Coach Joe and Mannyrock,
Thanks for the kind words
Coach Joe: cover one face of each brick with spackle, do not smooth. Stain with diluted craft paints. Use a full strength light color craft paint as a mortar during assembly
Mannyrock
Please don't take a sledge to your layout, just keep rebuilding it and it will get better and better. If by the bridge you mean the truss bridge, that is a Lionel Postwar #317 Trestle Bridge