Today I took a small, but important, first step to getting started on my layout by purchasing some powers tools. There was a promotion at my local Lowe's and I picked up a circular saw and a sander at a discount. Tool-wise, I still need to pick up a carpenter's level, square, and some other smaller tools, but I think I have all the big pieces I'll need to start on the benchwork. In addition to being my first permanent train layout, this will also be my first woodworking project, I'm excited to get started!
Also, a small layout design update/change:
Earlier this week, I was thinking about how in some of my older designs I included a reverse loop on the upper double-main. I really liked that feature, and also have also started to have second thoughts about including a turntable on this design, as it only stores a handful of locomotives, is very expensive, and doesn't leave much space for associated engine service facilities, which I really would like to incorporate. But to preserve the functionality of the layout and allow traversal between layers, I need a way to turn locomotives around on the upper layer, so I have always resorted to either the reverse loop (dropped from design) or a turntable (uncertain about). However, this week I had an epiphany and started working on an alternative to the turntable: a wye!
The wye is part of a stub-ended yard and will be used exclusively to hold locomotives. I now have space for engine service facilities including a coaling tower, maintenance shed, etc, and room to store more locomotives than I would have been able to store with a turntable while occupying the same footprint. Although I prefer Ross's #4 switches to provide a more-prototypical track appearance, I've opted for O72 switches for this yard as I think the wider track separation will make it easier to get engines on and off the track and check to make sure all the wheels are resting on the rails properly, etc. I'll update the Layout Design post with the change later.
Earlier this week I sat down and actually did the math for how much the track and switches will cost. It was more than I thought it would be (I did not realize just how many switches I included in the design!), so instead of going on a mad-dash to the finish line, I'm instead going to work on this in chunks over a few years (less if I commit to not buying any more trains for awhile, we'll see 
). Alternatively, I could also trim back the design. I am not particularly inclined to do so, but maybe in the future I'll soften towards the idea. We'll see! Thanks for reading!
