HUGE day today!!! Patrick came over and some projects actually got done. He started off priming the backdrop behind Hastings and a couple small filler pieces on the west wall.
After lunch Patrick moved on to paint. We concluded that he primed this section two years ago.
Painting continued on to the freshly primed areas.
While Patrick was busy painting, I was making up feeder wires for the roundhouse and garden tracks.
With the painting done, it was time to install the very last backdrop section.
The big helix is fully wrapped. The band around the top is is the fascia, and will be black to "cap" the sky. It hides the top track, and as trains reach the top, they just rise and appear out of nowhere.
This is the only square corner on the entire fascia.
This is the part of the layout where BNSF trains appear on the east end, emerging from behind the new backdrop section.
This is the east entrance for CP trains at Red Wing.
Unfortunately, the helix fascia wasn't quite level, so there was a height mismatch at the apex. We were in the process of correcting this when it was quitting time.
Patrick may be back next week, but for sure in two weeks. Construction will be complete by the end of the year.
