Hi it's been a busy few years working on the layout and developing a club around the layout.

The Surf Line has been completed from LA to San Diego, and the AV Line has been connected to Mojave.  Scenery is now in progress there.  Eventually we will connect all the levels having a straight run-through from San Diego to Seattle on the top deck. 

The ideal technology, which will benefit from the government's efforts to stimulate their economies out of the current crisis, is likely to absorb a large number of labor from the construction industry affected by the recession, provide a long-term economic boost when completed, and provide environmentally friendly benefits along with that.

I'm trying to find information (or better yet, actual photos) about how brake lines looked on early railroad passenger cars, probably circa 1860 - 1900. The kit I'm building simply has a thick line laid down the middle of the car body but doesn't take into account the elevation of running over the truck bolsters so I don't know how 'steep' the angle should be of the line between bolster and attaching to the middle of the car body.

I think I may need to flatten the entire layout design, which means starting over. Advice is appreciated.

The current "L" wall layout, 10 ft x 10 ft is based on the Gum Stump and Snowshoe, a cute little 1960's design that has a switchback and a steep grade to pass over its own track. In my design, that grade and pass-under creates a 4" diff between levels and a 3 percent grade!