The Problem:
When I built the City portion of our layout, I did not want to take up valuable real estate (literally) to house a very large train station as at the time I was going to use the tinplate Terrace and 116 Station. So I decided to make an extension over the lower portion of the layout. It worked out very well, and when Lionel introduced the GCT in 2010, I was lucky that the GCT fit in this same space perfectly. Now comes the new Harry Heike Base unit for the GCT which of course is much larger than the space currently available. The photos more accurately show the problem.
The Solution:
After giving this considerable thought, I decided that the best solution for me was to build a simple extension to the existing base unit on the lower level. The only real estate on the lower level that I would be compromising is part of the water scene that is already fairly large. There was no room to work on the right side because of the existing railroad tracks on the lower level. I used 1 1/2 by 12's that make this extension rather sturdy and very heavy. Certainly should more than support the weight of the GCT and new Harry Heike Base unit. What's left is the application of Scenic Express wall materials to match what is already there. Hopefully, the walls will arrive tomorrow. Then it is a simple matter of placing the extension around the current one. Should do the job. Here is a photo of the extension ready for the walls to be applied. As soon as the extension to the existing base is ready to be installed, I will post additional photos.