Large Scale Central

A Raised Hybrid Railroad Build Log

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#1

Finally got to start my Garden Railroad while the weather was nice to be outside. Much work has been done.

I am calling this a Hybrid Garden Railroad as it will be a combination of a above ground filled and also a platform something like Ken Brunt has made. The above ground portion will be on 2x4 joists with a layer of corrugated sheet metal, on top of that will be a layer of screen and then a layer of fabric cloth to hold the soil in place. This area will be about 4-6 inches deep in soil so live plants can be used. The corrugated area will be angled slightly to ensure water will run off and a possible channel add to collect the water and exit the railroad. The area is not level as you can see from the first picture

The short rails for the curve are cut to 22 1/8" that makes approx 10 foot diameter curve.

The long rails are 48 inches in length.

The sub roadbed has not been defined yet.

The frame work is 4x4 posts and 2x4 rails all pressure treat for ground contact.

All Rails are square cuts only,

The posts are cut at angles if needed like on a curve. See pictures for more detail.

The upper end is only 10 inches high and will be the area with fill dirt.

View is what the finished wall looks like before painting. Ran out of 2x4s on the second panel.

Back side of Panel showing how the rails are attached. I am using a Kreg Pocket Jig.

Corner Post has two 1 1/2 inches Dado’s 3/8" deep and 3/4" lip. This hides any mis-cuts on the rail ends.

Post cut for the start of the curve, notice both sides are cut at 11.25 degrees.

Post cut between two curves sections, both sides are cut at 11.25 degrees.

Post cut to end the curved section and start of a long straight rail section. The final angle cut had to be determined by using a string from the start to finish of the straight section and a compass used to measure the cut angle, it was about 6 degrees for the right side cut. The left side is just a straight dado cut.

Post at end of the straight section making a slight left hand jog to parallel the stairs. Angle cut is about 5 degress

#2

Well heck I don’t know what the railroad is going to look like but if it is anywhere as nice as the post and rail system is turning out then it is sure to impress. I love wood working as much as railroads and the attention to detail is well appreciated. One could have just cut the ends and stuck them to the posts and no one likely would have noticed but the extra working in making the dadoes and angled rabbits to hide the miscuts will give it a very nice clean look. I do have to ask, and not that it would make a spit of difference, but I am wondering why angled rabbits and not angled dadoes?

Great job.

#3

Looking forward to seeing where this goes!..

#4

What no mortises and tendons? (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

#5

Devon Sinsley said:

Well heck I don’t know what the railroad is going to look like but if it is anywhere as nice as the post and rail system is turning out then it is sure to impress. I love wood working as much as railroads and the attention to detail is well appreciated. One could have just cut the ends and stuck them to the posts and no one likely would have noticed but the extra working in making the dadoes and angled rabbits to hide the miscuts will give it a very nice clean look. I do have to ask, and not that it would make a spit of difference, but I am wondering why angled rabbits and not angled dadoes?

Great job.

Thought about the angled mortises, but thought that was prone to error and time.

The angled cuts on the post are easy to do with a table saw and standard 10" blade. If any one is interested on how to make these cuts I can do that.

#6

I kind of figured that was the answer.

#7

This looks like a cool way to build a railway! I look forward to seeing the progress.

One suggestion I might make is to box around the house deck posts to keep soil away from them. This modern pressure treated is not very resistant to rot and it would be a shame to bring down the deck.

#8

Very nice woodworking Dennis, really looking forward to your progress. I’ll add one more feature to consider. If I’m understanding correctly there will be a large cavity under the the deck that covers the walled area. I would add a screened opening at each end to allow airflow through the bottom. I could see things getting pretty damp under there and a bad crop of mold growing otherwise. Keep up the good work.

#9

Eric Schade said:

This looks like a cool way to build a railway! I look forward to seeing the progress.

One suggestion I might make is to box around the house deck posts to keep soil away from them. This modern pressure treated is not very resistant to rot and it would be a shame to bring down the deck.

Eric, yer you are correct and still addressing that issue. Do not know what to use to protect the posts. Any thoughts?

#10

Randy Lehrian Jr. said:

Very nice woodworking Dennis, really looking forward to your progress. I’ll add one more feature to consider. If I’m understanding correctly there will be a large cavity under the the deck that covers the walled area. I would add a screened opening at each end to allow airflow through the bottom. I could see things getting pretty damp under there and a bad crop of mold growing otherwise. Keep up the good work.

Good idea, this section runs north and south, will get a few vents added to help the air flow. I do not expect to have any access point as it will be so low to the ground, all the wiring will be buried in the layout.

As you see from the picture most of this section of the layout is under the deck and does not get wet. only the upper section for about 10 feet does get wet and that part will be fill dirt.

#11

Hey Dennis,

What about cement board to cover those posts. Screw it in with the right screws that are waterproof grout the edges and then paint on the black tar stuff used to seal concrete foundations. None of it would be expensive and would then form a water resistant barrier. Where the post exits the layout you could do a bit of foam rock scenery of cement scenery to incorporate the post and make a water barrier with a purposeful design.

#12

Just added the missing photo to my first post on this topic. This is the first day without rain this week.

Waiting on my next load of 2 x 4’s to fill in the rail sections.

#13

Last week I got one day of good weather to work on the Railroad.

I had to make an inside 4 foot radius curve, so using Sketchup I made a drawing on what was needed, then made a prototype of the post cuts to confirm my settings.

This went easier than I thought and a couple of hours had the inside curve installed. Right now only had 2 rails between each post and that is to keep the posts in alignment. It really self aligns the post.

First picture shows looking at the outside face where you can view the railroad.

This photo is from inside railroad

Last photo is looking down on the post to show the cuts

#14

Thought I would show more of the construction.

First Picture show more of the completed 50 foot long wall and the36 inch walkway against the house.

Second picture is looking from the opposite end and shows how the layout will go under the steps.

Third picture shows where the layout will be going. it will stop at the 4x4 laying on the ground and come back to the stake in the lower right hand corner of the picture, there it will make another 4 foot radius turn back to join the layout. The area around the trees will become a garden for my wife, but will also have two large loops of track going over the garden on trestles between the trees.

Access to the layout will have two walk through’s, one is against the house and the other will be on the outside of the layout, the paths width is 36" to make it easy for people to walk. The inside part will terminate at the steps. This makes the layout a ‘U’ shapes.

#15

Nice work Dennis. Are you back filling inside that wall you are building? Also, how are you cutting the posts slots; with a dado blade?

#16

Nice precision layout for those cuts

Are you going to back fill with soil all the way to the top?

#17

Daktah John said:

Nice work Dennis. Are you back filling inside that wall you are building? Also, how are you cutting the posts slots; with a dado blade?

I do not think all will be back filled. 75% might be raised on a platform, still thinking about how and what to use material wise. The upper part only right now will be back filled as this is the lowest part of the layout.

The posts with the square rabbet cuts are made with a dado blade, not a wobble blade, set to 3/4" x 3/8" deep and three passes are needed. The angle cuts on the other posts just use a standard combination blade. The blade is set to 11.25 degrees for the cuts. You need a fence of over 3" tall or you have to attach a board to the fence to make it tall enough.

The standard blade I am using is a Dewalt DW3114 Construction blade 10" 40 Teeth. Got it at Ace Hardware for around $25.00. Have seen them at Lowes also.

#18

Thanks Dennis. If I had read back before I asked the questions I would have seen you gave the answers in your first posts.

#19

Nice Work!