More Benchwork Progress on the M & M Sub.

The new benchwork is coming along . . .

One good thing about doing benchwork is that progress is easy to see; one day there's nothing there, the next day, there's something--and sometimes, lots of it. This is in contrast to doing scenery, where progress can be measured in inches or a few feet of grass, trees or other items.

My benchwork is nothing to write home about, or maybe even post on a blog. It's just a means to an end, the end being running trains. That said, my benchwork isn't intended to win any contests. It's purely utilitarian--it's basically just shelves with trains on top.

(I don't understand modellers who carefully cantilever their benchwork off the wall, in an effort to keep the space beneath the trains clean and unobstructed. Where do they put all their stuff?)

While building my new benchwork, I once again discovered the essential truth all lone-wolf modellers know: Clamps are your best friend. How else could you keep pieces of wood in place with only two hands?

Speaking of progress, there's been some on other fronts, too; this blog passed 125,000 views last week, and my YouTube channel, which contains videos of the layout, along with videos of other layouts and the prototype, passed 250,000 views.

My goal is to have some trains running on the new section by the New Year; we'll see if that happens. But there's no rush; I've been working on this layout since 1994, so there's lots of time to get things done.