I'm running out of smart titles for these posts. I will be posting this kind of stuff for weeks to come. I have decided to complete all the subroadbed for the whole railroad to get all the dirty woodcutting done. I have used this approach before and it has so far always worked for me. 

So again: more subroadbed. I have finished the first peninsula and about 40 feet along 2 walls. The second peninsula will come next.

Hope you all enjoy the pictures!

I have added risers to the subroadbed I cut out yesterday. Now it starts to look more like a railroad. 

I have cut the first plywood subroadbed. I have decided to start with the east end of the railroad and work my way west.

I have made small changes already to the plan - I left out a siding because it looked too crowded - but in general my ideas seem to work out so far. It certainly helps that this is the third edition of the G&AM, doing it over and over again can improve your work!

I've done it: the benchwork is complete and 65 lights have been installed. Now I can start cutting plywood. We will see whether my track plan survives the contact with reality.

I have filled half of my layout room now. 31 shop lights are up and running. Two of the four peninsulas have been constructed.

I'm glad that I could keep my aisle width at a 40' minimum, it makes walking around so much easier.

I haven't done as much as I wanted to this month. It's funny how all kinds of people suddenly remember you and have to come visit if you move to Florida. We have had friends and family stay with us since 12/27. Now everybody is gone and I can spend time building the railroad instead of entertaining them.

Anyway, this is what I could get done:

After putting and painting the complete background I have started to build benchwork.I had a cabinet maker rip 20 sheets of 3/4" birch plywood into 3 1/2" wide strips. It didn't cost much more than buying dimensional lumber but it has the advantage of not warping as much. 

I have been too busy for the last few weeks but today is the day: I'm finally announcing that we have moved from Colorado to Florida in June and that I have put up a new dedicated building for the railroad!

The building contains a layout room of 50 x 28 feet, an office, a workshop, and a bathroom.