Over the past month I finished the benchwork and fascia as well as most of the subroadbed and roadbed. The main and passing track on the Monson Village section are on a removable 8' piece of plywood topped with cork, so i'll be able to install track and feeders with this piece on a table or workbench before installing it permanently on the layout. In the meantime the roadbed and foam scenery inserts are loosely in place so that I can mark the track lines. Ignore the extension cord in the foreground of the photo below - it is just temporary power for the layout lighting. Cork pads will be added on top of the foam to support the sidings for the engine house, turntable and car shed.
To the left of the Monson Village section will be the siding and warehouse serving the Portland-Monson Slate Co's Farm Quarry, and the grade crossing and small shanty at Day's Crossing. I peeled up the cork roadbed from the previous layout and filled in a lot of gaps with foam pieces, with a coat of DAP Fast 'n Final to smooth the surface where the new track will go.
Fast 'n Final is a fantastic skim coat for scenery but it takes several days to set completely, so I won't be able to do the final sanding of this area until the end of the week, but I've mocked up the mainline and siding with the cork roadbed and a piece of flextrack. The road crossing will go immediately to the left of where the railroad crossing was previously.
