Construction of the benchwork for the Wildcat Valley Railway began soon after the train room was completed in early 2019. The two large layout drawings were printed from XtrackCAD and taped to the wall to guide construction. L-girder construction was used for the lower level and plywood C shapes were constructed to support the upper-level roadbed and scenery, backdrop, and the facia above that.
The picture below is from March 2019. The tape on the floor was used to help visualize the future aisle space which is at a premium due to the room width of 14.5 feet and the minimum 30″ radius for curves.
Lots of dimensioned lumber and plywood with thousands of wood screws here. As you can see, the benchwork is not modular but very sturdy!
1/2″ plywood supported by 1×4 risers was used for the sub-roadbed. This picture was taken during construction, several risers are yet to be added to get the proper grade. The cork roadbed and track on the lower level in the foreground was glued in place before adding the upper level directly above for ease of construction. These loops were placed in the same location but with vertical separation because of the limited room width and required aisle space.
