After fixing my problem with getting my locos up a 2% + grade (it was never consistent for the entire run) I then saw another aspect of my original plan that I never really loved. At that point I had my loco run up hill about 4 inches over the course of 8-10 feet or so but coming back down hill was done inside another tunnel on the opposite end of the layout in about 3 feet. Needless to say it was a steep hill downward though a few tests showed that locos would not fly off the track or even move that much faster so it was doable but I didn't love it.

Seems like there has been much discussion on focus /phot stacking. For the last few weeks I have looked through different methods and software. In my search I came across a photography blog by Ruben Larsson. http://rubenlarsson.blogspot.com/2008/12/merge-photos-with-different-focus.html In his blog he discussed using Combine ZM software for stacking (it's free). He clearly wrote the steps from start to finish. And I have to say, there aren't many and it's fairly simple.

I left off with the stage of my railroad development having built the benchwork, added foam risers and platforms, fascia, newspaper and tape to prepare for the addition of Woodland Scenics plaster cloth for the mountains.

Are there any products or designs that are effective to "clean-in-place" steam loco drivers?