Start of a new layout

I've been out of model railroading for about fourteen years. When I was 11 my family moved and that was the end of my dad's HO layout. Now we have some spare time and we have begun work on a smaller N scale layout. We decided on the track plan first (links to follow once I get permission from the author) and went from there. The original layout is on a 78x30 inch door. We extended it to 86x36 to ease the curves and inclines some and we had the wood and foam. The frame for the table is made out of 1x2s with a 1" sheet of foam on top. The wood is braced on top of a sturdy folding table (like you get from sam's club) and is easily transportable.

I'm starting this late so there are no "progress photos" from building the frame and laying the track. We used Atlas Code 80 on Woodland Scenics roadbed. It's super flexible and easy to work with and pretty sound deadening. We didn't want to mess with inclines on our own so we just went ahead and used the Woodland Scenics inclines and risers. Easy and flexible and worth every penny versus the stress of doing it on our own!

Speaking of stress and frustration... we ended up with a lot of flex track too short to use after repeatedly screwing it up! It's a lot harder to work with in N as opposed to HO. One great recommendation that I found that made it infinitely easier to work with was to never join two pieces of flex track on a curve, put a rigid piece in between (if I could remember where I read it I would give them credit!) and it makes it easier to work with and join. Also, after trial and error found a cutting system that works. I used a dremel and cut it down just a tad too long (so it doesn't have to be perfect) and used a grinding wheel to grind it down to the appropriate length.

Wiring is for DCC, with about 12 access points or so to try and maintain even power. Decided to model the Alaska Railroad and have acquired an SD70MAC, GP38, two GP40-2s, and an RDC. There are Trainworx coal porters available that I want to try and get a hold of, as well as another SD70 road number and RDC road number that I want. With Alaska you have to get it when it's comes up because there isn't a lot! I feel like I could paint boxcars on my own, but don't really want to try anything else due to the complexity.

Hopefully some pictures to come this weekend!