Quick update...
Last weekend I switched to a mortar mix intended for building walls. It was about 50% successful. The failures, though, were rocks I tried to stick on with the mortar at the bottom of my mixing trough, so maybe it was too little / to dry / too poorly mixed / whatever. I'll take another crack this weekend. I am going slowly, as the amphibious assault across our pond demonstrated if it can be crawled on or through, it will be. I don't need a wall of lava rock tumbling on anyone!
The concrete dye was a bit red, but I think it'll blend in time or easily blend with a wash.
I am having trouble with the exposed vertical surfaces. Construction adhesive doesn't seem to work, and the mortar mix just slides down the face. I would appreciate suggestions.
A few other neat points...
I'll post pictures when progress on the mountain warrants it.
Aloha,
Eric
Tom,
Thanks for the tip! For the moment, we are using various herbs bound for the kitchen. We are also space constrained, and experience to date has proven that which is not made fast will move. As we move up the complexity and age scale, we will employ this trick for plants not destined for the cook pot!
As promised, here are a few update shots. The first is an overview. Honestly, it looks better in person:
Up close, you can sort of see how things are coming together (Sorry for purists! I run the engines and rolling stock I have! Finally, after some trial and error, the portals are coming together. I am practicing on the back side, out of sight of our lanai. The test batch of mortar was left over form a flagpole project, so it went in undyed. It didn't work, but I then glued the rocks in place with a construction adhesive. I have the dye and mortar for brick laying on hand for the next trial and error period: [ We are all still getting messy and having fun! The trains have been a big hit at a few birthday parties and family events. Who knows, maybe I'll stimulate a little local interest? Eric
Up close, you can sort of see how things are coming together (Sorry for purists! I run the engines and rolling stock I have!
Finally, after some trial and error, the portals are coming together. I am practicing on the back side, out of sight of our lanai. The test batch of mortar was left over form a flagpole project, so it went in undyed. It didn't work, but I then glued the rocks in place with a construction adhesive. I have the dye and mortar for brick laying on hand for the next trial and error period: [ We are all still getting messy and having fun! The trains have been a big hit at a few birthday parties and family events. Who knows, maybe I'll stimulate a little local interest? Eric
Finally, after some trial and error, the portals are coming together. I am practicing on the back side, out of sight of our lanai. The test batch of mortar was left over form a flagpole project, so it went in undyed. It didn't work, but I then glued the rocks in place with a construction adhesive. I have the dye and mortar for brick laying on hand for the next trial and error period:
[ We are all still getting messy and having fun! The trains have been a big hit at a few birthday parties and family events. Who knows, maybe I'll stimulate a little local interest? Eric
We are all still getting messy and having fun! The trains have been a big hit at a few birthday parties and family events. Who knows, maybe I'll stimulate a little local interest?
A quick suggestion for your "trees". Give 'traveling potted trees' a thought. Whatever you use for your trees, potted plants are easier to take care of. I have an assortment of minature 'Cork Elms', Rosemary & Thyme (supported by copper wire armatures) potted trees. All three of these plant prefer intermittant direct sunlight. Solution: Put the trees into old fashion clay pots. Where the tree is supposed to grow, dig in a non-draining plastic flower pot large enough for about one inch of gravel on the bottom so that the clay post is at the same surface level. Now your tree is easily removable for feeding (I dunk mine in a tray full of Miricale-Grow for a 30 minute bath), trimmming (so much easier to sit in a char and turn the tree to trim the tree than all folded over on the GRR.) Since my plants require limited direct sunlight, I have three sets of them. One set in place and two sets on the covered patio. Replacement process; grab the outgoing tree at the base of the trunk and lift out, scoop by hand almost all the pea-gravel out of the plastic pot. Set incomming tree in position and backfill with the gravel just removed.
The pot helps stunt the growth of the trees much the same as with Bonsai trees. (I know I most probably spelt that wrong, apologies). Also allows branch trimming (monthly event) root trimming and repotting with fresh soil (an annual event). Deep bath watering (weekly) and fertilizer bath (monthly).
Tom Trigg
Ray,
Mortar and die are on hand. Professional and family obligations brought work to a near stand still; however, we have sorted the rocks and all is staged to proceed.
Sorry, but no photos this time. Our photographer neglected to note company policy that no photos may be taken of siblings choosing to gandy dance in the buff, so our latest efforts will be stowed for future, private use to embarass a teenaged version of said gandy dancer!
We did make another nursery run. Herbs are making good stand in for trees (and really making CINCHOUSE's cooking pop!). Lower growing plants, however, are not doing as well. My theory is the direct sunlight for most of the day may be frying them. We are working with the local nursery to find suitable ground cover. Overall, the greenery that did thrive is helping to make things look a bit more like a garden and less like an abandoned quarry. A progress to date shot is in order.
