Large Scale Central

Got Rocks?

Gardening
#1

On my way home from work last week I saw a guy parked along side the road with a flatbed trailer full of big rocks for sale. I bought about twenty and he delivered them to my house. I had him unload them out front under a tree. Today is the first day of spring break so my youngest son didn’t have school. I talked him into helping me move them to the layout. Here we are loading some into a trailer.

Some of them were too heavy to lift so we pulled them with an appliance dolly while sitting in the trailer. Don’t laugh … it worked.

Here are some of them in the Rico yard area. Now all I need are a couple more truckloads of fill dirt to complete the terra-forming on this end of the layout. Sure is a lot of work to turn Oklahoma into Colorado.

Although it gets pretty windy here sometimes I don’t think these will blow away.

Bob

#2

Yes Bob, rocks are what sets garden railways apart and builds character. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)

From your pictures yours just barely fall into the “hand rock” variety; a neighbour had recently a few of those (and larger) delivered and we were debating the terminology and guessing at the number of hands required moving them from the front to the back — given the incline on driveways and such matters.
But they build character. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

#3

I think Jon Radder coined the term used to describe those things: BFR’s… Big Freakin Rocks…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

#4

Ken Brunt said:

I think Jon Radder coined the term used to describe those things: BFR’s… Big Freakin Rocks…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

Or perhaps Bart Salmons

http://www.largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/19131/fun-with-bfrs/view/post_id/209656

With advancing age I sometimes wonder how I got some of the rocks on our layout into position; the ache in my back seems to block the recall. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

#5

If you want to talk about BFR’s, take a look at jb’s layout. Of course, he had an assist from his “Bobkitten.”

#6

Steve Featherkile said:

If you want to talk about BFR’s, take a look at jb’s layout. Of course, he had an assist from his “Bobkitten.”

Yeah, I envied him his bobcat more than all his RhB rolling stock combined;(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-embarassed.gif) that and having easy access around the layout. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-embarassed.gif)

#7

Hans-Joerg Mueller said:

Ken Brunt said:

I think Jon Radder coined the term used to describe those things: BFR’s… Big Freakin Rocks…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

Or perhaps Bart Salmons

http://www.largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/19131/fun-with-bfrs/view/post_id/209656

With advancing age I sometimes wonder how I got some of the rocks on our layout into position; the ache in my back seems to block the recall. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

Definitely Bart. I just over use the term (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

#8

Nothing says BFR like a 40 ton picker. I needed a mountain for my layout, and now I have one. :slight_smile: I had this guy delivered last fall.

Once the snowpack melts my construction will continue.

#9

The little Kitten with his first of three loads of rocks for the layout.

#10

Somewhere there is a momma dino upset with you raiding her nest John. Living in Spokane Valley I am having a hard time understanding where you found these rocks. Must have imported them…

#11

Devon Sinsley said:

Somewhere there is a momma dino upset with you raiding her nest John. Living in Spokane Valley I am having a hard time understanding where you found these rocks. Must have imported them…

They look like typical large river rocks to me. I bit larger than the ones some of our neighbours use to build retaining walls. Which always puzzles me, them suckers are supposed to be “rolling stones”.

#12

None of my rocks, which form Wilsons Canyon on my railroad, are native to my backyard.

When the RR was being constructed, around ten years ago, my wife and one of my grandsons (10 years old then) went onto the open headland and cliff paths with a small perambulator seeking suitable rocks. As they say they did me proud and between them set the boulders alongside the track forming the canyon. The canyon is named after a black cat buried close by.

#13

Hans-Joerg Mueller said:

Devon Sinsley said:

Somewhere there is a momma dino upset with you raiding her nest John. Living in Spokane Valley I am having a hard time understanding where you found these rocks. Must have imported them…

They look like typical large river rocks to me. I bit larger than the ones some of our neighbours use to build retaining walls. Which always puzzles me, them suckers are supposed to be “rolling stones”.

It was an inside joke HJ. I live and work on the same prairie. It is famous for very large rocks everywhere. It is a combination of river rock and glacial till. Those are medium sizes ones. You get anywhere near the Spokane river and they grow in size and number. I work for a public water utility in the valley and we fit these prairie eggs all the time. Not a fun place to dig holes by hand.

#14

Rocks I have enough rocks on my property to last a life time. Funny to hear people pay for rocks. I cant pay people to get rid of them here lol…

#15

Shawn Viggiano said:

Rocks I have enough rocks on my property to last a life time. Funny to hear people pay for rocks. I cant pay people to get rid of them here lol…

As one who bought rocks, it’s hard enough to place them, never mind sweating while picking them, loading them and unloading them; even though I do that when I want specific rocks.

In a way it really reminded/reminds me of my previous life and the firewood routine; it really kept me warm cutting and loading it, kept me warm splitting it and finally kept me warm burning it. Getting rid of the ashes was child’s work.

(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)

Do I miss that "delayed pioneer"feeling? Not really. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-sealed.gif)

#16

The average size of those rocks.

#17

That’s an N scale train right John?(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif) That’s just a baby. When they did all the building by the freeway at Sullivan between the road and the river they were moving car sized rocks.

#18

All my rocks didn’t cost me a dime. (Except for diesel fuel for Bob.)

They were given to me by the company putting the sewer in our neighborhood.

They would leave them piled up in a vacant lot across the street for me.

It pays to schmooze the job foreman with donuts and cold drinks.

#19

John Bouck said:

All my rocks didn’t cost me a dime. (Except for diesel fuel for Bob.)

They were given to me by the company putting the sewer in our neighborhood.

They would leave them piled up in a vacant lot across the street for me.

It pays to schmooze the job foreman with donuts and cold drinks.

Yep sounds about right. The fame Spokane Valley Sewer project. Boulders everywhere. I have about 30 from the same thing. Working with the public water utility I got to know the sewer guys well and they even loaded them for me.

#20

Gee, I got a lot of my rocks from the build site when they cut through the hillside to put in the new toll road. The rest I got from a cliff-side that is next to a major roadway. After a good hard rain, there are plenty of loose rocks there for the picking. One time a police officer pulled up behind 2 of us who were loading up rocks there. He put his flashing lights on to warn oncoming traffic, and just sat in his car and watched us. I guess he figure that what we removed, the township road crew would not have to remove.