enginear joe Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I'm forging ahead with something I've never done, building an outdoor RR! I don't know the best way as whatever I read is not built for Western NY weather. We only get a few great months of weather here and the frost is tough. I decided that concrete would be my friend and we'll see if that works out. I also have areas where it will just be crushed rock. It may need rebuilding each year for awhile. How do you sell a house if it's been made for a RR? How will I ballast this stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieseldude Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Joe- I live a few miles south of you in sunny, tropical Buffalo. When I put my railroad in 4 years ago, I floated my track in ballast. I used crusher run for ballast. Crusher run has lots of stone dust in it which helps it bind together well. It's a bit out of scale (okay, its way out of scale), but it holds up real well during our horrible winters. It still needs some reballasting each year, but nothing too bad. I was going to top it off with some smaller scale "decorative" ballast, but never got around to it. This year we are expanding the layout and I'm going to use the same method, again. Maybe concrete is better, I dunno, but it sounds like more work and it might do some heaving in the winter ( i do some heaving in the winter, too, but it involves a shovel and a driveway full of snow!!!). As for trying to sell your house with a railroad in the yard..... It would be easier to till the stone ballast into the ground than to remove a lot of concrete. Just some thoughts. Good luck. -Kevin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted May 16, 2014 Author Share Posted May 16, 2014 Thanks! I do have some crusher run for driveways out back where it won't be seen as much and I'll top it off too. I have screened a bunch down to crusher fines myself. I am using this to see how it holds up as well. There are parts of my yard that are too wet most of the year and I'm using the concrete to solve a couple of issues. It has mesh inside and if it floats up and down with the seasons, I think it will be OK. I made a mistake of using round pebbles on my first RR loop and will fill the track bed with crusher to lock it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamPower4ever Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 For ballast, some people here use the rocks/stones you put in the bottom of fish tanks. It's available in bulk at reasonable prices. Jens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted May 19, 2014 Author Share Posted May 19, 2014 I looked at that too, along with chicken grit that some use in the south. I like Grant's RR look, that he posted a picture of. My local landscape supplies just have large crusher run that is a mix of large, small, and various stone dust. I was looking for something like 1/8 or smaller. I went to the quarry and they said it was called crusher fines here. They won't deliver and no one stocks it. So, I took some metal screen and sifted the crusher run to just get the small stuff. It would have been easier to buy or rent a trailer for the crushed granite or crusher fines!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Looking good! Mine is all going up on elevated pressure treated benchwork...soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry B44 Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 I use chicken grit, works fine. Not much crushed rock in the Platte River Valley in Nebraska. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted May 30, 2014 Author Share Posted May 30, 2014 I wanted to get going this year on the RR. I started laying down the mainline. Apparently we have a new friend who wants to ride the RR!! Hmmm, he looks friendly? maybe he just needs some food???? Deer, a fox, a turkey, some skunks, etc. now this guy. You would think I live in the country? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted May 30, 2014 Author Share Posted May 30, 2014 I was struggling with getting the track level. I laid my torpedo level on a coal car and it helped me out. Much easier than sliding the level around anyways. I tried pushing the car with an engine, but it was harder to get it right. Seemed easier pushing the car back and forth to get the track level. I got tired of ballasting so after some time at it, I just ran the train! Track's not straight, not level yet either. My back and neck said forget it for now! Tried one TIU channel and a couple of drops with the loop split in one spot. Signal dropped out a few feet from each drop. So I split the 200' loop in two, and added a second TIU channel. All tens, all the way around for signal strength now. I got two of Ray's filters hooked up at each track connection. I have two bulbs hooked up at each TIU channel output. Don't know if I needed all that? It works great and I'm not playing with it anymore today. I will try my newer TIU rev L when I get the time. Probably could have stayed with one channel but why bother? Got to go play now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 WOW!! You're getting a handle on things...that's for sure Raccoon's...Ugh...I would have turned the track power on and see if he jumped! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 Man, am I getting old! It took me all day to do about ten feet of track! ( Well I did it and then quit.) We hit 81 degrees and I wasn't used to it. I'm learning to apply the crushed stone dry and then hose it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawman Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Joe, Love the LONG straight-away! You could get a bullet train going on that.... I was curious... I need a LONG bridge for my layout..... Perhaps two of them. The one you have in the last picture looks perfect... Did you build that or if not, where did you find it? Charles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 I hope this doesn't sound like I'm bragging.... Trains auctions had three different ones (all 5' double track!) with a starting bid of $100 each or less if I remember right? No one bid on them. So I grabbed them for the starting bid. I figured they were worth way more than that in time and materials. They are built very sturdy. I have a small hobby welder. I just ordered some steel and will make my next one at 7' long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawman Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Joe, Sounds like a great deal to me! About 1/2 of my layout will be elevated with double tracks, so extended bridges would be ideal. Do you have a link to the auction site you mentioned? Thanks Charles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 Sorry, I finally got logged on. I couldn't all day again? I meant to say Trainz auctions site. I can't paste it with my browser for some reason. They come up on both ebay and Dash train auctions. http://marketplace.collector-modeltrains.com look under G scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 I can't type the other one it's ebay under Trainz for sellers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted June 7, 2014 Author Share Posted June 7, 2014 Here's another shot of the bridge. Ok, well it was an excuse to run the fast train!