Getting Real Column - 6
9. The 2” Styrofoam subroadbed was replaced with
new birch plywood subroadbed. This is how the
scene looked the day after the decision was made to
alter the scene.
9
10. Even in its raw benchwork state, Randolph has
become a favorite of my operating crew. My son
Matthew is trying to get a handle on the situation as
three trains converge on Randolph.
10
As I related in my last column, the scene is now secure in its
new location on the railroad.
While they were working on the bridge scene, Ben Hom and
I went to work on the track in the paper mill. Within an hour
we had removed all the track. At first I planned to reuse the 2”
Styrofoam sub-roadbed. However, this area was at the point
where the “new” peninsula joined the original lower deck
around-the-wall benchwork which is a 1x4 grid with plywood
sub-roadbed. Despite my best efforts, the foam was never per-
fectly level or flush in this area, and it seemed to change over
time (likely a result of the wood shrinking and swelling with
the seasonal temperature shift}. Since I was going to have to
extend some of the sub-roadbed in a couple of spots, it made
more sense to simply strip everything down to the 1x4 grid
and rebuild with birch plywood sub-roadbed.
The photo below shows the current state of the new Randolph
scene. Although it’s still in the raw benchwork stage, the town
is fully operational, with all the track and wiring complete.
We’ve already had a couple of operating sessions with the new
town, and the crews like working the local freights here, and
the dispatchers love the addition of a longer passing track.
The Randolph station is complete except for final signs and
weathering. My plan is to build several of the other structures
and complete the basic scenery this coming winter.
MRH-Dec 2014
