Big Maple & Little Oak RR

A place for the discussion of garden railways and any garden style/scale portable and/or indoor layouts
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dudeface
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Re: Big Maple & Little Oak RR

Post by dudeface » Sun Apr 27, 2025 1:10 am

Some progress has slowly been occurring...
I decided to use 4x4s for the roadbed in the back (as you've probably seen) as the track needs to be raised up, and this way I can sturdily screw it in place. I'm definitely using wood for the roadbed on the ground level part too for extra sturdification (and to keep it curving in the right direction).
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Yesterday I got some limestone from a nearby abandoned quarry to put along the 4x4s. Then I discovered while looking for dirt to fill in around the rocks with that the previous owners of the house had put about a ton of pumice in the plant bed under the treehouse (I knew there were a few pieces of pumice around there but it turned out there was a bunch hiding under the dirt) so I crushed some up for ballast. I have to paint those shiny screws brown!
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Miles-- Trains are fun. With the exception of track power. Argh!

Big Maple & Little Oak RR

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GAP
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Re: Big Maple & Little Oak RR

Post by GAP » Sun Apr 27, 2025 9:09 pm

Looking good Miles keep it going.
Graeme
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Re: Big Maple & Little Oak RR

Post by ge_rik » Mon Apr 28, 2025 6:47 am

Good start, Miles. We all had to start somewhere. Looking forward to seeing the first train running.

Rik
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dudeface
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Re: Big Maple & Little Oak RR

Post by dudeface » Mon Apr 28, 2025 5:28 pm

It would seem as though we're about to find out if it can withstand severe storms... :shock:
Miles-- Trains are fun. With the exception of track power. Argh!

Big Maple & Little Oak RR

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Re: Big Maple & Little Oak RR

Post by dudeface » Wed Apr 30, 2025 10:18 pm

The storms weren't that severe and the railway is unaffected... (I think they might have veered in Drew's direction...? I think "north" was the word I heard used to describe the direction in which they veered... maybe it was "east"... :lol: )
Anyway I marked out the back curve as shown here.
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With how thin "smart devices" are these days, it's probably more appropriate to say these pictures were taken with a pancake.
Miles-- Trains are fun. With the exception of track power. Argh!

Big Maple & Little Oak RR

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dudeface
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Re: Big Maple & Little Oak RR

Post by dudeface » Wed Apr 30, 2025 10:26 pm

I felt like the inside of the loop seemed a bit higher than the outside so I put a board across it to see if it's level. I think it looks about level...
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I still think it looks about level...
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And I still think it looks about level.
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So now that I've confirmed that it looks about level, I'm just going to roll with that because I'll make more work for myself if I test it with an actual level and it turns out it's not really level.
Miles-- Trains are fun. With the exception of track power. Argh!

Big Maple & Little Oak RR

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Re: Big Maple & Little Oak RR

Post by ge_rik » Thu May 01, 2025 7:44 am

A bold land grab, there Miles :shock: . I'd have followed the edge of the lawn to keep my household authorities happy. :lol:

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Re: Big Maple & Little Oak RR

Post by Phil.P » Thu May 01, 2025 2:25 pm

Whilst the levels look reasonable. - Though difficult to be sure from photos..

I would check. What seems quite flat to us, can cause problems for our trains, and throw a curve into the mix, and the drag can be increased markedly.

A little more work now, may slow you down a little, but possibly better than the frustration of a train stalling on a grade?

Looking forward to seeing developments on your line.

Phil.P

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Re: Big Maple & Little Oak RR

Post by dudeface » Thu May 01, 2025 2:54 pm

Phil.P wrote: Thu May 01, 2025 2:25 pm Whilst the levels look reasonable. - Though difficult to be sure from photos..

I would check. What seems quite flat to us, can cause problems for our trains, and throw a curve into the mix, and the drag can be increased markedly.

A little more work now, may slow you down a little, but possibly better than the frustration of a train stalling on a grade?
Phil.P
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Miles-- Trains are fun. With the exception of track power. Argh!

Big Maple & Little Oak RR

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