CN Blackwater division

[cnrglen]

Thanks Tom.
I'm a couple steps closer to laying rail. This week I filled in the 'trench' that I buried the turnout throw rod in:
   

Some quick-drying spackle and my saner did the trick, followed by a repaint.

   

Then I laid the ties down for the sidings. I spread a thin-ish layer of carpenters glue and laid out the tie strips that I had made.  I pressed them down with a short straight-edge that also held them down as I pulled the masking tape back up.
   

I like the look of hand-laying in the yard and sidings where not all the ties are perfectly aligned and straight, just like the real thing. My plan is to connect the short space between the two turnouts first, then sand the ties lightly to level and weather them a bit. 
I read an old article in MR by Tony Koester where he stated that he ballasts the ties before laying the rail. I'm thinking there might be advantages to that so I'm going to try it on the Warehouse siding to see how is works.