RR height

[Anonymous]

I would appreciate advice on how high from the ground should I buld my railroad?
Thanks.
*** Dale

[ragnar]

I would say thats a matter of personnel preferance, do you mind laying on the ground working on track,cars engines? or a little higher sitting on a stool,chair etc. or maybe standing, Whats the lay of the land like where the RR will be built. Also are we speaking of battery power equipment,live steam where a steaming bay is essential. tell us a little more about what your planning....

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply. I don't want it to be on the ground. The yard is level, so I can pretty much do what I want. The train(s) will be probably battery powered remote control. Right now it's track powered.
I'm thinking in the 2'-3' range. I realize that a lot of it is personal preference, but is there a good reason to make it 2' over 3', for example?
Thanks,
***

[grandpopswalt]

***,

I'd say the optimum height would be between 3 and 3 1/2 feet from the ground. I'm 6'2" and find that a good height for me. However, that may be a little high for children and very short adults.

Walt

[Anonymous]

It also depends on the scenery result you want at the end. If you are only going to have flat boards with track on top, then there is probably little difference in work requried between making it 2ft or 3ft high.

However if you entend on banking earth up to the track so it looks like a real railway, and you want to grow plants and make tunnels etc, you will find that the difference between 2ft high and 3ft high is massive. That is 50% more dirt you need to move.

My first railway was just over 1ft high (on flat ground). It was a small oval 6ft wide by about 16ft long. It took countless wheel barrow loads of dirt to build it up to that height. The new one I'm making now has the track about 2ft high, with mountains about 4-5ft high. I had to get a dump truck and digger to move the bulk of the dirt in, but I have still had shovel a lot of it to sift out tree roots etc, so I have had to shovel the entire top layer. I started October last year and next weekend I should be close to finishing. Don't under estimated the amount of work it takes to move dirt around! (but you can cancel the Gym membership
cause you won't get a better free work-out).

Glen.

[John Busby]

Hi ***
A lot [censored] higher than my stage one which is only 9" above 0.
I am now looking at a 1 in 64 grade to gain another 3" in stage two
then a raupau (needs a kiwi to sor out correct spelling for that) spiral out the back to get the rest of it up to a sensable hight
regards John

[Anonymous]

***,

Decide first what you want to do. To just watch trains run around through the scenery you can't beat a ground level railroad. If you just don't want to have to stoop over so much to work on the railroad and run the equipment then a raised bed 24" or so high works well. Or if you like to operate and switch industries and so on a high raised benchwork does the job best.


My railroad is built on raised outdoor benchwork and is a nominal 40" in height. It is a perfect height for most people whose primary interest is switching cars and don't especially care for gardening.

Like everything there are advantages and disadvantages. At 40" height the RR is a bit high for small children although platforms can be set along the right of way to accomodate them. Track and structures are pretty well protected from being stepped on and there is much less accumulation of debris than I had with a previous 16" raused bed. To raise the RR to 40" height on benchwork was no more expensive than raising it to 24" with fill dirt and retaining walls.

Of course access is a prime concern which limits the width of individual benchwork sections but it is nice not to have to stoop over to work on or operate the railroad.

If you want some height that better integrates the RR into the garden then a raised bed works very well. A height of 12" to 24" is moderate enough to be able to step up on and doesn't dominate the scene.

If you want to emphasize the yard and garden and prefer to sit on the patio sipping a cool one while watching the trains run around then a ground level is a good choice.

It depends on how you visualise using the RR and whether it will be primary to the rest of the yard, equal to it or just a novelty in a garden. Once you determine that you can make a meaninful decision on how to build the RR and what height to make it.

Richard Smith

[Anonymous]

John,
Raurimu spiral is the name you are looking for.
It is in the centre of the North Island of NZ (where the track does a loop down over itself )because the track was built in from either end and the engineer messed up the height difference.

here is a photo I took of a train on the bottom level about to start the spiral. You can see the poles of the top level in the background.
Glen.

[John Busby]

Hi Glen
Thats the one I mean and its wanted for the same reason the Engineer stuffed up his levels when he was experementing.
And he doesn't want to go back to 0 running trains
as only a major re-build would fix it.
SWMBO likes the bit of garden that is slowly dragging its self out of the desert the experimental section created not that there was anything worth saving there to start with
regards John

[Anonymous]

This business about how high to make your Railway above ground level has been discussed solidly on this forum and in the end no conclusion was reached. It is definitely more convenient to have it above ground level, the degree id up to the individual but it is also a lot of work to d oit. I have opted to have most of my layour at ground level but only because i am in my late sixties and do not want to do the work.


