Garden Railway Forum

With snow on the ground I stomped out this rough trackplan for the railroad.

To get the line above snow level and to even out the line level have you considered making a raised line?
Advantages;
1. All year running with battery R/C control
2. The line is level so no need for trestles etc.
3. Not as much bending and crawling round on the ground.
It would be a slightly bigger engineering job than line laid on the ground (just a few posts holes to dig and as in 2. no trestles to build) but the extra effort could be worth it.
The tree house would make a good control centre from which to run your trains.

GAP wrote: ↑Fri Jan 19, 2024 10:39 pm To get the line above snow level and to even out the line level have you considered making a raised line?
Advantages;
All year running with battery R/C control
The line is level so no need for trestles etc.
No as much bending and crawling round on the ground.
It would be a bigger engineering job that line laid on the ground but the extra effort could be worth it.
The tree house would make a good control centre from which to run your trains.

1: I have 45 dollars right now.
2: I want to be able to plow snow and I want trestles etc.
3: I'll be 14 this month so ground level is fine.
4: Ground level is more realistic and allows for more scenery.
5: All real railways have grades.

So to sum it up: I want to make it more difficult for the sake of realism. The idea is to work with the existing landscape and build it as if I were SE scale and building a railway to get from Behind-barnville (unofficial name) to Aspen Grove.

dudeface wrote: ↑Fri Jan 19, 2024 10:46 pm

GAP wrote: ↑Fri Jan 19, 2024 10:39 pm To get the line above snow level and to even out the line level have you considered making a raised line?
Advantages;
All year running with battery R/C control
The line is level so no need for trestles etc.
No as much bending and crawling round on the ground.
It would be a bigger engineering job that line laid on the ground but the extra effort could be worth it.
The tree house would make a good control centre from which to run your trains.

1: I have 45 dollars right now.
2: I want to be able to plow snow and I want trestles etc.
3: I'll be 14 this month so ground level is fine.
4: Ground level is more realistic and allows for more scenery.
5: All real railways have grades.

So to sum it up: I want to make it more difficult for the sake of realism. The idea is to work with the existing landscape and build it as if I were SE scale and building a railway to get from Behind-barnville (unofficial name) to Aspen Grove.

Fair points; I will watch your progress with interest, though I will make suggestions to get you thinking.

I'll be following this with interest as well. I was originally planning to build mine at ground level but decided to build it in a raised bed to discourage the kids from playing in the pond. Looking forward to seeing how you tackle the challenges of ground running!

Snow plowing was one of the ideas that started me on a path to outdoor trains. It would take a mighty locomotive to get through any of this snow we've got now!

Might have to build a rotary plow!

dudeface wrote: ↑Sat Jan 20, 2024 6:29 pm Might have to build a rotary plow!

I was just looking into it, after my son saw my PC graphics card and asked if the fan was a snowplow! I'm considering the possibility of building a passable-looking rotary plow with a PC case fan, especially one of the narrow-bladed variety, but it wouldn't be able to actually move more than the lightest dusting. I think I saw a thread on another garden-scale forum about using a cordless drill motor to run a rotary plow blade. (Aye, that'd give ya thrust!)

drewzero1 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 20, 2024 7:07 pm I think I saw a thread on another garden-scale forum about using a cordless drill motor to run a rotary plow blade. (Aye, that'd give ya thrust!)

That's an idea. I'd love to build a live steam one though! Of course, in wet snow it would be pretty useless but it would work great in the snow we have now.

I laid down some string around the planned tiny loop and cut it to length. I measured it out and was shocked to find that it was no less than 40 feet long... I asked my parents for track for my birthday so hopefully they'll find some and I won't have to buy a full 40 feet at the upcoming Mad City Model Train Expo. I need some extra money for rolling stock after all!

dudeface wrote: ↑Sat Jan 20, 2024 9:27 pm I laid down some string around the planned tiny loop and cut it to length. I measured it out and was shocked to find that it was no less than 40 feet long... I asked my parents for track for my birthday so hopefully they'll find some and I won't have to buy a full 40 feet at the upcoming Mad City Model Train Expo. I need some extra money for rolling stock after all!

