Layout Status

I spent the last two days pretty much constantly in the train room, much to the dismay of my family.

All ramps are now built. Cork roadbed is installed, except in two places where I still need to make up my mind where and how to route the track exactly:

• At the south end of Talheim station the circular ramp intrudes a bit into the clearance of the southbound track. I worked around that by adding a 1/4 curve away from the hill. However, now the track doesn't flow well, and I'd still love to add that extra switch in Talheim.

• The planned viaduct out of Emsingen turns out to not look nearly as high as I imagined. Additionally this section of track is part of the transition area down the hill towards Abzweig Talheim. Originally I planned to build a two arch stone viaduct, but I now fear it will look rather odd at this place. I'm now considering a steel through truss bridge. Until that question is settled track routing in that area will remain in limbo. I'll probably do a few cardboard mock-ups to help decide.

Cork roadbed is installed for most tracks in Emsingen station. Semaphore locations are prepared. The Emsingen yard tracks come close to the air space of the Machinenfabrik in Talheim. I'll leave this area alone until I can settle the question whether I need 3 yard tracks, or can make do with two.

Next up are track feeders and basic wiring for the upper level. Then I'll try running a few trains up and down the hills, see how they do, and whether grades need further adjustment. This will also give me a chance to try out some operating schemes for the two stations and their industries.