Benchwork vs Trackplanning

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tcf511

I'll play devil's advocate here a little. Wouldn't it be more prototypical to build the benchwork first? Real railroads didn't find land to fit the plans, they built to match the terrain.

We could carry being prototypical to its extreme lengths & build the scenery first. This would give us the opportunity to blast rock cuts along hydrocal outcroppings, dig tunnels through foam mountains, cut a swath through virgin forests of ground foam trees, sink trestle bents into Envirotex rivers. [:D]

Of course, that's what we all do eventually, despite our best laid plans.

Wayne

[kathymillatt]

I have to admit to planning every curve in great detail only to change to code 83 Peco track after the benchwork was built. As they are not planning to do any curved points for a while I still ended using a bent stick for most of it.

However, I wouldn't have changed the track planning stage as I rejigged the plan hundreds of times before I got it right.

I, personally, didn't do a mock up but then I can easily see my layout in my mind's eye as I stand in the room. If I wasn't so sure then I would have built one.

Kathy

PS does anyone else think that however much you plan you still stand there and look at your benchwork and realise that something is wrong - I forgot to lower one level to allow for an industrial track dropping into the docks - doh!

[selector]

No, but nearly, Kathy. I was not too far into building my layout when I realized that i had nearly forgotten an important step. Right then and there, I began a list of things to do, IN ORDER, so that I would reduce my chances of a ....well...d'oh.

What did you do eventually?