I had thought of that, and to be honest it would look better. Also, seeing as this is a shortline and not a heavy-trafficed Class 1, I had also toyed with the idea of sprinkling a little ground foam between the ties here & there, representing the inherited deferred maintenance spun-off lines deal with. Not so much that it would interfere with the locomotives, but enough to make it a little rundown. I know that on a spur somewhere it wiuld really look good. Hmm. wonder if I can replace an industry with a pulpwood loading facility, with its loads destined for another paper mill elsewhere......
Since I also model a shortline, I'm using Z scale cork on the main and mounting the sidings direct to the foam layer. It gives the track the look you're talking about above. On my class one mainline I still will use N scale cork, but it helps to make that subtle difference having the minor different levels of track. I like the idea of small bits of ground cover between the ties. I've even thought of using small very thin pieces of styrene under the side of one rail in various spots to get the "shortline rock" as I like to call it.
Unitrak will be on my mainlines but I'll be using code 80 flex track on my spurs and yards. Most likely it will be fastened directly to the foam but I _might_ put flat cork or something under it. I'm doing this for cost and esthetics.
I just joined today and I must say that your plan is nice. I have acquired approximately the same amount of land and my initial plan is similar to yours. I am still working on some refinements and as soon as I get more details, I'll start my own thread and post my plan and ask the good people here to give me some pointers. Can't wait to actually get started.
Couple questions to consider: As mentioned, will you be able to get at that staging easily? How will you spot trains back there? What are you using for turnout controls and indicators? These are things I always ask about as I've spent a lot of time thinking about the pros and cons of hidden staging.
