Hi folks: I need some input on track construction in my yard here in Massachusetts. I apologize if this has been covered many times but after searching I decided to submit this.
I have a fairly large elevation difference from one end to the other on one side of my planned track route. I have read and seen many instructions on building the roadbed on level ground (dig down 6"- 8", cover with weed protection, fill with stone dust Etc.). What about covering an area where I need to elevate the roadbed over a distance in order to keep a 3% grade for that portion of the track? I am thinking of doing it the way I have seen real roadbeds created. That is, just mounding up the stone dust (some call it crusher fines, it's stone dust in new England) while creating about a 45 degree slope on either side to elevate the track as required. At one point, this elevation needs to be about 15" above ground level so I want to do this once and get it right. Has anyone had experience in this area? Good ideas? Pitfalls?
I had a similar issue, and after trying the way you suggested, I tore it all up and used the ladder method. For me, I found it a lot easier to maintain. Ballast seems to wash away around my yard.
I had to elevate to about 3 feet at one end. Other spots were even with the ground, or even 6 inches up.
The shallow elevations were covered with dirt.
More details here: http://www.largescalecentral.com/LSCForums/viewtopic.php?id=6204
Trunstrom,
I have a fairly healthy grade in my layout that I dealt with by creating two levels and connecting them with a large helix. The two levels are about 2 feet different in height in less than 20 feet which equates to an impossible 10% grade. With the helix I was able to keep the grades down to 1 1/2%. The town and industry are located on the lower level. The loggers and miners take the train to work going up the helix and going through a reversing loop at the gold mine.
Here are a couple pictures -
The helix
The gold mine loop
The upper logging operation with the town's housing and lower main line below
The town site (sorry for the poor picture) showing the grist mill, fire house, etc.
As you can see I used crusher fines (stone dust) for my track balast and line leveling. You may have some issues with ballast creep if you try to use it for more than about 3/4". I used a pond liner for the stream where I will have running water and fabric weed barrier for the part of the stream that will be dry (except of course for rain runoff).
I have a heavy clay soil that is normally dry and hard as a rock so I did not have to dig down the 6" - 8" for roadbed construction. I just laid a shallow base of crusher fines, laid the track, and filled in the ballast. I did have to reballast after the snow plows did a job on the upper main line this winter. They dumped several tons on rock and snow on the track. The track survived with a little help of my trusty rail bender but the roadbed needed repair in several places.
Rex
Bruce,
I love your mill. Can you give us any hints on building the flume? From your web site I see yours is fairly short but what grade did you use for the flume and how much water do you run?
Thanks,
Rex,
Thanks for the nice comments. There's a bit more detail on building the mill here: http://largescalecentral.com/articles/view.php?id=92&page=1
The sluice is mainly built from styrene strips. I took a razor saw across them to give them some grain, then glued them together with MEK. It's important to get a tight fit, so no water leaks between the joints - luckily this is easy to do with the styrene.
The frame pieces were cast from a master that I bought from RR Stoneworks. At the time I ordered, I didn't think too far ahead and only ordered the one. They could also be built from styrene.
I don't recall what kind of paint I used - but it's lasted over the years. I might have sprayed it with Krylon clear to protect the styrene.
The grade itself is 0.6% - hardly a grade at all - just enough to keep the water flowing downhill. I have a very small pump on it, that I've closed down to almost the smallest flow. Even so, the wheel goes a bit faster than I'd like.
Hope that helps. If not, ask away! ;)
trunstrom
Both Rex and Brian have shown you methods that work very well. I wish you had included the overall dimensions of your proposed empire. If you have sufficient length,you might also consider doing a series of long loops, so that the train snakes up and down the "hill".
Tom Trigg
Thanks for the additional info on the mill. Great rock work! I had forgotten about the sluce control with the gates so now that I know I'll be able to build a better design.
Thanks!
Bruce: Thanks for your coments - and thanks to everyone else for your input. Would you give me some details on construction of the "ladder method"? It looks like you have sunk posts of some kind into the ground. Are they pressure treated wood? Can other materials be used? What about frost heaves that we must deal with in New England? Is the roadbed that the track sits on made of the same material?
What elevation would be acceptable for using just the stone dust for the ballast?
Since I am a "newbie" to this project, I have a million questions! I appreciate any and all input.
Tom: Thanks for your interest in my roadbed construction. My overall "empire" is starting as an approximate 300' loop that goes around a 20' X 12' pond I built near the back of the yard and then heads up the side yard, around a 180 degree loop and back down the same side of the yard along a fence. It is this last run along the fence that requires the substantial ballasting efforts to keep the grade at about 3%. Since I am snaking along, and sometimes through my wife's garden, I cannot talk her into any more loops!
As I mentioned, I appreciate any and all comments.
Thanks, Tom Runstrom
Rex: Beautiful helix! I have thought about building a trestle to cover part of the elevated run that I an dealing with. What kind of wood did you make this out of?
Thanks, Tom
Tom,
Almost all of my projects start out as either cedar or redwood fence pickets. They are cheap and so far I haven't cut myself with the table saw. I have lots of sawdust. The helix was a prefab job done in 26 2 ft sections using 4-40 cap screws and blind nuts. There are well over a thousand holes drilled in that project. It was transported, assembled, and stained on site.
trunstrom wrote: What elevation would be acceptable for using just the stone dust for the ballast?
On my railroad, whenever I have "any" elevation and ballast I have had to mix in portland cement to serve as a binder, tried some with an elevation as low as one inch and over time and the ballast disappears.
I agree that something is needed to hold ballast in place when filling in dips. I have one section that gets rain run off from the roof so ballast doesn't last long there to start with. I haven't tried cement yet with the ballast but I am looking into heavier gravel or some sort of a trough. I did use motar with pea gravel to keep the viewing paths from migrating into the stream via all the foot traffic. There is nothing wrong with throwing in one or two low tressels where you have more than 3/4" dips. Weed fabric looks pretty tacky when uncovered so if you're thinking about using it then make sure the edges are firmly ancored.
trunstrom wrote:Bruce: Thanks for your coments - and thanks to everyone else for your input. Would you give me some details on construction of the "ladder method"? It looks like you have sunk posts of some kind into the ground. Are they pressure treated wood? Can other materials be used? What about frost heaves that we must deal with in New England? Is the roadbed that the track sits on made of the same material? What elevation would be acceptable for using just the stone dust for the ballast?Since I am a "newbie" to this project, I have a million questions! I appreciate any and all input.
I used some treated 2x2 for the posts as well as the spacers. I built a jig to make it easy.
See http://www.largescalecentral.com/LSCForums/viewtopic.php?id=6204 for a log I made while I was building the layout.
I have not had any issues with frost heave in Northern Virginia. As I understand it, the key is to not taper the posts at all, but cut them at 90 degrees.
You can also see http://www.btcomm.com/trains/primer/roadbed/ladder1.htm for details on ladder using HPDE. I did not want to cut that stuff; I found that TufBoard worked great.
My ballast seems to want to wash away no matter what the elevation. But that could be because most of my year slants. I just reapply some every year.
Very nice trestle work! I went with the ladder roadbed very easy to build,
Don: Thanks for the picture of your ladder roadbed. What did you use for material? How deep did you dig in your posts?
Thanks, Tom R.
I used 1x2" plastic house trim, From Home Depot and Menard's. The poles are 1 1/2" plastic pipe set in the ground about 24". They are spaced 24" apart. Everything is screwed together with deck screws.
Get the Garden Railways newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month