Mike Morgan said:Mike:
Well , at least one of you knew I was joking . Thanks Dave . Mike
I take everything you write very seriously!! Just that I have no personal sense of humor. Gets me in trouble with my wife too. LOL.
Happy RRing,
Jerry
Ric Golding said:
"The county took most of what he got for the house in fines after he did the hook up which now cost him almost $10,000.00. Needless to say he thinks he was the wronged party! But this is the same guy who would not pay his homeowner Assn Fees and then complain about the snow removal."God how I love to hear a story like that. It does the heart good.
Ric:
Way off topic, but I absolutely agree.
I am amazed at the people who are expressing outrage over the US government not providing free, instant, first class transportation out of Lebanon during this last week. This in spite of specific warnings against traveling there going back several years and updated regularly!! In fact, US flag airlines haven’t even been allowed to land in Beirut for years now. Guess why.
Don’t get me started on the road association for a ranch I recently sold. The ones not paying their dues werre always yelling the loudest over any maintenance deficiencies.
Seems that’s the way of many folks in our modern world. Makes me happy to be going on 65. Another 25 years and I won’t care.
Happy RRing,
Jerry
Back to the subject of those big rocks. The guys running the backhoes might be persuaded to do a little overtime getting them in the right place for a couple of hundred in cash. Less than a new engine and sure would add to the railroad.
Ric
Better shift 'em quick before the rains come and make them grow again .
Mike
Ric Golding said:Kinda reminds me of ol' Dave's layout in Carelton Place, Ont. Ric has posted a few pix of his layout......;)
Back to the subject of those big rocks. The guys running the backhoes might be persuaded to do a little overtime getting them in the right place for a couple of hundred in cash. Less than a new engine and sure would add to the railroad.
Ric Golding said:Ric, I offered them some cash to move them and they agreed. But with the heat and the weight of their machines, they didn't want to leave marks (divots) from those huge tires in my newly asphalted driveway. You have to drive down it to get to the back area where I store the rocks. I picked up about ten more #500 'ers last night. All I have left are the smaller #50 to #200 size to pick up. I'll need some of them, too, to fill in the gaps. My neighbors think I'm nuts, driving back and forth with the Bob from the contractor's rock pile to my back yard. (Or maybe they're jealous, 'cause I can move 'em.) I've moved some for my next door neighbor, and the guy across the street has a big pile they left for him. I'll prolly get involved with his project also. jb
Back to the subject of those big rocks. The guys running the backhoes might be persuaded to do a little overtime getting them in the right place for a couple of hundred in cash. Less than a new engine and sure would add to the railroad.
John,
This is a once in a lifetime grab. I think you are very lucky to be in the right place at the right time with the right equipment. Maybe its not luck, maybe just a can do attitude. 
Congratulations!!!
Well, they are done with the sewer and are now grading the street for pavement. Here’s Bob with his collection. I guess it’s time for layout planning now! 
jb
Those are some serious potatoes, I am very jealous. I can’t wait to see what you do with them in your layout. WOW!
Paul
Nice rocks. Break the bigger ones in half with a chisel and sledgehammer, to get some angular stones.
Id LOVE to get a haul like that.
WOW!!!
Fantastic! You’re very fortunate to be able to get so many good rocks for free and close to home. I have to drive nearly a half hour each way to get my rocks, and had to make many, many trips. Lately I’ve gone even farther, to a ranch in the high desert so I could get some different types of rocks for variety.
It’s been quite a while since I updated my site, and I’ve made a lot of progress since the last pics were posted. Hopefully I’ll have some new ones up in a day or two.
Ray,
You’ve done some serious rock stacking on your layout. Very nice!
I’m going to use most of mine to make the retaining wall around the layout. I figured it’s a lot easier than trying to stack and level those concrete landscape blocks. I will keep a few special shaped ones for inside the layout.
jb
You sure that’s not a dinosaur nest?..
For those of us not fortunate enough to have a sewer project in the front yard, here is a viable option that I stumbled on this morning while cleaning up my mailbox…don’t ask.
