I was able to escape from house chores today and broke ground on the new Kittatinny Mt RR. The area I am using is an existing flower garden to build the railroad in. The first thing was to rip out all the bushes and trees that were in the area. Then I had to tear all the Vinka vines that had overtaken the area. This took a good part of the day.
Measurements were taken of the area. I came up with an area of approximately 37ftX20ft. The one end has to be brought up about 1ft.
My next step was to start getting rock along the new property and build up the areas that will have to get back filled in. A friend of mine has a dirt bank at home that I can get fill from to raise the one end up.
A few reasons why I chose the area:
-
Easy access to garage (door comes out to layout)
-
I can replace garage side door light with a spot light for night running
-
I can relaxe on the deck while watching the trains.
-Leaves in the fall wont be as much as an issue
View looking up at deck
The walkway in the photos will be torn up and replaced with a more natural looking walkway, stepping stones. There will be a walkway along the garage side for easy access to the high end of the layout.
I made a rough sketch of the track plan with measurements. If anyone is bored and wants to convert my plan into a computer program I wont oppose it. The red dashed lines is my proposed track plan. If anyone has better ideas please let me know. It is open for discussion.
Requirements:
-Minimum of 8ft dia curves
-set up for Roundy round
-I want to limit the main line with no more then 4 switches (2 for a long passing siding, 1 or 2 for a yard/steam up area.
-I have about 150ft of track to play with. I can go over that if needed but rather not.
-the area where the well head is will be kept at that level and built up around it. A trestle will be used in front of well and the area will be all stone. This allows access to the well if need be in the future.
-Keep live steam in mind
Here is the track plan. I want to make it interesting with curves. Lets hear everyone’s ideas. Vic I would love to see if you have some track plans to fit the area. The area to the left on track plan has a curve to it. This area is flexible and can be brought out more if needed (I would rather keep it at the 20-25ft wide) The middle sides I want to try and bring in more if it can be done with 8ft dia.
I know I moved up to real paper and not napkins lol…
Lets hear the ideas.