I have attached a plan for an outside frame box car, making a few of these would save you some money. I have plans for buildings as well.
I used it to make the one in the link below, it is made from mostly scraps of timber, you could use pop sticks.
All I paid for was a sheet of Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) and a length of flat bar steel I used to add weight.
All you would need to buy at the train expo would be wheels and bogies.
Doing this saved me heaps of money, was enjoyable to do and gave me rolling stock I would not been able to afford at the time.
https://ringbalin-light-railway.blogspo ... built.html

I do plan to scratch build all my stock, but it might be cheaper to buy junk donor cars than just the seperate parts, in my very limited experience. I already have some old Lionel 3 rail stuff but the flanges might be too deep.

dudeface wrote: ↑Sat Jan 20, 2024 10:55 pm I do plan to scratch build all my stock, but it might be cheaper to buy junk donor cars than just the seperate parts, in my very limited experience. I already have some old Lionel 3 rail stuff but the flanges might be too deep.

Donor cars would be a good source of bogies and wheelsets.
For the Lionel try chucking a wheelset axle in a drill and run a file up against the flanges to prune them down.

GAP wrote: ↑Sun Jan 21, 2024 6:23 am For the Lionel try chucking a wheelset axle in a drill and run a file up against the flanges to prune them down.

There's no way I'd bring myself to do that...

The two unnamed towns now have names: The loop behind the barn is Weedeforrest (because it is) and the lower loop is Deadpine (for our failed attempt to plant a small pine tree). Now I'm thinking the Weedeforrest, Deadpine and Aspen Grove Railroad sounds better..... I don't really want to rename it....

For my birthday yesterday I received 40 dollars in cash from my parents and a "coupon" worth $20 at the train expo from my grandparents (who aren't really into trains, but always go to the train expo because my grandma likes the layouts and my grampa likes the tiny cars. They have taken me since I was about five, and I have them to thank [or blame] for getting me into this). This brings my total sum of money to $110, so things aren't looking so bad after all!

[Edit: Just got a card in the mail from my aunt and uncle and enclosed was a very goofy check for nineteen dollars and seventy nine cents. Make that $130! This is crazy...]

Ps. My title has been reduced to four syllables, woohoo!

A better look at the terrain now that the snow has partly thawed.

Hey, did you end up making it to the Mad City show? (I didn't.)

How long does it take for the snow to melt and where does all the water go?
Does it just soak into the ground?
Looking forward to seeing the progress you are making.
I'm not having much luck with making progress with my re alignment.
https://ringbalin-light-railway.blogspo ... tling.html

GAP wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2024 7:21 am How long does it take for the snow to melt and where does all the water go?
Does it just soak into the ground?
Looking forward to seeing the progress you are making.
I'm not having much luck with making progress with my re alignment.
https://ringbalin-light-railway.blogspo ... tling.html

The snow in Wisconsin can stick around for a few weeks to a few months, especially if it snows in December before the January cold snap (when it's usually too cold to snow). When it melts some of the water soaks into the ground and makes it soggy and the rest runs off and makes the ditches run deep for a week or so. Sometimes we joke that Wisconsin has its own set of seasons: Winter, mud, road construction, and deer hunting. This week the weather's been pretty decent for working outside, 60-70F (~15-20C) in the afternoons, but a lot of students have midterms right around now and the next few months are typically pretty heavy for schoolwork.

Hope you're doing well, dudeface! We'll see you when we see you.

drewzero1 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2024 12:36 am Hey, did you end up making it to the Mad City show? (I didn't.)

Yes but I didn't find any of the things I need unfortunately. Ironically there actually was some G scale stuff there this year...