Changes to the KLR ( or why did I really change this)?

I had the opportunity to be part of the LDSIG tour during the 2014 NMRA National Convention held in Cleveland, OH.  As part of the tour, layout owners were asked to report on what they would have done differently during a discussion session after the tours.  While I didn't have the opportunity to participate, it did get me thinking or maybe it actually solidified some thoughts I had been having while constructing and operating the KLR.  The things that got me thinking included:

1) Better organized dispatching yard with more storage tracks
2) More switching possibilities for my paper mill
3) Expanded sawmill operations
4) Removal of part of my backdrop

So I'm going to start this discussion with item #4, which I thought would be the easiest, however, did not quite turn out that way.  Years previously, I read an article in one of the various model rail magazines about using a thin plastic or some form of rolled aluminum as a backdrop.  The advantage was that it would go around curves and corners easily, as well as result in no seams, as one piece was roughly 25 feet in length, easily meeting my needs for the backdrop. The concept was that the material would slip into a plastic clip, which would hold it in place.  The problem was that the material didn't fit and stay in the clips as you unrolled it, even with all my helpers grabbing an edge.  As soon as part of an edge was inside the clip, another length of the roll would be coming out.  And no matter how much I tried to straighten it, the material always seemed to have a bow.  It also didn't take latex paint very well as I discovered, as the material had a very shiny and slick coating, which the article failed to mention.

So where is all this leading? I decided a few months ago to take down the rolled material and replace it with masonite sheets joined together.  While easy in concept, not as easy as I had hoped, since I had already placed scenery up to the background.  The first things to remove were all of the photo backdrops, as well as the trees and other items set up against the backdrop.  So far so good, no rips or tears in my photos.  The flexible material came down easily enough, with little disruption to the scenery, although again, it seemed to have a mind of its own and came out of the tracks at the wrong locations before I was ready for it.  Masonite was cut and put up this weekend and an initial coat of base paint applied. Unfortunately I forgot how much fun it is to paint masonite, especially the slick finished side. And during the work, I forgot to cover my brush, and perched it on a temporary support.  Well you can guess the rest, the brush still with paint on it, coming to rest on some new track waiting to be installed, resulting in a nice blob of white paint on the track.  Thankfully, the track was waiting to be secured and easily wiped up.  So now the paint is on and drying, ready for blue sky later this week.