On With the Train!

We're still at it! Bit by bit we are still putzing away at our train table. Tuesday night we took a break from the train because Matt had a soccer game, so he didn't get home until late. Wednesday night we worked on some very tedious things...Since the track foam was glued down and dry, we had to place and glue the track down (the arrows show where the pins are holding the track in place while the glue dries). While the glue was still tacky though, we had to start pouring out the ballast and glue that into place. This was a tricky process since the directions are not very clear and don't offer ANY suggestions or tips. Trial and error!If you notice, the ballast doesn't go all the way down the track. This is because we only need to place enough that that will be visible in the tunnels. Here, I am tacking into place the tunnel portal support-- everything behind it will be "under ground."

That's about all we actually got done Wednesday night. We started to box in the tunnels, but it got hot in the basement, so we called it a night. Thursday night I went out with the girls, so Matt stayed home and worked getting all the tunnels boxed in. It was my job, this morning, to paint the inside of the tunnels black. This helps create the illusion of a really dark tunnel.Tonight we started by setting up the edges. We had set these exterior supports up earlier so that we could layout the track entirely, but since then, we have contoured the edges to reflect the changing terrain. There are also holes cut in the rear of some so that we may have access into the tunnels later if or when needed.This is just a farther view of the table so that you can see the tunnels and their portals a little more clearly.Now I'm going back and adding more supports to the edges so they are more stable before I get a chance to glue everything in place. Notice those awesomely dark painted tunnels!While I pinned everything in place before gluing, Matt was setting up the upper tier of the track and marking the bridge placement. We will eventually have a waterfall under the bridge!!I MUST have the sweetest husband ever, because while I was hot gluing all the edges in place (a one person job), he serenaded me on the drums. After I was done, he worked some more on the upper tier track supports before we called it a night.

Our goal for the end of the weekend is to have all of the platforms in place, back filled areas with newspaper, and plastered over everything. It's a lofty goal, but I think we can accomplish it! Wish us luck (and stay tuned)!