The Sydney project 04: Lower staging yard approaches 

Yes, he is a real slave-driver. He never lets me take a break.

In round figures, it's about 20' x 46'. There's a design video in the play-list that has more details.

A model railroad can never have too much staging.

That was the day I received the comment on another video where someone said that my "don't go away" was really irritating.

For a long time now, I've felt that a model railroad should indeed look like a piece of furniture. Of course, that goal might take many years to achieve.

Yes it is. There's a design video in the play-list that shows its overall size.

Thank-you. I have gradually been taking more pictures of Zeus (and occasionally my mom's dog as well) as I work. I'm glad to know that they are appreciated as I was a little worried that my viewers might not want them.

@@mpeterll not sure if I am a typical viewer. I do not have the time or space for a layout let alone ones on the scale you build. I just enjoy the quality of your work and the unadorned, straightforward and super clear explanations of how you work. I find it all very calming...majestic pooches luek Zeus always add to this.

My videos will always be free for the benefit of those who can't afford to hire me.

There's a lot of misinformation about "L-girder" benchwork. It was "invented" by Linn Wescott decades ago and the staff of Model Railroader have plugged it ever since. For the most part, it is NOT a good benchwork design. The "advantages" are in most cases either negligible or actually turn into liabilities when one thinks about it a little more deeply. It is much deeper than grid framing, making it a non-starter for multi-level layouts. It also has no torsion strength, making it absolutely the worst benchwork for any layout that might need to be moved some day.

I had the same choice, but after seeing Peter’s channel a few years back went with plywood, 4” front/ backs and 3” stringers all 3/4” Baltic birch ply (very stable with extreme humidity changes I get throughout the year and looks the part when varnished) - finished with 1/2” tops. It’s great to work with and if you standardize the design and make it modular easy to construct - a couple of days to rip off all the main frame parts and pre drill for cables, it pays to plan carefully as Peter demonstrates over and over again! Enjoy the build.

@@mpeterll If I can't get that baltic plywood, not too sure if it's available in Australia, can I just use ordinary birch faced plywood which i think it's about A$80 a sheet.

@@charlesemerson6763 I've used birch-faced plywood for many layouts including my own and have never had any problems. This project is the first one where I've upgraded to baltic birch. The important thing is the number of plies (more is better). Also, make sure that it has been stored flat in the lumberyard. If a sheet has a slight curve to it, that can be worked around by rotating one side rail. Don't accept any sheet that has a twist in it though.

The end I did first is under a workbench so I wanted to keep the track as far back as possible using a minimum radius approach curve to maximize the knee space. At the other end, I used a compound pinwheel ladder as the being the most efficient in terms of track yield in a finite space. In both cases, the extra few inches at the back gave me some extra space to mount circuit boards.

@@mpeterll Thanks for the answer. I did watch the design video again and it helps to clear up for me what you are doing now.

I think that look said" put the camera away and get back to work".

I know nothing about that particular product, so I cannot advise you. Sorry.