I recently moved to the Low Country (coast of South Carolina). I had a G-scale indoor layout when I lived in Ohio so I never had to worry about outdoor environments. I have not come across anyone in this area (Hilton Head) with a garden railway thus far. My plan is to build a G-scale layout in my back yard. The big issue I see is the very sandy soil in which I think the sand would reek havoc with the mechanical systems. One possible solution I am considering is raising the bed to keep the track away from the sand by using decorative concrete block that is commonly used for retaining walls. The ground here is mostly flat (I am a ten minute walk to the ocean). I would simply set single blocks along the layout design and place the track on top of the block. It would also make changing the layout fairly simple. Many different varieties of block exist. However the blocks are not cheap, but they have the advantage of being very stable.
Any thoughts?
My experience with sand and salt.
They will invade every part.
There are several outdoor RR layout around Orlando Fl.
They should have a better solution or ideas for your help.
Hi,
I moved from 10k feet in the Colorado Rockies to the Albuquerque NM area and have nothing but sand in my backyard. I've dug down as deep as 4-5 feet and nothing but sand, sand, and more sand. Having said that, I have done something like what you are considering, raise the bed about 18" with real dirt. I just couldn't bring myself to plant shrubs, trees, etc. in sand. I know everyone does it but it just seemed un-natural to me, after all there are no natural trees etc. around here, just a few million tumble weeds!
It has been a year and half now and I have had no problem with sand getting into everything like some say. My backyard has no visible sand remaining thanks to the elevated garden and synthetic grass but my surrounding close neighbors have nothing but sand and the wind blows here big time in the spring with sand going everywhere. We used to complain about whiteouts in Colorado, now it's brown outs, but at 70-80 dgrees. My trains run fine but the track ballast is in dirt. By the way, the ballast is the usual crusher fines. I'd go this route again if I moved, which I am NOTdoing! Elevate the whole garden and have some real dirt hauled in so you can plant in dirt not sand! Depending on size of layout, you would likely use fewer block. My layout only has about 300' of track because the backyard is not large at all. Oh, also the elevated garden helps keep my dogs off of the garden.
I don't have my own layout (yet), but I've been thinking about the way it was done at the New Orleans City Park Botanical Garden. The whole layout is raised about 30 in. or so, and the track is laid on a double layer of treated 1x6 boards with the edges beveled to resemble the shape of ballast. I'm thinking that if you used concrete blocks, they need not be continuous as the 1x6's (with the ends staggered) would bridge the gaps. Once you have it running to your satisfaction, you could fill in around the blocks and gaps with dirt. I would attach occasional blocks under the bed that would fit into the holes of the concrete blocks to keep it from walking off the blocks. Again, I don't have my own layout, so maybe others could way in on this idea. You can see the track bed in the foreground of these two pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulofcov/5674281306/in/set-72157626493151667/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulofcov/5673710091/in/set-72157626493151667/
If you're interested, there are more pictures of the layout below. The buildings may look a little strange; they are made from natural items: twigs, moss, etc.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulofcov/sets/72157626493151667/
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"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
I would strongly suggest caution if you are considering wood boards underneath.
In the very beginnings of US garden railroads, this was a common recommendation. Over the years, it has been shown that very few locations have success with this method, although H&R trains in Florida still recommends this.
The common problems are rot and warping. This has happened to most people. 6 inch wide boards naturally cup in one direction (trying to close the curve you see on the end of the board formed by the rings of tree growth).
I'd read a number of forums like MLS where many people started with this method and then changed away.
Your concrete block idea is ok, but raising the layout a lot gets expensive..
For something close to the ground with one layer of blocks, it works well.
Regards, Greg
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Good point, Greg. I neglected to mention that the layout I was talking about is all under a roof.
how large an area? maybe an elevated track made of synthetic lumber would be better, either planks or ladder track.
Greg
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