Mark: regarding setting ties on curves. The curves on my layout are very broad and I don't have very many, but the method I used worked well enough for me.
Draw the line of your easement and curve on the side of the ties you want to work from. Use a small piece of scrap wood cut to the space you want between tie faces ( I used 12" for the main and 15" for spurs). Put the glue down with a putty knife then just place the ties along the drawn line using the scrap as a spacer gauge. Of course the tighter the curve the more pronounced the pie shape will be. Goes quicker than it sounds. You'll naturally get some variations, but the prototype does too.
