We have some videos of the initial construction. I did some screen captures and posted them on flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/23959355@N05/albums/72157694961797762
We laid out the first figure 8 in April 88 and by May had begun the earth movement.
We are not the fastest of builders. By the spring of 89 ballast of the first section was complete around Big Rock.
Construction of the initial railroad took more then a year with the first operation during the Summer of 89.
While the figure 8 remains, only a small portion of the right of way is still in its original location as our standards for clearance and minimum radius has evolved. In 2008 the Howe truss was rebuilt to accommodate the K-27 and was replaced entirely this spring with a new redwood version built to 1:20 scale.
Stan