Anyway, roll your own.
http://www.triplecrails.com/Rock/Rock.htm
madwolf
Well, I’ve come on to my own supply of rocks. The heavy ones, not like Steve’s. Father-in-law is moving into “assisted living” after breaking up a household he has lived in for 55 years and built himself. Major rose gardener and a beautiful landscape, that has already sold with the right for him to remove whatever he wants.
He said take whatever rocks you want. Been hauling rocks now for two weeks. Big rocks, slate rock walls and many, many others. I’ve got one or maybe two more trips. Can haul about a ton at a time between the trailer and the van. The biggest problem is he lives about 68 miles away. He is moving near us, so we bring rocks everytime we make a haul, but it wouldn’t be worth it for the rocks alone. At least, not at the price of fuel.
You get what you can, when you can and how you can. Oh, the opportunities I’ve missed.
I’m quite fortunate living where I do. The supply of rock is almost limitless, and much of it can be had for free. I’ve had to stay away from the huge boulders, but if I had the means to move them I could probably get my fill for free or cheap.
The company I work for does real-estate development. All of the flat easy to develop land was taken years ago. Today development has expanded into hillsides due to modern rock handling equipment. They blast and break on-site, and in one case we have a complete quarry operation running with portable crushers selling crushed rock from the site. Of course you end up with scared and broken rock where I prefer the well weathered look of fieldstone.
My detention pond (posted a few weeks ago) was made from “New England Wall Rock” scrap pieces from large decorative stone walls built at one of our current projects. The pieces are too small for wall use and will just be buried on site. I’ve been back twice to pick through the “junk” to find gems.
We also live on a large man-made lake and I have a pontoon boat. This being New England, the shoreline is littered with boulders, rocks and pebbles. There are even many 100+ year old stone walls that run into the water from public lands. I’ve taken to rock hunting when we beach the boat and have brought back lots of rock. The biggest problem is carrying them up to the car from the marina dock :o
JR
The contractor has started digging the sewer in to the new development across the street. (22 new homes in the neighborhood . I can’t wait–kids, barking dogs, traffic, etc.)
And he is piling the rocks out near the road for me to pick up. He knows there is a “rock nut” across the street.
Last weekend, I moved about 50 more boulders.
And then a tree contractor had to fall three huge spruces that are in the new roadway. He walks over and asks me if I would like some firewood or the chips.
I said, sure, I’ll take the chips. He dumps 4 dump trucks full of chips for me in my backyard.
My brother said he’d take the wood. Today he brought over the logs. some were 4 feet in diameter!
I said I couldn’t saw up those monsters and he actually bucked up the big ones for me into 18" lengths.
All for free!
I had him saw one of the 4 footers into a “stump” about five feet long. I’m gonna make a tunnel thru it–like in the California Redwoods. I’ll be the only guy in the club with a train running thru a tree stump.! I gotta have a little whimsey on the layout, too.
So I got a fortune in rocks, about 30 yards of woodchips and 4 or 5 cords of Fir for free due to this sewer project.
Oh and there’s also about 60 yards of fill I can have, but I’d have to move it one scoopful at a time with my bobcat. I’ll start that move this weekend.
It’s been quite a summer in my neighborhood!
jb
John,
Sounds like you and that contractor have a good system worked out. He makes more money for not having to haul anything very far and you have a great supply of raw material to mold and shape into your railroad.
Ric,
Yes, the tree contractor thanked me profusely for taking the “leavings”. He has to haul it to the dump, which is some miles away. That would have been five different loads, plus the fuel and lost time on the job site. When he left, he shook my hand and said, “Thanks for working with me.”
And yesterday the Sewer contractor pressure tested the system, and found it leaked somewhere.
Believe it or not, they are going to start digging back up every property owners stub until they find the leak! Can you believe it!! You’d think that they would test it as they went along.
Typical, huh? Another crew with a smaller track-hoe and a loader is starting that job. Then they have to completely re-gravel and roll (compact) the road again.
Job security.
In our county, there is a law that states you cannot dig a hole to repair something in new asphalt for five years.
In the old days, they would asphalt a road, and the next day they would be out digging something up to fix. That’s why the water, gas, phone, and sewer lines all have to be perfect the first time.
jb