Room Construction - Part 3

Room construction is for the most part complete! Since the last construction update, the drywall, sanding, and taping has all been finished. My father installed all of the electrical outlets, and the carpet has been installed. Overall the room came together very nicely. It took a lot longer than I wanted but I am happy with the way it has turned out.

I have also started benchwork which as of today is probably 30% complete. Most of the benchwork will have storage underneath. I decided to go with 2x4 construction which a lot of people will say is overkill, but if I want to do jumping jacks on the layout, I can. When studs are only $1.66 a piece, it wasn't a hard decision. This first shot shows a view of where the union station will be. It is currently just sitting on the layout so I can finish figuring out a track plan.

I had the carpet guy install as close as he could to the ejector pump, furnace, and hot water heater. I am going to use every possible inch of the room. A standing/viewing area will be right next to this equipment, which will be covered when guests come to view the layout, somehow. This has not been figured out as of yet. The tan box on the floor to the right of the floor drain is a water alarm. I picked it up for about $10. If there is ever a leak it sounds like a smoke detector. I am already keeping my fingers crossed that it will never go off.

This shot is taken standing behind the ejector pump shown in the previous photo. The union station passenger platform is in the middle of the photograph to the left. So far I am working out a track plan where 4 diamonds will be used.

In two corners of the layout there will be a viewing area that is only accessible by crawling under the benchwork. This picture shows one of these areas. It is approximately 48" by 30" enough room to comfortably stand, or sit and watch the trains pass by.

This is a shot taken from the chair shown in the previous photograph. The chair you see is 23' away. This will be a long straight run to the other side of the layout, passing over the DesPlaines River via the use of the Lionel lift bridge.

This shot is taken from the same chair looking to the left. The union station passenger platform is to the right, and the diamonds will be pretty much in the middle of the picture. A future scratch build project will be the old EJ&E passenger station, which will sit in the lower left portion of the photo.

This picture shows some of the cloud work that was created by using two different color blues. For now I am very happy with it. I have not yet decided if scenery will be painted on the walls to achieve a more realistic depth.

Finally here is a shot of my helper, Comet. He enjoys the new carpet just as much as I do. Some work still needs to be completed in the room, such as painting the entry door and adding trim, adding track lighting, and of course finishing the benchwork. My goal is to complete the benchwork in this room by the middle of March, and then move on to laying some track.