I started a thread on another site, but I like to spread it around and show what I’m doing in case there is someone who might get some inspiration or even correct me if they see me doing something that might casue problems later. So, the following is an evolution of my railroad. And I will continue to update as progress continues.
This is an Autocad drawing I originally created for my layout. The mainline measure 160’. I wanted to keep my layout small so I could get it mostly done this year, because I wanted to get trains running as soon as possible. I will then expand as I go. Once I started digging the design changed, but that will be explained later.
The above pictures are after the first day of work. It is around the end of March so it is still a little cold outside.
After messing around with the grade I noticed that if I kept the over-under crossover then I was going to have a very high elevation (approx 4.5’) on the lower loop. I really didnt want my trains sitting this high in the air, so I modified the design into a more folded dogbone shape, and also relocated the passing siding. I did the adjustments on MS Paint so it was pretty crude.
This image shows the adjustment I made.
The above pictures show more progress. I’ve set the grade on the Mainline at 4%. I’ve also started moving dirt into place for the contours. The last photo shows the height of the lower loop. It is a little decieving because I have yet to put the fill in. I will put about 18" of dirt in and then construct a wood trestle. At the base of the trestle I’m putting a pond in.
