Work is progressing on the west end non-helix (nolix). The Masonite facia is in place. That stuff is some of the messiest material to cut, a close second to Homosote. Fine dust goes everywhere and sticks to everything.
Most of the tunnel portals are in place as well. I’ve noticed that the Chooch brand portal openings are smaller than the Woodland Scenics brand. This makes the double portal on the curved track where I’ve spaced the track a little wider tight for my 85′ passenger cars. I’ll need to do a little modification on one side to widen the portal or replace it.
I’ve also got the first layer of plaster cloth on the falls area below.
I will need to start adding some rock work soon, Not sure if i want to add a second layer of plaster cloth yet, though. To my amazement, I was able to get the first layer of plaster cloth to adhere to the vertical wall of foam under the main waterfall. I still need to decide on my approach to the rock walls here, I’m leaning toward carving them myself rather than using rock castings because of the odd shapes and tight curves needed. I’ll finish the facia in the river area and get the riverbed plastered in soon, as well.
On another note, I’ve been looking into using tablet computers for control panels for my yard areas. Since I’m using JMRI, this looks like a simple solution. In doing some research I’ve found that JMRI has a web server function that allows any device that has a web browser to access JMRI Panel Pro panels full functionality. I plan to borrow my wife’s Ipad to test this out. Older version of these can be purchase reasonably on Ebay.
