2008: Building the First Modules (2 of 4)

We put legs on all the corners and set them up for a historic first shot of something that actually looked like a modular layout. That also shows a bit of a view from our work space - nice place to work!!!

We even had the electrical wiring done for the tracks and connected them together.

Brown paint finished the sides.

After covering the modules with sound-deadening foam boards and painting them, we began laying roadbed from California Roadbed, gluing it down with Liquid Nails.

Dumbbells weighted down the roadbed while the glue dried.

(referring to the exercise weights, not to Alex and Peter!)

Similarly, we glued S-Helper's flexible track to the roadbed and weighted it while the glue dried.

The following weekend, we set them up and ran trains. Ya gotta play, too!!!

Peter provided a mock-up of the orange grove he planned to develop on one corner.

And Mike provided a tunnel mock-up.

Then we turned our attention to roadbed and track for the four straight modules.

Alex began landscaping his dairy farm with a basic styrofoam substructure.

Since the modules were stored in Peter's garage, he put in extra time and scenicked his orange grove corner as an example for all of us novices to learn from.

Mike made a mold and cast a stone portal for the tunnel, and began the infrastructure of his corner mountain.

To provide access in the event of a derailment in the tunnel, Mike put a hinged door in the skyboard behind the mountain.