Benchwork for the Bottom of the "U"

Progress has certainly slowed over the winter; however, the benchwork for the bottom of the "U" is in place temporarily. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this section had to be slightly reduced in size from the original plan. I drew up plans with the new size continuing with basic open grid framing. One nod towards cookie cutter benchwork in this section is the cutout for a creek bed, a scenic element, between Willow Junction and Willow Springs.

Bottom of the "U" Benchwork under construction on sawhorses
in the attic. The workshop in the barn has been too cold!

This cutout turned out to be a bit of a gumption trap as I hadn't really tried cookie cutter benchwork before. The open grid frame itself was constructed in the traditional manner, with the exception of a 1" X 2" frame member supporting the creek bed. After cutting the plywood, I cut the frame down for the creek bed insert and attached 1" X 2" supports along the bottom of the front and back of the frame. Both the location of the future pile trestle and the triangular plywood extension are visible in the photo to the left. This side of the bottom of the "U" will not have a corner section; rather, it will be the two rectangles bolted together.

The plan is for the back of this section of the benchwork to rest on an L girder ledger with one leg supporting the front and the ends bolting to the adjacent sections.  I will need to trim some of the blue foam and mount the next section of backdrop before permanently installing this section. The ledger and the location are visible in the photo to the right.