Richard's railroad is magnificent
I can't understand why you don't want any plants. Plants make the thing much more interesting. They change with the seasons, they grow, they constantly present you with something new to look at. They make a great contrast to tracks and buildings. Sure, they can sometimes be a pain, sometimes they die but so what? You can just look at what 's growing wild around you and plant that.
But that being said elevated is great--sections of our layout are elevated and it makes a big difference in ease of operation and it's visually interesting
Take a look at how Richard Smith built his raised layout. Here's a link to some of his pictures http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/forumid/9/tpage/1/view/topic/postid/40227/Default.aspx#40316
Towards the bottom, there's a link to a PDF that describes the building process. I've visited the layout and it looks even better in person.
I'd like to offer an alternative to using block or brick. I built a raised flower bed about 20'x24' with one side of one end about 4' tall and the other sides and end about 32" to 36" tall a little more than six years ago and I used landscape timbers for the walls. I purchased a product made by Behr and called Post Treatment, Fence Post Preservative, Fence Post Treatment or something like that. I stacked the timber and retreated it by using a garden sprayer until it would not accept any more after a couple of days. (Sprayed no more than twice per day). If you use landscape timbers I strongly recomend this retreatment. If you read the fine print on those little stickers on the timbers you will discover that they are not rated for direct contact with the ground. GO FIGURE THAT ONE OUT! At the same time I had some timbers along my driveway that needed to be replaced. I alternated the extra treated timbers with off the shelf timbers. After about two and a half years the off the shelf timbers were no more than bits of rotted wood on the ground. The extra treated are still there with no sign of rotting . I found the treatment only at Home Depot. They also carry a galvanized spiral nail about 9 -10" long that I used to connect the timbers together.
Of course a train got put in this garden. After all, you have got to use something to take those small pots out to where they will be planted. Not to mention the adult beverage on those hot days. Come to think of it, thats how she gets me to help planting ! Hmm..I wonder if gondola or hopper cars would work for transporting the weeds ? I think I see a branch line to a compost bin in my future.........
To All,
Thank you for your time an input.
To answer the question of where I reside; it is Northern Illinois. Also it is my intent to landscape with more rock and gravel instead of greenery.
The idea of having the area elevated by 28 inches makes sense. As for the cost, since I never moved anywhere near the ocean and never bought that blue water boat, I am now committing my funds to a garden railroad. I also have access to some inexpensive labor to get all that brick and fill put into place.
Again, thank you for sharing your knowledge. I look forward to all of your comments.
Have a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year!
Brian and Capt. Bob make some good points. Our railroad is built along a hillside with walkways on the lower side, we bought and placed retianinig wall blocks a dozen or two at a time where needed and backfilled. The only problem is mountain people have one leg longer than the other and only move in one direction.
Good luck, happy new year, Rob
Been there, done that, made big mistake! My layout is about 40' X 85', laid up garden block wall, containing 28 - 12 Wheelers of packing sand and a 18,000 gallon pond. The problem is that while it is ideal around the perimeter, you are back laying on the ground when working in the interior.
If I were to do it again, I would go to a series of islands, or a finger type layout, with no place being more than 5' wide so you could access it from one side or the other. Don't make individual islands too long for the same reason, accessibility!
I found the 28" height to be perfect as I can sit on a plastic garden stool to work anywhere on the outside of the layout.
I think Brian's excellent post says it all. Most people agree that an elevated railroad is the way to go, so why do we see so few of them? ...... COST!, and a LOT of work.
I've experimented with a method of elevating the roadbed on a series of platforms. O.K., here comes the disclaimer ...... I built three of these platforms,bolted them end-to-end, covered them with soil and gravel and left them out in the south forty for a couple years to see how the system would hold up to Northeast USA winters. I did not run trains on them but I didn't see anything to suggest that the system would not work. This method is better suited to a long and narrow layout as opposed to your 20'X40' idea. But I suppose you could elevate a 40'X20' area on 25 platforms. The idea is to make the top frame from 2"X6" PTL lumber and support it on many (15) 2"X4" PTL lumber legs. The top is made of corrugated 2'X8' galvanized panels which are drilled for drainage. The panels are then covered with landscape cloth and about 8" of soil. Each of the 15 legs stands on a brick set about half way into the ground. Obviously the entire table will rise and fall during the freeze/thaw cycle but not any more than road bed that's installed on gravel directly on the ground.
A 4'X8' platform can be built for about $135 (including soil). So you 20X40 area could be done for $3375 (add another $600-700 for a decorative fascia around the perimeter). And I think that constructing 25 such platforms would require less effort than manhandling all that stone and fill. And, I think another strong argument for some sort of fabricated layout is ease of dissasembly when you move, and you probably will in the next 7 to 10 years. No prospective buyer is going to want that 20X40X4 mound in the backyard.
Well, there it is, another perspective for you to consider, good luck.
Walt
I think we need to back up a few steps to see what your intended track plan is.
One large area 20' x 40' x 3.5' high is 480 squared face feet of wall stone. 480/~30 face feet per pallet = 16 pallets x 1.5 tons per pallet = 24 tons of wall stone
16 pallets x $300-500/pallet (cost of wall stone, not installed) = $ 5 - 8 K
Now for all that fill 20' x 40' x 3.5' = 2,800 cu.ft. = ~100 cu. yds x 1.5 - 2 tons/yd = 150 - 200 tons of fill
stone fill runs about $15 - 20/yd topsoil fill about $20-30/yd
so 100 yds x $20 = $ 2 K
Now, we're up to $7 - 10 K just in materials weighing in at 175 - 225 tons. Triple those costs to have it installed.
Just a reality check!
-Brian
Couple of variables here, I take it from your "time zone -6:00" that you are somewhere on the East Coast? A better fix on your location would bring better answers. Decomposed Granite is an excellent fill material, don't know if it is available in your area. What type of vegetation are you planning on, what thrives in your area? Will you need to provide an irrigation system to water these plants? Are you subject to freeze - thaw? Give a bit more info as to where you are and basically what you want to try to do, and I sure one (or more) of the guys that live closer and in your same weather zone will give plenty of ideas.
Tom Trigg
I guess that depends on what part of the country you are in. I would put down a weed mat before you add the drain tiles or backfill. We get a lot of rain so I try to get the drain line sloping to the ends of the wall or away from the yard as well. If that is dificult then a "french drain" is the place to run the water.
Use clean drain rock to backfill before you add any planting soil. Some build up their roadbed even before you and any soil so that no plants will take over the railroad. Many lines are rock gardens just to avoid problems.
There is lots of info out there about the railroad design and construction. You'll have to weave through it all to find what you are comfortable with. I've seen good ideas using PVC, wood stakes, Trex, concrete, crusher fines - you name it.
Have fun.
I am in the design stage of my first layout of garden railroading. I plan on taking a 20' X 40' space in the backyard and raising it approximately 3 1/2 feet with interlocking decorative bricks. I know that I have to lay down drain pipes so water can seep out of the built up area, but what I want to know is what type of rock and/or soil should I use for fill?
Get the Garden Railways newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month