The Battle of Pembroke Hill

Well, I won’t say it was easy, but I believe I’ve managed to get the roadbed pretty flat through the north end of Pembroke.  As I mentioned, the roadbed was glued and screwed (from above) onto the benchwork, and the screws particularly made the work tough.  I also found that the contortions I had to undergo to work above my workbench were severe (though not as bad as if I’d had to work inside the book shelves).

I had to modify four transverse members of the benchwork.  The two northern-most ones turned out to be relatively easy.  They were screwed to the lower section of the river from below.  So, I cut them with a saber saw just beyond the tracks, and pried them off the river.

The southern members were another matter.  I couldn’t simply cut them vertically or the layout would have fallen apart, and the roadbed was screwed in from above.   I tried cutting the screws with a hacksaw once I found them with my cross-cut saw.  That didn’t work, and I wound up exposing their sides by cutting the benchwork with a knife; I then ground them off with the Dremel.  Two of the enemy casualties are shown below.

Finally, I had the roadbed free to move up and down, and I needed to shim it up.  I measured and cut some sections of spruce.  The northernmost two are simply screwed in from below.  The southern pair needed new cleats created.

Now, I need to go back and check the track gauge throughout.  It is unlikely to have stayed correct through all this bending.

Before:

After: