I have a garden railroad with approximately 250 feet of brass Aristo track on 2x6 treated lumber. I used topsoil as a base and have two loops with a bridge and track running under the bridge. The topsoil erodes to the middle and outside of the raised area and the 2x6 uprights in varying heights are exposed. I want to take out the 2x6's and put the track on the ground and use ballast to make it like the ones seens in Garden Railways Magazine. What do I use as a base that won't wash away, can be ballasted and look as good as the railroads in the magazine. I'm retired now and have the time but want something that will last and be a little more maintance free. I plan on reconfiguring the entire railroad, taking out the bridge and using a 30 degree crossing as the raised areas will probably be graded to a more level area and I'd like to preserve the loop effect. How is the track held in place as on 2x6's deck screws are used to hold the track and I can't tell from photos in GR how it is kept from moving. What concrete mix or other product is best to keep ballast from moving.
Thank you for any help
Steve
The whole point of the thing is to not fasten it down. That allows for expansion and contraction. Stainless has the least expansion coefficient of any of the popular track materials, but it will show expansion in a long straight run!
That means that you will have to reballast or lightly redress your ballast once or twice a year. I use 1/4 minus crushed rock, but have seen a better material. It is the course aggregate that the local block factory uses to make concrete block. Usually you can buy it from them. It looks more to scale, yet has the rough edges to lock in tightly. I'll probably switch to that after I use my 1/4 minus.
Steve:
If I understand your question correctly, you are asking about keeping the dirt up to the rails without washing away. I think you have a reverse problem. You are trying to keep dirt up to the rails. Most of us, who use "floating rails", use the ground to control our rails. Step one is to sculpt the ground into a stable level and control the grades. In my case, I have a branch line that climbs a rather steep grade. In constructing the branch line I built a "subterranean brick wall", such that the first "wall" the brick was just half inch above the ground lower level, the second "wall" was just half inch taller and so on until I got the ground level to the height I wanted, from which I launched the bridgework to the top of the waterfall. Each of these "compartments" was filled with a mix of crushed rock and potting soil. Until the ground cover plantings had established themselves, the soil would wash away ever so slowly and had to be replaced. My sub-roadbed, was wide enough that this little bit of erosion was of no concern for the rails. Sub-roadbed: dig a "trench" 2 to 3 times the width of the rails, 3 to 4 inches deep, line with gardening fabric (weed proof cloth, use a fabric as opposed to plastic lining as the plastic will not allow any water to drain out.) Fill the lined trench with half inch minus crushed rock. The fabric keeps the rock from "sinking" deeper into the soil thus degrading the quality of the roadbed. Place crusher fines on top of the crushed rock to form the top of the roadbed. These crushed rock and crusher fines have sharp edges which allow them to "lock" together into a stable platform. Lay the rails directly on top of the crusher fines and use more fines as ballast. It is surprisingly strong and will support your rails for a very long time. Rail expansion and contraction is not really that much of a problem, unless you plan on a very straight run for a few hundred feet. My longest straight run is just under fifty feet of brass rail and only notice shifting in the area of the beginning of the curves on occasion, by that I mean tree times in five years. The only times my rails sit on wood is when it is called a timber trestle bridge. If you want adjoining different ground levels, just use landscape brick to build a wall, launch your bridge from these stones.
Tom Trigg
I can't say enough good things about ladder support. I have an article on my blog - http://www.grblogs.com/index.php/2008/12/13/ladder-track-support-systems?blog=25 and I'll be giving a seminar on it at the Fall ECLSTS.
-Brian
Thank you all for your responses and suggestions for a better way to lay my track. I can't think of any issues of GR that address this item but I'm sure there were as it's a great publication. I need to get it done by next Spring so I can enjoy operating the railroad. I'll try the gravel as an underlayment in trenches with grit or very small gravel as ballast and hopefully can work it without too much hassle. The wood is just not that great looking and the topsoil washing away from the supports made the whole thing unrealistic looking. Wood was the thing when I started this nine years ago and just never had the time to change it until I retired this year. Again thank you for the help.
steamdonkey, thank you for setting me straight about pea gravel. I was thinking of using it for a base as most projects using gravel start with that type. I appreciate all the replies, help, hints and guidance everyone has provided. anyone that has any additional tips please post them. I am trying to get away from using the 2x6's as track on the ground looks much better. I need to find something to do with all the lumber I will be taking up. Thanks again.
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