Started to check on the R/W with some unhappy results, several feet of the wood subgrade is rotting away (welcome to western washington) as well as some damage to trackage that was mounted on treated lumber! So now I need to buy treated 2x6 and 2x8 to reinstall the subgrade and the track that was on that part of the RR. The other part will require rebuilding track with new tie strips and then reinstalling. If I known what the maintenance was about, I may not have built an RR in the first place! It is alot of work to keep things operating in a wet climate with all the ____ trees. I know that several of you will be doing the same thing this spring. Maybe I can get ahead of it! Can only try.
Yep maintenance is an ongoing thing…I try not to build too much in any one year…that way i don;t have to fix it all at one time!
Thats why a free float my track. Much easier to add some balast and relevel then replace wood that the track was mounted on. I actually enjoy the maint. Keeps it from getting boring.
I went to the ladder method to cut down on some maintenance. It seems different things work for different climates and different people. I don’t mind reballasting but when I would have to relevel, remove rail and rebuild, it got old. There will always be maitenance to do but try to make it as easy as possible on yourself.
Terry
I would sugest something other than wood. I used PVC trimboard for my ladder. It is weather resistant so you wont have a problem with rot.
Most 2" lumber (2X4 - 2X6 - 2X8, etc) are not rated for ground contact and will quickly rot. 4X4 and 6x6 posts are pressure treated differently and are rated for ground contact.
Walt
Shawn, I think you and I enjoy maintenance because our layouts are relatively small. On the bigger layouts it can really become a chore.
I’ve started using the PVC ladder in all of the sections I’ve rebuilt. It really has helped this winter where heavy rains have washed away fill and ballast, but I can still run because the track is stable and level on the roadbed. I have trouble getting the uprights for the ladder very deep in the ground so they do tend to push up in the winter. Last spring it was pretty easy to push them back down where they belong.
My ladder (pvc) has been down since 2007 …the ladder is very nice for leveling as I can shift 8’ sections or more in a snap. I do have other sections that are elevated on PT lumber but the supporting posts are below frost line…My elevated ladder rarely needs leveling as is floats with the ground
So far this year (although the winter isnt over yet) I have had not problems with frost heave. I have had a few “crooked” spots in the track, due to expansion. But the base is stable. In some spots, due to the rocky ground I was only able to pound my stakes into the ground about 18". But in those areas I usually have another 18" of fill I put down to bring the ground up to the track level.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
Walter: We can buy ‘Sunwood’ in 2x sizes and it is treated for weather exposure so it holds up better, but it does not take paint very well! I have been using ‘Ground’ contact 4x4 for posts. This an elevated section of the RR.
Jake: I will look for some of this PVC trim an dsee if it works. Thank you for the suggestion.
Right now I have some serious work to do, correct a Storm Drainage Report! And this one is a freeby!
Paul
Paul,
I got mine at my local Menards. It went by the name of Trimboard and found it near the garage door accessories. It mostly came in trim dimensions. I used the 1 x 2s and put them on edge and that made a nice solid base. I used cut 2 x 2s for the spacers. There is a whole write-up on how I made my track in the Track section under “Building the Deadwood, Black Hills & Western”
Here is the link http://www.largescalecentral.com/LSCForums/viewtopic.php?id=15127
Wellll last year I got ambitious and put in a pond and some hills along the track.
Good ole frost heave went sideways and pushed my track apart slid it partway down the hill.
This brought winter opps to a halt on the Limestone Ridge Line until spring.
It is a nice day here in ‘sunny’ western washington, so I did track replacement as the damaged sections and lengthened a siding at my lower station. The rot will take some wood which I have not bought yet! Old and slow!
Paul
Layout still under ice. Built a turnout.
I usually do the “300-foot crawl” around the track with my levels to do the maintenance. Since I built that camera car and shot my first movie of the layout I’m going to use that for seeing where I need to level my track and switches. Other than a lot of re-ballasting this year I think the movie will save a lot of crawling!
Doug;
Now thats using your head.
Saves on the knees to.
Did you ever see a knee smile? Mine are!