A platform in Emsingen

I didn't feel like running trains tonight. Nor was I in the mood to build the control panel for Emsingen (the electronics don't like me this week. Why the heck can I not get the sensors of the Uhlenbrock 63350 to report that there is something to report when I connect Ground to an input? gah! But I disgress...)

So I started mucking around with a piece of styrofoam to build the platform for Emsingen's track 2. Working with styrofoam is messy. A very sharp knife is helpful. That turned out better than I expected, and after a few more experiments  I glued down the styrofoam. The idea was to build the platform core from styrofoam and then cover it with the usual plaster-vermiculite mix.

I imagine the platform is built from gravel and dirt with a sanded top. The side towards track 2 is raised slightly above the the rails, while the side facing track 1 is sloping down. There will be two crossings over track 1 for passengers to get to the platform for track 2. One can see the styrofoam core on the photo below.

Since I had the tracks masked off already, I also filled in the area between track 2 and track 3, as well as a small section between track 3 and track 4. While I tried to make the surface of the platform really smooth, the fills are a bit more rough. Of course, the debris will be cleaned up once the plaster is dry. I should have just used a cork sheet when building the station area, instead of individual cork strips for the tracks. Oh well ...