The first scene I decided to attempt, was Othello. A picture of Othello’s idyllic scenery appeared in Barrie Sanford’s Steel Rails, and I felt drawn to it. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say I had some trouble getting started. I knew nothing about building model railways.
Because of my limited space and how high the upper levels got, I thought instead of doing things the usual way with trackwork first and scenery later, I’d do the scenery instead in 8 foot segments that I could lift up and down from the shelf as I worked on them. I reasoned with the foam being standard thicknesses, as long as I kept the area for the tracks at the same level, I could do no wrong.
And of course, I was wrong. Because despite my best efforts, neither the foam pieces nor the shelving was always perfectly level. So I ended up with some slight rises, or uneven tracks. Whoops.
I also knew nothing of scenery, never having done it before in my life. Predictably, my first effort at ‘Othello’ was a dud.