Large Scale Central

re-BUILD LOG- IRON ISLAND RAILROAD

Articles
#81

This weekend was Mother’s Day weekend and Mrs. Diesel took a vacation day on Friday. With all the Hallmark, commercial excitement that comes with Mother’s Day, I’m sure she was expecting a well deserved, relaxing, peaceful, weekend. Full of pure pampering, hot bubble baths, body massages, and breakfast in bed. Then it occurred to me, we don’t have any children (at least that we know of, anyway). So, she was immediately put to work.

We started along the side fence (East side of layout) in an area that was previously inaccessible on the old layout. The upper two lines ran parallel to the fence. The lower line ran in the ditch, also parallel to the fence.

The lower line was plagued with flooding issues and the only viewing area was on the opposite side (West side) of layout. In this view you can (hopefully) see the upper lines heading for the distant tunnel (extreme top right along fence line) and continuing to the back of the layout. The lower line ran beneath three tunnels along the straight away and then a fourth tunnel as it curves to the left (towards top of photo).

The plan is to move the upper two lines and the lower line to the left of the ditch. Then, create a walking path in the old ditch. The lower line will follow the walking path until the left turn (old tunnel #4). The path will continue straight when the lower line turns left. Got it, so far? The grade of the ditch will need to be raised to take care of the flooding issue. There are two stakes near the foreground of the photo which roughly mark the location of the path. We’re gonna need more dirt!

You can see some of the tunnel liners and other debris on the left side of the photo. The rest of the stumbling blocks were moved here…

Anybody need some cinder blocks? (Oh, and yes, I do need to paint the stars on the back of the shop wall. Thanks for noticing).

Actually, I might use the cinder blocks to elevate the lower line- kinda like running a train on top of a retaining wall. This might also help keep it from any washouts that may occur due to it’s location beneath the slope of the upper part of the the layout.

Well, there you have it so far. Next on the list: Mark grades of the path to alleviate flooding problem. Then… more dirt, of course!

-Kevin.

#82

Kevin

Great start and idea’s!

I would Install 3/4 stone wrapped in filter fabric in the ditch under your future walkway. This will be a nice place for the water to go to.( French Drain)

#83

Good start Kevin and nice plan so far. Is there anyway you can create some dry gullies for the water to drain through? Something like Andy did although not so big lol… I like to use mother nature to my advantage when I can.

#84

Sean McGillicuddy said:

Kevin

Great start and idea’s!

I would Install 3/4 stone wrapped in filter fabric in the ditch under your future walkway. This will be a nice place for the water to go to.( French Drain)

Not a bad idea at first glimpse, but you would still need a divergent path to take the water away from the area.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

#85

Gents- Thanks for all of the suggestions. I appreciate all of the input.

I think that I may have inadvertently created the flooding issue myself when I dug the original lower line (boot to the head!!!). My yard slopes a bit from East (high side) to West (low side). In an effort to keep the lower line as level as possible, I tried to lower the high side, rather than fill the low side. My new plan is to partially fill the trench above the critical flood stage (a couple of inches) and then fill the West side of the layout until level.

Many moons ago I put in a 6 inch drain tile line straight across my property. If worse comes to worse, I could always tap in to it, but I think that it might not be necessary. I’d love to put a nice decorative stone walking path in the old trench, but I’ve got a huge maple tree (the trunk is barely visible in the top left corner of photo) and when fall comes we are inundated with leaves. So, I think the path will be grass. That way I could just mulch up all the leaves in the path with the riding mower. The wind tends to blow the leaves in that general area anyway.

-Kevin.

#86

WEEKEND UPDATE:

I dug out the area along the fence where the path will be. All of the dirt has come in handy to raise other parts of the layout. You can see some of the dirt piled up on the left side of the layout. By Friday afternoon, the area looked like this:

I think the plan for the lower line will be a basic loop. It will circle the island that I created with the new path (an island surrounded by railroad tracks… hey, lets call it Iron Island!). The line will cross the path near the front of the photo. I’ll need to make a lawnmower/pedestrian grade crossing. As much as I didn’t want to have a place where people could walk over the tracks, I thought this would be the better looking right of way for the train. I’m sure I’ll find out if I made the right decision at my first open house. The line will continue along the fence and then cross under the tunnel at the top of the photo. The upper two lines will be on the left of the path. They will cross over the lower line at the top of the photo.

