It might work, Mike…but how will you get the water to drain into the ports in the first place? I have to admit I’m a little skeptical.
Also Mike, are those boards jammed together and screwed in place with no space in between each board? I’m no decking expert, but that can’t be a good idea, no way, no matter what you put over them.
The planks are like doing a deck, there are small gaps between them, before I back fill it, first with pea gravel, then top soil, I will cut some slits in the plastic to allow excessive moisture to drain, but not totally keep the whole bottom wood wet, which is what would happen if I used lanscape fabric. This is how the other gentleman did his layout, just with black plastic instead of whitish. I need access ports for wiring to the lighting as well. It will work. I have done many terrirums indoors for my reptiles to live in. All have live plants and water features. The layer of gravel in the bottom will help with drainage. There will be plenty of places for water to drain out, I thought of that. And with rain coming this week on Wednesday, It will get a test before any gravel or dirt. Mike
I see. Sounds like you have a plan. Should be really nice.
I think it will be once I get past this teraforming stage. The water feature will be later this year, I lack anything to make the curved bridge yet. Only have 2 straight bridges.
Mike, how about using 2" pinkboard, cut to the width of the track to raise it. It will be lighter than both bricks or wood, and with longer screws, can still be fastened to the wood decking.
It would be lighter, but I am going up 5" with the track bed to create an embankment and get the track up high enough to bridge over the “pond” area. I am keeping the wood road bed as lightweight as possible. When is your Sammie due to arrive? P.S. There is a steam up this coming Saturday at the Monon RR museum in Linden Indiana. Mike
I really like that track plan. Should be fun to run trains on and wont cost you much money to build. I always say you dont need a lot of space to run G scale and you dont need big engines to have fun.
I agree with mike why not use the foam board to raise the tracks, you could build it up to get the proper height.
I would be careful with plastic any water that gets between the wood and plastic will always be wet if it cant breath. Have you thought about using that plastic board (forget name off hand)
On the drainage, instead of trying to force the water to go toward the drain holes, how about drilling the drain holes where you don’t want the water to gather? Your track plan is a great idea for a small, easy to maintain outside railroad. Hope it serves your desires and gives you many years of service.
Pink foam board 2" thick, using construction adhesive glue 2 layers or even 3 would give you the height that you want at a much lighter weight than the bricks, added bonus you could due scenery by layering the areas away from the track and forming it by cutting or filing it with a wood rasp
I’ve been using high density foam board for 20 years for track bases with no problems. Easy to install, easier to keep level, and help to keep the track a little cleaner, although in Mike’s case that might not be an issue. I am concerned about the solid wood base under the layout. I’m not sure you can keep it from deteriorating with all the moisture on it. Good luck though, plan looks it will be a lot of fun.
Instead of the black or white poly you might consider using EPDM pond liner material. If it were me (and it’s not) I would first use a landscape cloth between the wood and liner to allow a modicum of “breathability” to further minimize the condensation the will most surely occur. You could also use well placed penetrations for drains and wiring as there are a ton of methods shown via the Google.
If it last for 4-5 years, I will be happy, by then we should be ready to start the larger line along the wood fence. if the deck boards can hold up to a hot tub with a slow leak for 5 years and have no ill effects(hot tub gone as it died), then they should hold up ok on the layout for a few years. Working on replacing the bricks now with treated wood risers topped with treated 1x4’s under the track. This is all being done with what I have on hand. I have zero $$ in the budget to go by foam board or what have you. I am recycling what I have on hand to build the layout. Its ment to be temp solution till we build the larger railway. Once it starts to fall apart, I will recycle it again! Cheers Mike
OK, let’s leave him alone and build the thing!
Go Mike!
Greg
I’m going!! Got the outer loop done with new treated wood raised roadbed, pics coming shortly. I want to run a test train first. Mike
Mike,
You can gather your water with a piece of PVC with holes buried in your pea gravel. You can use a small diameter pipe with smaller holes since your area isn’t very big. That would allow your dirt to soak water, but would drain off when you ended up with to much and it became saturated. Then you can put an elbow on the end of the pipe and exit it where you wanted it to drain out onto the ground. For no more than you have i would get a stick of 3/4" and drill 1/8" holes in it. Split it in half and space the two pieces evenly on your layout. Should be able to do all of that for $10 and have piece of mind on your water issue. Don’t forget to cap the end without the elbow on it.
Chris
Trains are running! Ran my battery powered Lionel 0-4-0 on the log train first to check track, then out came Super Sammie live steamer. I got two of the 3 buildings placed and lights wired up, the engine shed is wired up, but will need fine tuning once I get the rest of the track I need. I am planning a styrofoam mountain/hillside behind the depot, roughly in the middle of the layout to act as a scenery break. But atleast trains are running. Wont be adding the layer of gravel and top soil for awhile yet, want to have everything in place before I back fill the whole thing. The more stuff, the less heavy gravel and dirt it takes. Mike
Looks good Mike. I think even after you build your larger layout, you will want to keep this one up. Its a perfect setup for those days you want to get something up and running fast. Def a keeper.
Thanks Shawn! its fun to just sit on the deck and be able to run the steamer, then just enjoy it going by at chest height when sitting in a deck chair. By early afternoon, most of the layout is in the shade from the trees in our front yard, along with the deck, so late afternoon thru dusk is prime steaming time, even when its really not out. Mike
Looking really good Mike! 