Finally, we had a really nice day! Spent about 2 hours pulling up/digging out Gil o'er the Ground (aka Creeping Charlie) from along the border. Got about 1/2 way around...... we also found a tiny (1" tall) spruce coming up between the rocks!
Then we ran into the first rock fall - instead of just resetting them, we moved the edge wall out about 18" to accommodate some cabins (Dawgpatch)
There was some serious settling (over an inch) in the high fill area between the steel bridge and trestle, so I used up a couple 5 gal buckets worth of boney as sub-bed rather than dig out the blocks. It will eventually get a cover of limestone -- just like a real RR (Besides, not much grows in that stuff)
Yet more boney for fill
The tunnels will both need partially dismantled to fix rock falls and address minor clearance issues. So I might as well make "proper" portals and maybe wing walls. Anybody have advice on casting concrete, or would pressure treated wood be a better choice? We also have about 15 'volunteer' maple trees to transplant. Anybody want a tree?
A pleasant surprise -- about half a dozen fish survived all those months under the ice...
The business district is back outside. I still need to do some repairs on the other buildings -- plus dig out a bunch more Charley. Quite a ways from being ready to run trains, yet... but looksa little more like a RR....
Kim and I spent the last two days digging up maple trees, thistles, and more Creeping Charlie. While we were at it we (she!) decided to expand the village.Which means I need to get some more houses! We ran the first 'train' yesterday and found several more spots that need some serious help.Today we ran #6, which didn't care too much about the bad track, but the wind kept blowing the big Lionel boxcar off the rails. Tatters von Ragamuffin has decided he's the road foreman.... but says the train doesn't smell alive, even though it moves.
tomorrow rain, Thursday snow----- c'mon Spring!
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