Well I still have to upload and take some more recent photos but here is the start of my track. My plan for a track was already in progress when we were looking for hosues, I had a planned design and ideas though everything is just in my head and never bothered to put on paper. Since I am a 3’ NG guy mostly interested in Colorado NG I always wantedo buil some sort of large yard as part of the staging/steaming bay. So when I visited Colorado and rode the C&T I decided on Chama as my yard as it was a small enough yard in width that I can fit in most real back yards without much fudging. So I ended up with 5’ x 50’ yard, with leaving enough room for a turn around loop. This track will be mostly a single track mainline. The first phase is just the yard and two return loops. After I complete the yard I will move on to the extension which is about a 100’ run across the length of the yard. I always liked having a elevated track so you dont have to crawl around on the ground. I do like the look of a landscaped track to I am building everything to be completely landscaped. The yard will have minimal plants except against the back of the bed as a backdrop to the fence. The main sturcture would need to support the weight of anything I put on top so I unstalled 4x4 PT posts 24" in the ground with concrete. They are spaced 2’ apart in width and 5’ apart in length. The main supports are 2x6 doubled up. The top deck is 2x4 PT 12" on center. The top sheating was a debate as to what to use. I wanted something that drained but also that was strong enough not to bow with weight of stone and such. I als wanted something that wouldnt rot away. So in the end I used Aluminum 1/8" sheeting. It is a flattened expanded metal. Gives the strength I needed without rusting. Now the Aluminum brought in another issue. The new PT lumber had a caustic chemical that will eat the aluminum. So long as it dows not touch and has a spacer its ok. So now it was what to use. I finally gound a reasonable insulator that was cost effective. I used rubber weathershield used for door and window installation. Its sticky backed and flexable. At this point the aluminum is all installed, and I started to build the first return loop and am waiting for some bolts to come in to finish. More photos to come inthe upcoming days/weeks. I am hoping to have a loop running by mid sept, who knows though.
