Transferring The Plan | 2 Comments - Click Here :

Now armed with a track plan, my next objective is to transfer it to the layout. I first sealed the Homasote with flat grey latex paint. Many thanks to my friend Doug Heitkamp. He copied the plan from the valuation map and drew it full scale in Autocad. The drawing is complete with center line, rails and scale turnouts. I'm pleased to see that the Autocad drawing matches up the with the valuation map.
A very low resolution  jpeg scan of the large Autocad file is below:

Doug's girlfriend Michelle then plotted the plan full size at her place of employment. I temporarily attached the plan to the layout surface with masking tape. Using a perforation tool from Hobby Lobby, I traced the center line of the track, which cut through the plan leaving a groove in the soft Homasote. I then went back over the grooves with a Sharpie pen to highlight them:

With the center line of the track now transferred to the surface, it's time to lay some ties!
- Cowboy Up!