Backdrops & Fascia, Finale

With Joey's help, all the backdrop has been installed. I did not realize how unwieldy 28" x 8' strips of masonite, with the rigidity of jello, would be. He would lift the boards over the layout while I crawled underneath and fastened them with quick clamps. Then I would continue to crawl with the drill and some #10 x 3/4" screws and washers to bolt them to the layout. The first section behind the west staging yard was pretty easy since there is a 12" aisle behind that section of the layout. One foot is very narrow! I had to crawl under my worked desk to get behind East McKeesport but that was not too bad ... so long a I stood up facing the right direction. One time, my mind was wandering and I stood up facing the wall with no way to turn around.

Behind the rest of the layout was another story. Since I was screwing the masonite into the layout, I would drill a hole from the inside through the layout support and masonite and then reach up in a space of about 4" wide with an offset screw driver!! Yeah, it took a while. And my plan to place a screw every 6" soon became every foot and by the time I reach the east staging yard, about every 16".

I cleaned up the area last night - finally, not tripping over wood, paint cans and saw horses after 3 weeks - and attached the waybill holders and one throttle holster. Both of these are from MicroMark and I really like how these make the layout look more finished. I have the remaining 4 waybill holders and 6 throttle holsters on the way. I wonder if UPS will deliver on a Saturday?

Not sure what I am going to do with the 7 waybill holders I had built from foam board when we used to go RVing. Maybe I'll create a display case for them. HA!

Enjoy the photos. Next step - lighting.