Although it is not as extensive as Marty's addition and trestle and took more time, my extension is now pretty much done and I am pleased with it. Only a little touch up needed, I will do that just before my steam-up on Oct. 25. Here are some pictures.

 

The extended loop looking north.

 

The cut looking north.

The north end looking west showing two new bridges (More on that below) and one of the new wyes.

 

The other new wye looking south. You can also see some of the lower loop on the left and through the tunnel.

I forgot to take pictures of the bridges before installing them, so here is a sample of how they were constructed. I cut expanded metal the width needed for the bridge and welded it between two angle iron sides. Then I wired 1/2 inch hardware cloth over the expanded metal. This was covered with weed block cloth to keep the balast from falling through.

To level the track I made a new leveling tool. It consists of three pieces of aluminum angle screwed together, two spare wheel sets and a level from the camper supply store. I like this level because it has a wide range and is easy to read.

This picture of the bottom shows how the wheels are mounted. The rear axle is mounted in slots on the ends, the screw in the middle lets it rock slightly so that the front axle under the level always has both wheels on the rail.