Early February 2019 saw the real start of construction for Curlew with L-Girders and joists, followed by plywood sheets cut to fit the corner and the curved wall. Thanks again to our trusty recorder, John, for many of the photos.
Instead of my usual construction technique whereby there are narrow laminated 3/8″ plywood sections glued together along the track alignment forming a continuous ribbon of 3/4″ plywood, I decided to try something different and use large sheets of 3/8″ plywood laminated together to form one continuous 3/4″ sheet over the entire area of Curlew. The idea was that this design would make it easier for laying out the tracks and locating buildings, etc., but it proved to be a big mistake, primarily because it seems that it is impossible to purchase plywood that is anything close to flat. It is also very hard to handle once it is all glued together, as you will see in subsequent photos.
The objective of this day was to get the L-girders up and the top pieces of plywood cut to fit, so we could see how it all looked when in place. The plan then called for fitting the lower plywood pieces in place later and gluing it all together. Of course we also need to get the permanent joists and risers inserted between the plywood and the L-girders so that the entire plywood layer would be level and at the desired height. Yes, I know it usually makes sense to build from the ground up and not downward, but I like to be different!
