Large Scale Central

Ladder Support Survey

David,

The photos are a little bit dated, in that all the track is now down and ballasted. The long main is about 400 feet and we have had 4 trains running at one time. Gotta pay attention!! There are 5 total loops to allow us continuous running at shows and open houses. If you scanned the rest of the site you would have noticed we are affiliated with the West Florida Railroad Museum in Milton, Florida. The Museum is housed in the old L&N Station on a busy CSX mainline out of Pensacola, Florida.

Thanks for taking the time to look us up.

Bob C.

Bob Cope said:
David,

Gotta pay attention!!


If I did that I would be un-controlable!

Bruce Chandler said:
David Russell said:
Yes but you can can put a 12' stick of Trimplank in an MGB "HARDTOP". Easily packed a few into a Saab this past weekend.
That was a big factor in my using the Tufboard. While I have carried some 2x8 in my convertible, the Tufboard was a LOT easier. ;)
I don't buy no vehicle wot can't carry a 4x8 sheet of plywood.

what material did you use for your ladder rails? (trex, tufboard, trimplank, etc.)

Trex

what is the dimension of the material and was it cut or manufactured to that size or did you rip it down from larger stock?

Used 1 in by 12 in plank from Lowes, ripped in half, cut to about 2 3/4 in wide

what material did you use for the ladder rungs/spacers? (PT lumber, etc.)
ditto on the dimensions,etc.

trex

what is the total width of your ladder?

about 3 1/4 in wide

what material did you use for your uprights? (pvc pipe, PT lumber, etc.)

PVC, but learned that underground costs half

how far apart are your supports and spacers?

2-2 1/2 ft apart

how tall is your ladder track?

from 4 in to 3 ft high

is it filled in underneath (if so with what?) or free standing?

free standing

how much of your support did you bury? and what did you use to set it? (concrete, existing soil, gravel, etc.)

2 ft in the ground, pounded it in the ground

fasteners used? (deck screws, etc. sizes?)

I drilled all the way through Trex and PVC pipe, used stainless 1/4 in bolts and nuts, nuts and bolts

Additional comments -
Pro/cons, likes/dislikes for your system
what would you do different?

Very easy to put up once you have PVC in ground

tom h

Chris Vernell said:
I don't buy no vehicle wot can't carry a 4x8 sheet of plywood.
Oh I have one of those as well. It will easily carry 1/2 ton of fire wood,a keg of beer all your guns and fishing rods and still take a party 6 in town to eat when the hunt didn't go so well and you didn't catch anything.