Work in process

SocalJoe · October 7, 2011, 4:00am

I’ve been working on some rockwork on a steep section of the layout. Here is a photo before the work. The view is from the operator level which is about 4’ above the driveway I needed to install this retaining wall to allow a 10’ diameter loop.

Here is a photo after the rockwork, drip irrigation and planting of trees. I still need to reinstall the track and eventually add some groundcover. The rock is a combination of dry stack and mortared (where the wall is very steep).

Finally, here is a ground level (driveway) photo. I am pleased with the “mountain” effect. You have to look up to see it, which is a nice change for the viewer.

Still much to do, including veneering the three retaining blocks in the lower section. Looking forward to reinstalling the track and seeing the trains passing over and through the pass.

grabnet · October 7, 2011, 10:46am

Very nicely done. The sheer cliff on the retaining wall answers a question I had on building my own layout in a similar setting.

Thanks. Doc Tom

admin1 · October 7, 2011, 11:26am

Really nice use of the block as a backing. Looks great!

cabby · October 7, 2011, 12:13pm

Wow. More impressive rock work.
Very cool bridge too
Ralph

Ric_Golding · October 7, 2011, 12:32pm

Joe,

I’m confused, did you replace the stacked landscaping stone with the rock?

You say - “Still much to do, including veneering the three retaining blocks in the lower section.”

How will you veneer the retain blocks with stone? Can you take some pictures as you progress and explain in more detail?

Nice work!

SocalJoe · October 7, 2011, 3:39pm

Ric, veneering may not have been the best term. I will choose the stone to place against the retaining wall block and mortar it to the block and adjacent stone. I am working with a type of stone that is hard, but still breakable. So if I am mortaring, I’ll break up some rock into smaller pieces and fit them in any gaps between the larger stones. Usually, I only worry about these gaps if the rockwork is within five feet of the viewer. If further than that, I am not as concerned. I’ll probably go back later and fill in more of the gaps after I’ve studied the results so far.

I am interested to see how the dry stack rock holds up through the rainy season - will there be any settling or need to restack. If so, it will be easy to do. Also, I don’t need to worry about the trackwork since it lies on the ladder track bed which is independent of the rock.

Rooster · October 7, 2011, 11:37pm

Excellent!

snowshoe · October 8, 2011, 12:00am

very nice rock work.

Ric_Golding · October 8, 2011, 11:49am

Thanks for the explanation. That’s really great work, I can’t see any signs of the landscaping stone wall.

SocalJoe · November 21, 2011, 5:15am

I’ve been working on the layout off and on over the past month or so. The next project was to build a low slung bridge that runs about 12 feet along the top of the layout. I wanted to maintain the PVC ladder system and disguise it as a long, low bridge. I decided to clad the PVC trackbed with a stack of three 1/2 inch redwood strips that interlocked every 12 inches. The legs of the bridge were made of PVC trimboard glued together, eched into blocks and painted. Here is the the section to be clad. I just finished moving it about 6 inches uphill, but it was still elevated off the ground about 4 to 5 inches.

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/socaljoe/_forumfiles/LB1.jpg)