Regrds ian

[Anonymous]

For me it's afordability. I wanted to have mine about 12" off the ground and asked my neighbour/mate to give me a price for the brickwork - I wanted it doing right, only dwarf walls but they would have been right around the garden. Because the new walls would have been filled with gravel/soil the walls had to be on a foundation and the cost was a 'Raurimu', spiralled way over budget! Anyway, that idea has now been shelved for a year or three and the track is back at ground level so I'm spending a liitle bit on planting.
Cheers,
Kim
[tup]

[grandpopswalt]

***,

If you're interested in trains as the primary focus of your layout take a close look at Richard Smith's great looking benchwork layout and imagine it with a facia made of stockade fencing covering the the open portion under the track platform. Now imagine several dozen dwarf alberta spruce set in containers hidden just below the surface and a few other plants growing in containers that are hidden below the surface. What you have is a railroad that has both the convenience of a raised roadbed and has vegetation as well. The other benefit is that it's more economical and a lot less work to elevate your roadbed using platforms than bringing in and handling tons of dirt and rock to accompli***he same thing.

If your primary interest is the garden and flowers and plantings, then ground level or any height roadbed that compliments the terrain is for you.

Walt

[John Busby]

Me
I am doing all the work because I stuffed up in the first place[:I][:(]
and also before I reach the I am 60+ and don't want to do it or cannot afford to do it.
I am not that young but not that old iether so will get the donkey work done so that in the future can sit back enjoy the trains and hopefully still potter in the garden.
In the end.it all comes down to what is comfortable for the railway owner but do remember old age will get all of us in the end.[:(]
regards John

[markperr]

Empirical method. Spend a day on your hands and knees weeding the garden and doing odd jobs that require you to be in such a position. If, at the end of the day, you aren't feeling a whole lot of pain or soreness, then by all means, put it at ground level. If, however, you are hurting to the point of taking medication to relieve your discomfort, perhaps an elevated layout would be best for you. I really like Richard Smith's layout. In 20 years or so, when getting down on the ground is more of a chore than a joy, I'll probably make a layout like his. Until then, I prefer mine at dirt level.

Mark

[Anonymous]

This is an unanswerable question and it is a good one to discuss, as we have done previously and a lot of good ideas came out of it1


Rgds Ian

[John Busby]

ATTN ROCKY CREEK NZ
Hi Glen
Sorry to yell across the void as the plan is to do a spiral have you got any more pictures
you can senf off the forum so I can get the right idea.
Also who can I write to to get drawings of one of the hulking great NZ diesel monsters that would run up it and a little jigger like the one in your signiature
might as well have a couple of the right bits to go with it.[:)]
regards John

[Anonymous]

Hi John,

I found a map of the spiral on a website. The whole thing is quite big. I will send you another message off group to arrange to send some photos. (I don't have that many as I've only been there a few times), but is a great place. From Raurimu station you can look in one direction and see the train go past 3 times as it climbs up the spiral.

http://www.websnz.com/ttt/nzr/images/spiral.jpg




Glen.

[John Busby]

Hi Glen
Thanks any thoughts on how much room needed to get a rise of aprox 18"
regards John

[Anonymous]

Hi John,

To get a rise of 12" which is the min height you want to be if you are crossing another track, at a 1in25 raise (4% grade) means you need 25ft of track. However if you lay the 25ft of track in a circle, the combination of the curve and the steep grade is going to be too much. I don't know what sort of trains you run, but I imagine that combination of steep grade and tight curve would only allow a Stainz and manybe 1 carriage to get up.

I have laid a 4% grade on straights and cut the grade back to 1% on a 6ft raduis curve and it has taken 15metres (45feet) of track to gain enough height to cross the track with a 12" clearance. It also depends if it is you main running line, or just an access to a shed. If you are only using it as an access line, then you can get away with steeper grades. Also if trains are only going in one direction (down hill) you can also build steeper grades.

I have no idea what you railway looks like now. Maybe you could post a photo.

Glen.