Jon, that is nice for inside but I’m not sure how well it would do outside? And I did get out in the sunshine pull a feww weeds. Paul
Thank you all for the input so far! We finally finished up moving everything to our new home and now comes the other hard part of organizing everything. But since we need to get a fence up in the back yard (top of the hill) I did get accurate measurements they are 95’ north to south and 25’ east to west. Not sure about how the snow will lay once it falls but I am betting it will pile up along side the garage pretty good which is where I am planning a station and yard.
Yes it pretty much will be based on the mining communities here in Colorado, with two river canyons cut into the hillside, I do need to try and make it so that water drainage will go to the south end away from the garage and house foundations, Most likely will use a french drain on each terrace for that purpose. Planning on using a Bobcat to cut out the terraces once I get the drawing done up on how the layout will be run. I did get my work bench set up in the garage where I want to stage the trains for their departure.
I will keep you update as things progress in between all the projects(landscaping) and working two jobs. Thanks again for the ideas so far.
E. Paul Austin said:I have one outside that doesn't fold, but is also made of wood, but painted. Primarily I wanted to show you the bridge clamps - last picture. For a lift-out I use clamps on both ends.
Jon, that is nice for inside but I'm not sure how well it would do outside? And I did get out in the sunshine pull a feww weeds. Paul
Sean, just a thought. Have you thought of installing a retaining wall at the lower end where the elevated part is below the 3 track yard? That would level up all that area below the small retaining wall and give you a layout area that looks to be about 20’+ wide times the length. That would be a nice area. It could be used as one type of theme and the area from the small retaining wall up the hill could be another theme. Installing underground drainage pipe would help keep the ground solid.
Ron
Thanks Ron, Here is a drawing I did the night before last while at work(bored) anyway this is just an idea and does not give any elevations. The shadowie area will be one of the river canyons and pond. Thinking of 8-10 foot curves should be big enough, If you think I should go bigger let me know please thanks. This is just my 1st idea.
Only suggestion that I can make is to tackle the building job in sections. Pick a 20 foot section and build the track, any walls, cuts or fills, building foundations, water courses, major plantings, etc… Make sure to check cross level and check your grade every 18" or so. Get that one part to operate smoothly before going to the next section. There’s nothing more frustrating that trying to hunt down electrical gremlins, low spots, twists, etc on a large layout all at once.
If you’re REAL lucky your last section built will line up smoothly with your first, but don’t count on it. Remember to leave an allowance for minor alignment or grade changes. Ladder track, or patio block subroadbeds are real good for this reason.
Try to avoid sharp changes in either grade or curvature, and remember that grades on a curve may LOOK really cool, but they’re hard on motors and gears. I’d try to limit upgrades to less than 2% (2" rise in 100" of run) on 8 foot curves. Downgrades of more than 4% on a curve is asking for something to come off as well. Yes, I know many logging railroads were steeper than that. Decide for yourself how much wear and tear you want to fix later vs a little extra work now.
Also, expect stuff to shift and settle. You’ll probably need to plan to relevel 2 or 3 times the first year, and every spring for the next 5 or so after that.
Thank you Mik, those are some really good pointers. I am thinking that with a length of 95 feet I can do good with running it on a 2 degree incline and reach pretty much towards the top of the yard which looks to be close to 10-12 feet difference in height from the lower section. since everything is starting slowly to settle down now I am hoping to get started here clearing the hill of everything by the start of July.
Sean
Try to avoid having a switch at the top or bottom of a grade. That is just asking for trouble, and there is rarely a satisfactory fix.
What kind of grade do you envision on your "Georgetown Loop? Remember, you will need a minimum of 10 inches vertical clearance, railhead to railhead. You will need 10 X 100 inches in your loop to gain that amount of elevation on a 1% grade. That is 83 feet. Will you have 83 feet on that “Georgetown Loop” curve? On the curve you envision, 1% is about as much as I would go.