A true Joe Doakes moment, simple as just another dozen switches…
All Aboard!
Started to work on the tunnel on the east side of the layout, playing with some diffferent ideas, and working slowly on a 105* day here in good old AZ. I think I have the length of the tunnel set at about 4 feet or so, placed the base of pavers to discourage rabbits from thinking this will be home, then I tried my double stack Intermodal and it JUST barely hits the corner bracing on the portal, so now its decision time, since I have 2 intemodals and 2 containers, do I leave it alone,and have a height restriction,Lots of options. raise it up to clear the double stack or abandon it and build another one , or do I attempt to widen it , or cut off the corner braces and let it go.
Then I went to the north under the large ficus tree and built a low retaining wall. where the flat piece of flagstone is will be the reverse loop that workd around the mountain, just above the retaining wall is the inner loop of track, and against the wall is the outer loop of track. will be a lot of action here in this area, so trying things out before I make them permanent.
Not a lot of time lately to do much , especially with the heat and summer Monsoons making appearances
thought I would add this, as I have changed some things from when I started this, I have taken out some things and added more switching oppertunities, to give me something to do besides admiring my train running around the garden. At the bottom left the lead track to the yard is all that fits onto this paper, but there will be hopefully 4 tracks, maybe 5 to hold cars and trains. As always if anyone sees a better way to do something feel free to tell me what I am doing/did wrong.
Hi Pete, Looking good! On your tunnel clearance issue is there any way you can make the track straight as it enters the tunnel portal? Entering straight on would minimize overhang and make the container clear if I understand correctly.Have you thought about concrete roadbed in the tunnel? Makes it rabbit proof and you could use it to anchor your tunnel walls.
Steve
Hey Steve thanks, the concrete blocks are going to be the floor of the tunnel, just so rabbits don’t try to inhabit there. Also the whole tunnel is a 10’ loopp to be used as a reverse loop and there is no room for it to straighten out much.
Time for a progress report, still summer so not a lot is going on these days in sunny ( when not under Monsoon conditions) Arizona. But I did get a couple of early morning days where I could do something before it got too hot Checked out some different things for ballast first was small pebbles, but they looked too large so picked them up for use elsewhere and then got a bag of decomposed granite, tried that but it blended in to the dirt too much so I added some of the abrasives I haul, Brand name SharpShot, copper slag from old copper mines, ground screened and graded in 75lb bags, (another product almost the same is Black Beauty) I used the extra coarse 12x30 size and after adjusting the mix I think I like how it looks
after that test I took the small pebbles bag and tried them in the “V” gaps between the wall blocks to make things look a bit more “finished” looking
I may spread them out a little from there to fill that area in.
Then the next opportunity I had Istarted to experiment on what to do about the proposed tunnel on the east side of the layout. I think the flagstone may be a bit odd looking, I am also thinking of stacking it in horizontal slabs using construction adhesive to see if that looks much better
Oh and I discovered when I was digging the hole for the flagstone slabs, you want to keep 6 inches of dirt off the switch located nearby, it was a real bear to clean up to get smooth operationon it. will not make that mistake again!
Best keep that grit away from the throw bar area as well … A general rule of thumb is the switch goes on a hard surface and no ballast near moving parts, including the rails.
Looks good.
I think … flag stones look best stacked flat or tilted, but on the same angle for uniformity, but that’s me, I think. Double warning(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)
Are you track power or battery power? if track power, having metal particles in the ballast can cause the track to short out in damp weather.
And you really don’t want to use rounded stone as ballast, they don’t lock together and hold the track well.
I put my switches on flagstones … with almost no ballast…
Edit : Dam auto correct…
Sean McGillicuddy said:
I put my stiches on flagstones … with almost no ballast…
Sounds like it could be painful!
You beat Fr. Fred … Dam… auto correct … how do they know what I’m trying to say … when I do not even know…
Forgot to mention that the grit can get into your engines; a rain splash or watering, a downdraft can send it anywhere… I’d sift out the finer stuff and cover a wet cement slag heap with it.
Might want to wash your bearings between runs … https://www.webstaurantstore.com/all-points-85-1138-non-aerosol-food-grade-machine-oil-14-oz/AP851138.html
This stuff is bigger than sand particles so should not have a problem with it intruding any worse than sand and dirt. There isn’t enough of the slag to cause shorts , I don’t think, and I am not sure if it is even metallic. Going to get a magnet to see now!
Copper is non magnetic. An ohm meter will tell you if the slag is conductive.
Well had some time off, so I got out and was able to bend and connect the second (inner) loop of track, so all the main lines are done with the exception of the reverse loop which will wait until I have converted the loco to battery power. So here are some pictures of the new loop of track
The cross overs and 2 of the industrial areas on the west side looking to the north. So I got bold and got a train together and ran it for about 15 minutes
as the train rolled past an area where it had done fine for 15 minutes, the next to last car went off the track and fell on its left side taking all the cars ahead of it, I think the fact that the boxcar behind the loco is a USA and all the other cars are Aristo and the low coupler on the USA prevented everything from fall over. That will teach me to not have all track supported before running cars over them. No harm to anything so no big problems
.,.Next item on my list will be the double track bridge over the Babs River, then the bridge for the siding where the track crosses at an angle. Not sure but leaning toward a Camelback type bridge like Diesel Dude and David Maynard built lately, leaning toward aluminum construction, since the Aztek stuff Maynard used is not available here.
The small single track bridge I bought off a guy will probably go here, it may need some more refurbishing, but it is workable for this spot
Here is a close up of where the 2 track bridge will go, the railroad spikes in the ground are a thinking about it widening of the riverbed to the 2 spikes( about 64" wide) to give a more dramatic main view of he layout from the patio and the big double doors from the house. I might shorten it to 48" I need to make a couple of templates to see which size works best without overwhelming the layout. Grandkid’s dog Sadie had to investigate the whole layout since I have had a neighborhood cat in the yard a few times
This is the first view that visitors at an open house will have not entering from the house. the mountain will need some major work to make it something that will get your attention. I may move most of the dirt more towards the camera and give it a way different treatment.
Pete Lassen said:
.,.Next item on my list will be the double track bridge over the Babs River, then the bridge for the siding where the track crosses at an angle. Not sure but leaning toward a Camelback type bridge like Diesel Dude and David Maynard built lately, leaning toward aluminum construction, since the Aztek stuff Maynard used is not available here.
Pete,
Peoria Lowes says it has Ever True and Royal 1x6 and 1x4’s in stock? They are both 100% PVC …Once again Azek is just a brand name and Aztek is a Pontiac.
Thanks Rooster, I was under the impression that what was used was a product where the inner core should not be exposed, and the stuff he used was a piece that was 5/8" square already , so no need to rip it to size. I will look today. and thanks for the spelling correction, I looked on their website and never noticed it was different. and yeah that Aztek was one ugly car!!!
Pete,
Yes, some of the composites should not be cut and exposed. However the trick is in the description from lowes …" Made from 100% PVC " not recycled or composite like this (read the description) https://www.lowes.com/pd/ChoiceDek-16-ft-Beach-House-Gray-Grooved-Composite-Deck-Board/50083930
A word of warning, the plastics are likely to expand and contract more than wood. I tried using 1" x 1/4" expanded PVC as an edging and it popped off the flat head nails. I wasted $20 and have found no other use for it…
Of course your mileage may vary.
What a great place for the Longfellow Incline!
Now that would catch an eye!