Vertical post edged garden railway

[Benjamin Maggi]

My wife and I hope to move this summer into a house which hopefully will have enough room for a garden railway. Living in the Northeast, we have our challenges involving snow, frost heave, etc.

Even if it is only a foot or two, I want a raised garden bed. I originally thought of laying stone blocks and building it up but that would involve a lot of work. Then, I remembered in an older issue of GR magazine I saw a garden railway bordered by round vertical wood posts set into the ground and secured together with steel strapping. The line was also featured on the cover of the "Gorgeous Garden Railways" book. I thought that this looked very nice and fit in with the garden well.

I don't know what this treatement is called but wondered if people had experience with it. I am not thinking of the faux-wood posts, or the "decorative wood fence" that looks like half-round posts, or anything like that. I figure the best part is that if the posts start to rot I can always just pull them up and replace them up and replace them.

To be clear I would NOT be using the traditional wooden railway ties or anything like that (stuff treated with creosote), nor a border that would be laid horizontally on the ground.

Thanks.  

[Narrowgauge]

Ben,

Being a 'Damned Yankee' (now living in the south), although that choice would be visually appealing, I am not sure there is really anything to be gained.  First, the posts would need to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 feet deep in the ground in order to keep the frost heave from lifting them upwards (depending on exactly where in the northeast you reside).  That is a lot of trench work ( too much for my back).  Second, replacing one post at a time, considering wood will rot at different rates depending on exactly what the base material is and how well they are pressure treated (assuming pressure treated).  Another modeler I am aware of is doing something similar, but he will be using red cedar trees from his farm for the wall.  I would recommend once you have your own place, install a short section of post wall, let it go over a winter and see how it reacts.  Then try to replace a single post and you may find one post not so easy to replace.

I don't want to deter you from your plan, but just trying to point out the down sides of that avenue.  One side note I will make is to place the post in the ground and fill around the post with pea gravel.  I have several 6 x 6 posts set that way and my water table is about 18".  They have been down for about 10 years with no sign of rotting.  What the pea gravel does, as the water table drifts up and down it allows the post to dry. DO NOT set them in concrete.  The concrete creates a pocket around the post and holds water, therefore speeding up the decaying process.

Happy Railroading!

Bob C.

[netxtown]

Might I suggest a different approach?

Cut your 4x4's to the desired height. Bore out a 7/8" hole in one end - dead center.

Get some of the 'cement form stakes' at HD, Lowes, etc. Stakes come in 18", 24", or 36". Pound into the ground - with an eye towards being plumb  - all but enough to fit into the bored out section of your 4x4.

Mount the 4x4, level tops as needed, and then use a deck screw as a set screw.  You can also insert a standard nail in one of the holes in the stake and then gently pound the 4x4 down to the desired level.

This keeps the 4x4 just slightly off the ground (cover with some pea gravel?) - reduces the frost heave considerably, and it will be a number of years before that steel stake fails.

Add your horizontal strapping across the inside, outside or both...and you're done.

[cape cod Todd]

Hmmm  That could be an interesting look and by doing it that way you could curve the vertical pieces to follow the track.   If you will be lashing these pieces together with a metal strap maybe you don't have to bury all your posts.  Depending on how much pressure will be behind the wall , consider rain drenched dirt, you might be able to get away with a planted post every 2-3 feet or more and save time and money.