Garden Railway Forum

Rod, most likely a mix of dirt and greenery. There seems to be a native annual sedum type plant that grows here and makes a good representation of a bush. Some of that between the tracks might look good though I'm unsure how well it will do in total shade that covers the entire layout as it thrives in full sun.

Hi Dwayne, just been looking on the net for ground cover shade loving plants and I have seen these two examples.


Red Stonecrop - Sedum
This plant can grow in part shade.This plant produces flowers.This is a good ground cover plant.
Red Stonecrop (Sedum Spurium 'Schorbuser Blut') is a very attractive border plant that does not mind the shade and can be used as ground cover under trees and shrubs forming an expansive red carpet. Its star-shaped red flowers stand out from its beautiful dark green, slightly red leaves. Flowers absolutely anywhere. Another advantage of these plants is that they suppress the growth of weeds.


Crown Vetch - Coronilla varia
This plant can grow in part shade.This plant produces flowers.This plant is happy growing in a wide range of soils.This is a good ground cover plant.
The long, flexible stems of Crown Vetch (Coronilla Varia) are heavily branched and covered with fine, pinnate leaves. This plant's flowers are white and pale purple and form a dense cushion. These gorgeous flowers appear throughout summer; their pods grow after they bloom. Grows and flowers anywhere, in sunshine or shade, and in wet or dry soil.


They may be of some help for you.

I finally got around to reinstalling the radio control components in the Bachmann Davenport cab forward conversion that was started about a year ago. Took it for a lap around the Two Dogs.

Thanks Dwayne, the more I see of your natural build the more jealous I get! I must improve my track running conditions, struggled yesterday.

I agree, it all looks like it has been there for years.

Hi Dwayne,

Great to see something running on your line, and at a lovely realist speed too.

That culvert under the track about 40 seconds in is a lovely bit of engineering - and it looks like it's performing a function too. I love to see miniature engineering in action!

Andrew

It looks like a real railway until a giant shovel lays on the ground..

Great to see a video of your railway in action - it's bigger than it looks from that aerial photo

Rik

Thanks gents.

Rik, the line only has about 100 feet of mainline. I didn't want much more than this so I can stay on top of track maintenance in the years to come... less being more. I think I've done a decent job of designing a railway with operational purpose without over doing things and keep it interesting.

Great line Dwayne, love the running of your little loco….And it’s so peaceful too, the birds and your loco are all I could hear……

Mind you I didn’t have my ears in at the time….

Oh boy... summer is in full force here in Oklahoma. Temps climbing to the mid-90's (about 35°) and very humid and sticky. We're also dealing with drought conditions which makes the weather a challenge to live with day after day. Thankfully the railway is in the shade so I spent some time today adding a tunnel to the Two Dogs as I think every garden railway needs at least one of these.

A narrow valley separates the curve between Hope and the Yucca Spur wye at the base of Gopher Hill. Building up Gopher Hill to give me a tunnel would mean reducing the width of the valley which wasn't a viable option. To get around this issue I repurposed some old creosote fence posts that I've had laying around for the seven years I've lived here. No telling how old these posts are but I'm guessing at least 40 years old based on my experience with fencing practices here in central Oklahoma which is predominantly a cattle ranching area. Needless to say, they haven't decayed much during their lifetime.

In the first photo Hope is visible on the left and the Yucca Spur wye is on the right. Dirt was backfilled in and around the posts which were sunk into the ground about 12 inches in order to stay in place and hold back the minimal amount of dirt piled atop the tunnel itself. After taking the photo I watered everything to start settling the dirt. Once it settles into place I'll start transplanting some of the periwinkle that grows abundantly in my yard to get the bare soil covered as soon as possible. I'm envisioning the ground cover growing atop the tunnel and cascading down the hillside as well.

Neat way of solving the problem - and making use of existing materials, Dwayne.

Rik

Agree, you are a master at building with existing materials Dwayne, they structure’s look like they have been there for years.

That looks fantastic, and will look even better once the periwinkle takes hold. Your use of "found" materials gives your line a sort of "organic" realism that's very unusual and which I really like - looking forward to seeing the trains running over it...

All the best,

Andrew.

I agree with Andrew. Railways tended to use locally sourced materials so the use of things to hand is logical. Looks great even before the ground cover is in place.

Ian

Thanks guys. It's more about not spending money than anything else.

That’s so true Dwayne…Just carry on with your excellent line and I can’t wait to see more of it.

Dwayne wrote: ↑Mon Jun 18, 2018 1:24 pm Thanks guys. It's more about not spending money than anything else.

Amen to that Dwayne!

Good progress by the way, the tunnel looks great.

Andrew

Soar Valley Light wrote: ↑Sat Jun 23, 2018 9:34 pm

Dwayne wrote: ↑Mon Jun 18, 2018 1:24 pm Thanks guys. It's more about not spending money than anything else.

Amen to that Dwayne!

Good progress by the way, the tunnel looks great.

Andrew

I second that.

Ian

I love that tunnel, very clever use of free material. I love your thrift and wish I had your skills with natural, you make it look so easy.