Oh, no permanent structures yet. I lack the time, none would survive the kids, and we have too much heavy landscaping yet to do. They will be next year's project. Maybe.
On the technical side, I did experiment with some quick disconnects from Radio Shack to make hooking up the power supplies easier. Ultimately, I may move to heavier gauge wire and stereo jacks to make it really plug and play, but we are still determining how we want to control the trains (trackside? lanai? ), so that can wait.
The tracks have been outside long enough to usually require some buffing when we first get the trains out (2-4 times a week!), and things usually run pretty well. Curiously, the trains run better after the tracks have been powered up for 20 minutes or so. I've identified a few areas that are problematic, and I'll probably start soldering key sections together. A few cracked ties where the LGB track clips hold the sections together suggest I ought to use short pieces of wire soldered to each track to allow for thermal expansion.
I must have subscribed to GR at a great time, as most of my issues - power, track, tunnels, ground cover, etc. - have been feature articles at some point since beginning this project!
Thanks. I will pick up the mortar next week, and I will look for the pigments at that time. It'll save me the paint and keep everyone a bit cleaner!
Mortar is definitely the best choice for cementing rocks together. The Liquid Nails doesn't work as well on irregular surfaces.
I don't know if they're available in Hawaii, but there are concrete pigments you can add to mortar to make it blend with the rocks.
Today we glued concrete slabs and hollow tile in place to form the cap of the tunnel walls and the core of the mountain. It looks like an abandoned industrial site for the moment, but it already adds a sense of the trains "going somewhere." This is what lies ahead:
I envision this will take a few weeks, working as best we can between professional and family obligations. I am trying as much as possible to keep the job an "all hands affair," too, which is guiding my approach as much as my available time and funds.
My oldest daughter was the photographer today, so pictures will be forthcoming if they add to the narrative and have an absence of her trademark thumb.
Aloha Everyone!
We have now trained our guns on our mountain / tunnel complex. After learning the intricacies of workig with paint, glue, and enthusiastic children, I abandoned my plan of carefully washing the concrete and foam to blend harmoniously and chose, instead a brown that reasonably matched our lava rocks as base for all exposed concrete. We then glued some rubble at the base and practiced our washed to provide some geometric and color transition (Out of sight...great place to practice!). The end result looks a bit like this:
Today we stacked, but did not glue, the tunnel "caps." We also started to experiment with stone placement. I am weighing the merits of using left-over bits of cinderblock to form a core around which to place the rocks, as is my geologic engineer: The other challenge will be making the face of this look like something other than cinderblocks. I have concrete rubble I can glue to the face to at least make it look rough. Unfortunately, I did not leave enough distance between tracks to sink thinner pieces of rock to extend outward from the portals. Foam will simply not stand up to the wear and tear on this line! Finally, you'll note the "Easter Bunny" apparently rides a LGB rail bus.... Thanks agains for providing a venue to keep me honest on this project! Eric
Today we stacked, but did not glue, the tunnel "caps." We also started to experiment with stone placement. I am weighing the merits of using left-over bits of cinderblock to form a core around which to place the rocks, as is my geologic engineer:
The other challenge will be making the face of this look like something other than cinderblocks. I have concrete rubble I can glue to the face to at least make it look rough. Unfortunately, I did not leave enough distance between tracks to sink thinner pieces of rock to extend outward from the portals. Foam will simply not stand up to the wear and tear on this line! Finally, you'll note the "Easter Bunny" apparently rides a LGB rail bus.... Thanks agains for providing a venue to keep me honest on this project! Eric
The other challenge will be making the face of this look like something other than cinderblocks. I have concrete rubble I can glue to the face to at least make it look rough. Unfortunately, I did not leave enough distance between tracks to sink thinner pieces of rock to extend outward from the portals. Foam will simply not stand up to the wear and tear on this line!
Finally, you'll note the "Easter Bunny" apparently rides a LGB rail bus....
Thanks agains for providing a venue to keep me honest on this project! Eric
Thanks agains for providing a venue to keep me honest on this project!
Nice progress, the layout is really taking shape!
A little progress this weekend working on the tunnel interior (See my post entitled "Working with Foam (Or go to Plan B?)"). I'll post the results of that first foray into foam craftsmanship there, with a final picture here. I hope to have the tunnel capped by the end of this week.
Thanks! I appreciate the encouragement...It keeps me honest!
Below are a few shots of where we stand as of now.
This is the section closest to the house. The pond is stocked. Most of the plants are herbs that can take the bright sun. The potted plants serve as a visual break until the mountain is complete.
