Track laying and ballasting with photos - advice and suggestions please!

[Abiogenesis]

Phew, what a scorcher! Almost too hot to work. The cool of the morning was spent replacing the punctured wheels in two wheelbarrow. I've replaced the pneumatic wheels with PU foam filled 14" puncture proof wheels, together with new axles. The barrows were always being overloaded with building materials, so the lugs for the wheels were bent backwards & the wheels wouldn't fit. It would have been so much easier, if my sons would put my tools back in the correct place after they used them

There's some earth moving required, so barrows & sons will be required very soon.. I been having second thoughts about the lattice girders for the third bridge. I had to shorten their length to fit, so I sprayed a small section of the waste, but the result didn't please me. I think a length of galvanised steel anglebead from Wickes, pinned along each side will look good as safety rails. I'll get some tomorrow.

SECOND THOUGHTS ABOUT THIRD BRIDGE.JPG (67.51 KiB) Viewed 5363 times

I've started assembling the bents to create the trestle section that will run between & above the two areas of decking, close to the bar. I would have got more done but a large green water tank filled with odds & ends & a pile of white masonry blocks have been recently (last Saturday) stacked on the line of my permanent way.

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THREE BENTS LINKED 2.JPG (78.91 KiB) Viewed 5363 times

The plant troughs through which the rails will pass were constructed in part with old stair treads replaced in the house about three months. They were bone dry & I used them for the bottoms of the two troughs.

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Well, they are now re-hydrated! Buggrit.

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[Abiogenesis]

This is a small length of the anglebead that I shall bond to the third bridge. It will look like a pedestrian walkway & act as a barrier for wayward locos etc. The photo is out of focus, but it shows the general idea.

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The three bents are now assembled as a freestanding unit & I am running out of timber, so i must wait until Monday for another delivery. I am using 4.8 metre lengths of tile battens, imported from Sweden. They are 250 mm X 380 mm & very roughly sawn. I sand them to remove most of the splinters; gloves are still recommended when handling them however. There are 10 to a bundle & cost only £21-00 per bundle from Grant & Stone & I get free delivery, courtesy of my youngest son's business.

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ASSEMBLED BENTS 2.JPG (55.35 KiB) Viewed 5327 times

[Abiogenesis]

The rubble in the space between the two decks was dug out. The three bents that had been fastened together were placed in position on heaps of dry mixed ballast & cement & adjusted to be level with the bridge over the pond etc. Then water was misted over the foundation& left to set overnight. That was Saturday.

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BENT FOUNDATION 2.JPG (90.19 KiB) Viewed 5284 times

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A late start on Sunday was interrupted by lunch with family & friends at a local pub, followed by a BBQ for other friends this evening. After they left, I placed the final two bents in place & secured them in position with more dry mix, before misting with water as before.
Not long before I start track laying.

[Abiogenesis]

Loose laid horticultural grit. The track is secured with only three stainless steel pins per track on the white walled bridge & pins where the trestles connect with the planters. The tracks on the planters are free to move laterally, but the ballast holds them in place. I'm going to seed the ballast with moss & Angel’s Tears (Soleirolia Soleirolii).

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[Abiogenesis]

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