Updated 9/21/2017:
And so the real work on PRR Panhandle 2.0 begins.
First, the clean slate. This is the far right end of the plan that will become the Staging Area.
I believe, thanks to my wonderful wife Judy, that the issue with applying shellac has been solved. She found some old t-shirts (cotton) and helped me apply the stuff evenly to the spruce 2"x2"s. I have been pretty frustrated looking on-line for rags and only finding expensive bundles of painters cloths. The answer is pretty simple - go to Goodwill or a dollar store and buy some cotton t-shirts. 
For spreading stain or shellac, old t-shirts cost less and work better than the commercial rags at Walmart, HD, or Lowes. And these stores don't even carry them. They have to be ordered. 
We applied the shellac in the garage. The 2 bundles to the right are the poplar legs that will be used for the most visible parts of the layout. We are going to try out some stain on them tomorrow.
In this photo, the topmost 2"x4"x10' had shellac brushed on (I will hide them deep under the layout). The 2"x2"s in the foreground had shellac applied with cotton t-shirts. Wow, what a difference!
We are officially rolling on Panhandle 2.0 construction!! 
George