This is the tunnel complex that will divide the garden. Behind I've stowed our raw material for landscaping. The eventual track plan will include some sidings and, eventually, will be our urban section. For now, it mainly serves to send the trains back to us and to deliver beverages to my grill area! Finall, our tram engine the "Fiery Elias" in action! She is a family favorite and gets lots of run time. Up close, I think the shot reminds me of the potential of this project over time. The mountain is next, and we are going to tinker with some ideas tomorrow. Thanks to all for letting me use this as means to document progress! Aloha, Eric
This is the tunnel complex that will divide the garden. Behind I've stowed our raw material for landscaping. The eventual track plan will include some sidings and, eventually, will be our urban section. For now, it mainly serves to send the trains back to us and to deliver beverages to my grill area!
Finall, our tram engine the "Fiery Elias" in action! She is a family favorite and gets lots of run time. Up close, I think the shot reminds me of the potential of this project over time. The mountain is next, and we are going to tinker with some ideas tomorrow. Thanks to all for letting me use this as means to document progress! Aloha, Eric
Finall, our tram engine the "Fiery Elias" in action! She is a family favorite and gets lots of run time. Up close, I think the shot reminds me of the potential of this project over time.
The mountain is next, and we are going to tinker with some ideas tomorrow. Thanks to all for letting me use this as means to document progress! Aloha, Eric
The mountain is next, and we are going to tinker with some ideas tomorrow.
Thanks to all for letting me use this as means to document progress!
Looking good my friend. So glad you have made this an entire family project. I have seen several layouts that have scenes of Star Wars and Cinderella done by the younger generation. Allowing the kids to add their bit just makes the whole thing so much better.
Very quick update. The camera died, so no photos!
Oh, and the Triple O successfully delivered adult beverages from the lanai to the grill! Design success!
HA! The discussion about what to put in the garden began about 20 minutes before I saw this post! It was a good laugh!
I just wanted to share a few photos of where we are...
This is the basic layout. The inner dogbone is just floating on the gravel, as I need to be able to shift it a bit as we start to landscape:
Below is the first train. Most of the rolling stock are from about 1976. The little tank engine last ran in 1980, when her motor burnt out. As the oldest loco, she still took place of pride on the first train. A tram engine provides the real pulling power: Finally, I just like this one. The control system is 1980-s vintage. DCC is a LOOOOOOONG way off!: We have made a couple nursery runs, and it is suprising how far $20 can go! In the meantime, small fish went into the pond for mosquito control, and, as anticipated, little plastic animals and lego buildings have started to pop up. We are still planning to landscape the nearside first, leaving the backside as a "play area." Ultimately, our yard will go back there when the crew is ready for train operations, rather than just operating trains. Aloha, Eric
Below is the first train. Most of the rolling stock are from about 1976. The little tank engine last ran in 1980, when her motor burnt out. As the oldest loco, she still took place of pride on the first train. A tram engine provides the real pulling power:
Finally, I just like this one. The control system is 1980-s vintage. DCC is a LOOOOOOONG way off!: We have made a couple nursery runs, and it is suprising how far $20 can go! In the meantime, small fish went into the pond for mosquito control, and, as anticipated, little plastic animals and lego buildings have started to pop up. We are still planning to landscape the nearside first, leaving the backside as a "play area." Ultimately, our yard will go back there when the crew is ready for train operations, rather than just operating trains. Aloha, Eric
Finally, I just like this one. The control system is 1980-s vintage. DCC is a LOOOOOOONG way off!:
We have made a couple nursery runs, and it is suprising how far $20 can go! In the meantime, small fish went into the pond for mosquito control, and, as anticipated, little plastic animals and lego buildings have started to pop up. We are still planning to landscape the nearside first, leaving the backside as a "play area." Ultimately, our yard will go back there when the crew is ready for train operations, rather than just operating trains. Aloha, Eric
We have made a couple nursery runs, and it is suprising how far $20 can go! In the meantime, small fish went into the pond for mosquito control, and, as anticipated, little plastic animals and lego buildings have started to pop up. We are still planning to landscape the nearside first, leaving the backside as a "play area." Ultimately, our yard will go back there when the crew is ready for train operations, rather than just operating trains.
Cheers all around. Glad you got the first train running. The real fun now begins, and I'm not talking about the fun of running the trains. No, the real fun comes when the Railroad C.O.O. (that's you) is confronted by a land management battle between CINCHOUSE and The Land Minions. Take care and enjoy.
I am pleased to report that as of 17 January, 1330 (Hawai'i Standard Time), about year from the planned ground breaking, the Triple O came to life as an ex-DR Bahn 0-4-0T pulled an international somrgasboard of gondolas, a hopper, and a battered caboose around the mainline.With the addition of a bog plant to the pond and the hasty repositioning of some jade plants, the inspection train even had a nominal garden to run through as it tooled along an otherwise barren landscape of small rocks.
