16: The custom curved turnout sitting where it will be
installed. The red marks are guides to help with installa-
tion of the remaining switch ties.
17: I use Micro Engineering ties with my scratchbuilt
turnouts. I coat the roadbed with yellow glue then bed
the ties in place. Instead of precutting the ties to different
lengths (and needing to store them!), I just use full length
ME switch ties. Once the glue dries and the turnout is
spiked in place, I make a pass with a Dremel tool and
cutoff disk to trim the ties to proper length. This saves
time and hassle. The Central Valley tie strip next to the
ties helps me set tie spacing between the red marks.
18: I lay Micro Engineering flex track on a bed of
gray, paintable, latex caulk. A “train” of canned goods
helps bed the track into the caulk on the roadbed.
More evidence of construction zone mess is clearly
evident in this shot of the east end of South Jackson.
18