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 I threw down the outer loop just to run some trains. I should have marked out clearly where each track would go. I don't have a track plan written out, just in my mind a general plan. I figured anything would need adjusting anyways in the real world. So I ended up having to re-ballast most of the outer loop after moving it. I could do this faster than the years I spent pre-planning to move outside anyways. Mother nature has to pack down the rock more than I could. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted July 21, 2014 Author Share Posted July 21, 2014 got the layout tuned up and everything is running! http://youtu.be/hWmErjAe7ZQ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted July 21, 2014 Author Share Posted July 21, 2014 well it's just the outer loop for now. It has a siding track that back's into the shed for train storage. That will be expanded too and become a drive thru! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benshell Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 This looks great! I'm really impressed with how your railroad is coming together. Now, if only you had a few more diesels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted July 21, 2014 Author Share Posted July 21, 2014 I do have steamers too. I'm saving them until I'm sure the trackwork is good. I wouldn't want the Challengers to hit the dirt!! thanks though! Tell my girl that one! She actually told me today that I should have got the inside rails laid by now so the train would go across the front of the rock garden and across the water the way it did last year. She screamed at me for buying more track? Urrggg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottychaos Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Joe, its looking really good! I think you are building your railroad the "best" was for our climate.. im also in Western NY, in the suburbs of Rochester..I have been a member of various large scale on-line forums for fourteen years now! and I am only now getting around to building my own garden railroad..(I helped my Dad build his from 2000 to 2009) Spending all that time on-line, and seeing how other garden railroads have been built around here, (I have been a member of the Rochester G-scale clube since 2000) https://sites.google.com/site/1991gggrs/ I have learned a lot about how to deal with our biggest issue..frost heave. There are really only two ways to build: If building on the ground..the tried and true "trench method" is the only thing that will be reliable and low-maintenance in our climate.. Dig a trench, line it with weed cloth if you like, fill it with gravel/ballast, and "float" the track in it.. If doing a "raised" railroad, you have to rest your supports ON the ground, not IN the ground.. the supports have to be on blocks that sit right on the surface, like this: then the blocks rise and fall with frost heave in the early spring, but they settle back to their original position. If you you put posts IN the ground, even only 6" to 12", they will heave right out of the ground in the spring.. or rise up, but cant lower back down, and you have a huge mess.. the only way to put posts in the ground is to go *below* the frost line, which has to be done for fence posts.. but around here that means 36 inches in the ground! or more.. which is very impractical.. So remember ON the ground not IN the ground, and it will work fine.. The many variations on "ladder roadbed" that you will find in books and on-line, where various roadbeds are made from PVC and plastic lattice, then buried under the track, IMO wont work well in our climate..too much frost heaving for that method..they get all jumbled up with frost heave.. I also wouldnt attempt a concrete roadbed.. So, basic trench "floating track" method, or posts on blocks that sit on the ground, not buried.. Thats fourteen years of observation talking! and thats how im going to build my railroad.. Scot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I too have been in large scale since 1998 but could never understand the idea of digging a little trench and filling it with rock? I've been in the mass dirt moving business all of my life and we call trenches dug down and filled with stone French drains. They drain off low spots in a pleasing to the eye way instead of using culverts or concrete lined water runways. But the idea of using that idea for roadbed is beyond me as that little trench is the ideal spot for water to congregate and stay trapped. Then when it freezes you have a big ice cube under your railway! Real railroads will have at least 3' of ballast under them from what I've seen but they have ditches on both sides draining all that rock. Modern highways are the same. The old highways were made over the old dirt roads and most are holding up fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginear joe Posted July 22, 2014 Author Share Posted July 22, 2014 I figure we have choices up here. 1) Go down 4 1/2' to get under the frost line. Still need a French drain style bed with rock and widen the hole at the bottom to prevent heave. Use pilings to get high enough to prevent ground heave from upsetting the roadbed. 2) build on top of the ground re-enforcing what you can inside of concrete. Use drainage stone underneath for removing water or providing a crush zone! Use fabric to try and get some life out of the rock. 3) throw it down and go for a ride. Fix it in the spring! (I'm using all three where I need to) As I grow older I'll probably wish I went elevated higher! Heck, I'm wishing that already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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