The Preliminary Layout

After adding the item number for each track section to the layout diagram and sorting the track by item number, I began to put it together much like a puzzle. After many attempts, several from the beginning, I had to acknowledge that it wasn't going to work. Each time I ended up with sections that didn't meet as pictured; -and the total length of the layout was much longer than the 38" limit. It became clear that either the layout image was incorrect; -or I was misinterpreting something.

The next day I tried one more time to assemble the layout as pictured in the diagram, but with the same result. I removed some sections of track, and added others that were not listed. The result was the layout above, which looked roughly similar to the original diagram and measured the desired 38" in length. The unused track sections in the center of the layout are those left over. I may never understand the reason for the differences.