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Risers on plywood "platform". On my layout, I used the cookie cutter method for construction.  I first built a "platform" of 3/4" plywood on 2X4's, basically built as a wall but horizontal.  Both the platform and the risers were built out of 3/4" plywood.  I did this both for strength and the resulting smoothness I'd get on the vertical transitions for the risers.  Lets face it, you simply cannot do anything quickly using 3/4" plywood, which is desired for a vertical transition.  As some commented it may be overkill, but so far I haven't regretted it.  It also makes it so that if you cut a riser to the wrong height, you find out about it immediately when the other risers don't fit.Second, I laid out the design full-sized using plain white paper covering the layout.  This laid out both the trackage as well as the required widths of the elevated track sections.I then used this full-sized drawing, cut into templates, to cut the elevated track sections, along the longest pieces of plywood available.  I used the same templates to cut the 1" blue foam to overlay the elevated track sections.  This kept all of the really messy cutting in the garage.  The blue foam was glued to the plywood.The risers I cut out of scrap 2X4's, finish nailed from the top and bottom, and glued.  Typical spacing was 16" to 18".  Where I put a switch machine on the elevated track (3 of them) I cut a nice sized access hole through the platform to get to it.  On one I had to shift the riser off to one side and adjust it's height accordingly.  The heavy plywood does make it a bit tougher to cut in the slots for a tortoise switch machine, but it's not that much harder.To install a tortoise, use 0.30 piano wire, available from your local piano repair parts store.  I've got a guy that will sell it to me for $0.10 per foot, in 10' pieces.  It's stiffer than the original stuff, and works much better on those longer reaches to it.  From the tortoise to the switch it's close to 2" on my layout.My trackwork is smooth, and it's hard to tell where the vertical curve starts. Mark in Utah
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