Installing Southworth's loading dock ramp

When I installed the concrete foundation around Southworth Machinery, the raised concrete foundation caused problems with the loading dock's ramp not matching up with the height of the concrete. The issue is that I built the ramp's height equal to that of a flatcar spotted on the track, and if I only raised up the ramp without modifying the track then the loading dock would be taller than the flatcar. So it was time to fix it, and what better time than the Fourth of July when I had the day off.(Note: because I can access both sides of the benchwork some of the pictures appear "backwards" from others).

I started mocking up some flaxtrack and realized that I could in theory lay another piece of track right over the track already in place. This would be taller, and it might work. Moving ahead with this plan, I cut the track where it came off the switch and then bent up a new piece of code 70 flextrack to fit. Unfortunately, it still wasn't tall enough so that wouldn't work. So I grabbed a paint scraper (a seriously useful tool) I had the old cork out and the area leveled in about 5 minutes. 

Next, I installed some 1/4" thick cork in the area. After looking at it for about 30 minutes, I realized it was now a little too tall... arrr... so I removed that cork and replaced it with some that was only 3/16" thick. This was just right because it created a little recessed area along the track for the ballast to fill in. Otherwise, ballast would be spilling onto the concrete foundation and I didn't want that.

Next, the flex track was installed and I soldered up the rail joiners. Then, the ties were painted a motly brownish black color, and the rails were painted with a dark brown. 

I should have stopped here and let the glue (Aleene Tacky Glue) holding down the track dry. It is not soluble in water which is why I like it because it holds up through the several subsequent layers of alcohol and glue solutions that are part of the scenery process. But instead of waiting I pressed ahead to take advantage of the day off and applied multiple colors and sizes of dirt, ballast, and ground foam in the area. The loading dock was also glued down.

Foolishly, I soaked everything in alcohol and then applied matte medium. Unfortunately, the track wasn't fully glued down yet and the alcohol solution caused the track to pop up! I had to secure it down with some nails (that I removed later) until everything was set good and hard.

But in the end, it all worked out. The pictures make the two concrete colors appear really garish, and I wish I had either made the concrete foundation a bit more grayish, or the loading ramp a little bit more yellowish so they would appear more congruent. But I can live with it. I still need to add static grass and trees, which will be next on my list.