Yeah, but...

As with most activities, the more you do, the more you learn. Sometimes that learning is constructive. Other times ... well, it's just learning.

Soldering the rail joiners on my last layout provided solid, electric connections.

• Yeah, but it sure is a pain to unsolder all those connections to reuse the track for my new layout!

Keeping a list of lessons learned is a great idea for the next layout - things like sanding the cork and painting it a ballast color, painting rust on the rails before I place them on the layout, etc.

• Yeah, but it's only useful is you ACTUALLY remember to review the list before you begin building!

A detailed trackplan is great to get the maximum track or maximum operations from the layout area.

• Yeah, but its a good idea to check it BEFORE you lay the track and forget to place the critical crossover! 

N scale cork on top of a sheet of cork is the perfect transition from HO cork mainline to the yard and provides the illusion that yard roadbed is shallower than the mainline.

• Yeah, but the cork sheet is a bear to glue down with bubbles and ripples plus it takes 3 N scale strips for an HO wide trackbed, 3 times the gluing and 3 times the pins to hold it in place!

There is nothing like a shop vac to clean off the pieces of solder, cork roadbed crumbles and scraps of plastic from shaving roadbed ties.

• Yeah, but that sucker will vacuum up the pieces of rail, rail joiners, tack spikes and small tools I thought were safely laying far enough away!