I used the black drainage pipe to represent the tunnel, but I think I’ll need something a bit longer as the tunnel will also need to provide steps for people (1:1 scale people) to continue around the layout. The yard slopes up just after the tunnel.

That line of bricks in the path is where the lower line will be. The orange spots are grade markers.

Moving on: Today I’ll be leveling the old mountain and moving all of it’s plants and trees (if the rain holds off). I’m setting up a temporary nursery for them behind the shop. What a mess!

-Kevin.

#87

It’s progressing!

#88

I like the plan. Thats the one thing I did with my layout is design areas for people to walk into the layout. I did this by placing stepping stones throughout the layout . So when will the first train be running (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)

#89

Shawn Viggiano said:

So when will the first train be running (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)

Not soon enough, Shawn. I’ve got plenty of earth moving ahead. However, on a bright note, and in the immortal words of the late great B.B. King… “The hill is gone” or did he sing “The Thrill is Gone?” Well, in any event the hill (mountain) has been leveled and I couldn’t be thrilled more! With that out of the way, I can start to level the grade on the rest of the layout. The dirt from the mountain came in handy to fill some low voids around the new sections of the layout. Still, it’s not enough (will it ever end?). I’m gonna have to put a call in to my good friend cemetery Bob and get another couple of truckloads for this weekend. Fortunately, (or unfortunately for her) Mrs. Diesel is off again this Friday. Won’t she be surprised to find a big load of dirt in the driveway! Oh, and by the way, your layout re-do is looking fantastic! “Women work” my foot! I’ve got a woman working with me and I’m still not done!

You’ll know where to find me:

-Kevin.

#90

lol its amazing how a load of dirt looks like a lot until you start using it.

#91

lol its amazing how a load of dirt looks like a lot until you start using it.

#92

Shawn he would look real purty in the hat …could you wash it and mail it too him please!

#93

Rooster if he sends me his address Ill send it up.

#94

Tales of the traveling pink hat. Humm…

#95

Maple Curve had always been a problem on the old layout. The dirt embankment that held one of the upper lines was always eroding. The eroded dirt would constantly reek havoc on the trestle which held the other upper line. The lower line ran in front of the trestle and looked out of place. The whole scene never really looked that great. Since Maple Curve is at the beginning of the layout and can be seen from the house, deck, and pool area- it’s the first view you get of the layout. Definitely not a great first impression. We needed something better. So, we spent a couple of days building this:

This retaining wall should do a much better job and it looks a lot better, too (Yes, I know, it’s out of scale). The upper area will accommodate a 24 foot diameter curve and the lower area in front of the wall will do much bigger. I still need to fill the area in front of the wall to bury the crushed stone and bring it up to grade (more dirt, can’t wait, shoot me now!).

Moving right along…

-Kevin.

#96

Image result for clapping railroad smiley face

#97

dieseldude . said:

(more dirt, can’t wait, shoot me now!)

Wait, Given your source, if you were shot, wouldn’t that free up some extra dirt? (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)You’re making some great progress. The wall looks good and so does the long stretch of grading you did. When you get tired of digging just remember that yutz Randy is in the same boat down in Pittsburgh. Although I’m laying switches and digging. I just do which ever I’m least tired of that day.

#98

dieseldude . said:

(more dirt, can’t wait, shoot me now!).

Well if we did, there would be at leas a couple more free cubic yards for the layout, but would Ms. Dude keep the project alive in your absence?

The wall looks great. I’ve built a few so I know that’s a huge amount of work, unless you are Andy with a Kuboata and Jane to move the blocks (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)

#99

Randy Lehrian Jr. said:

dieseldude . said:

(more dirt, can’t wait, shoot me now!)

Wait, Given your source, if you were shot, wouldn’t that free up some extra dirt? (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)You’re making some great progress. The wall looks good and so does the long stretch of grading you did. When you get tired of digging just remember that yutz Randy is in the same boat down in Pittsburgh. Although I’m laying switches and digging. I just do which ever I’m least tired of that day.

Great minds think alike - I was busy trying to research how many yards a standard vault was while you were posting!

#100

The wall looks great. That will make a huge difference in appearance. Im sooooo glad i don’t have to move anymore dirt :wink:

You should be up and running within a week…