's a bit more modern, but it looks good.

We return to our earlier work and install the cardboard lattice work at the skeletal level.

The old foundation is laid to rest over this new framework.

The base for the creek is made with ease.

It's only a matter of time, now... 

Not a moment to lose, the faux fur grass is hot-glued into place.  Perhaps it's a bit early, but this really ties the room together...

Lo behold, the glue and spackle on the fascia is dry!