The mainline is in place. An interior loop sits on top of the gravel, as I don't want to set it until we put in some landscape features, and I am hemming and hawing about where to put sidings. We are able to run two trains at once, which is more than the family could want! We will probably start transplanting some herbs and permanently planting the jade plants this week or next. In the meantime, we are just enjoying rotating the trains through the garden (such as it is) and discussing the possibilities.
Thanks for the advice scattered over the course of the year, as I know you all guided me around some "mission kill" mistakes. More questions to follow as this rolls into the next phase!
We are a long way from being the feature railroad of GR, but, by gum, we have garden railroad!
The bed is filled! We'll let the rains help things settle and hold a "Gandy Dancing and Grill" party to lay down the track later this month or early next month. In the meantime, I will research the best way to build a mountain and tunnel to visually split the "dog bone."
Looking good.
Merry Christmas!
Thanks again for the forbearance as I use this as a blog to keep me honest and progressing.
The trains came out of their boxes for their annual run around the Christmas tree and out into the yard. With my brother's track having sat in storage for 20+ years, it took some real elbow grease to get things running, but the crew (hopefully pictured) was game. In the meantime, my neighbor started filling the garden, so, while the rolling stock will go back into boxes, this is temporary!
In the meantime, my father-in-law builte a short trestle. Not sure, how we will incorporate it, but we will!
As a hunorous aside, I found "ballast" and "roadbed" have no practical meaning in a state with no railroads. My neighbor sources beautiful scale gravel, and layed it down forward and aft, port to starboard across the entire garden. Oh, well, it will allow for the flexibility I wanted, even if it means each plant will get its own planter box countersunk into what will be 5-6 inches of gravel.
Since I figured out this picture thing, here is an idea of the track I have to work with:
I am sure as heck looking forward to not having to constantly deal with the track shifting and derailing things every 10-20 minutes!
Some final thoughts....If I had known how this project was going to speak to my immediate and extended family, I would've started years ago. Seeing my youngest gandy dancer in the almost filled garden with his Tonka Trucks "building a railroad" alone made this experience to date worthwhile!
FYI, the work crew showed up today and reinforced the retaining wall. Glad I hired someone with a bit more experience! Fill should arrive this week, and then the crew will use a tamper to pack it down.
On the fun side, we will be breaking out all the trains and track for their annual run around the Christmas tree and off into the yard this weekend! No more boxes for them this year!
Belated Happy Thanksgiving!
Just a quick update, we did decide to get professional help to get the garden filled and tamped. We just needed to get the project "over the hump." In the meantime, we are going to be getting all the trains out for Christmas, which will allow for a full inventory of track and stage everything for track planning post-Holidays and ballasting.
Pictures via one website or another will follow as progress occurs!
OK, Photobucket 5, Me 0.
OK, trying PhotoBucket with the latest picture showing the completed retaining wall. O note this is linked to FaceBook, so have fun viewing my Civil War reenactments if this failed!
As a back-up, I am trying Google Drive again. edit?usp=sharing
Per my post elsewhere, I am ready to fill. I am looking for free stuff, but, in the interest of time and to ensure a good foundation, I may contract this portion.
Quick update...A pause in some professional obligations and my father-in-law's availability coincided. The retaining wall is up! I'll post the photos later as I start to source the fill.
At this stage:
Nope. Lawn mower space fell victim to other design constraints: the avocado tree and a conservative estimate of what it'll take to have the tracks and passing siding. The weedwacker will have to do the job back there!
I keep all the private stuff on OneDrive, used to have it on Google drive until my daughter wanted me to join google plus so she could talk to me. Then G+ started self posting the pix. did NOT care for that. I put only the pix I want to publicly share or insert into a post on Photobucket. Photobucket is free if you don't mind some advertising when you are on that page.
It may be a bit too late to ask this question. Not looking like you left enough room between the wall and fence to get the lawn mower in there. Or are my eyeballs not as calibrated as they used to be?
Thanks again, Tom. I'll try "Photobucket." It sounds like a happy compromise between privacy and utility. For experiment's sake, I've tried pasting the "shared link" in Google Drive below:
edit?usp=sharing
As you can see (?) the lines are not quite straight as an arrow, but this'll do. I am calling it "character." Once we get the walls built and filled, the intention is to make the part closest to the viewer the start point for the garden. The furthest point will likely be grassed back in after the tracks are laid, leaving it as free-lay area for the kids while I experiment elsewhere.
I'll post the next update as the retaining wall goes up
Get the Garden Railways newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month