Thinking of raising the railway

[artfull dodger]

As I prepare to turn 40 this year, getting down on my hands and knees isnt getting any easier. I am really thinking about raising the railway this spring to around 3-4 foot off the ground but retaining the garden look and not just track on wood planks. I am thinking of basicly a planter box style of raised table, landscape fabric/mesh floor to retain top soil and allow drainage, a small stream /pond and live plantings. Probably go with a 1x4 or 1x6 treated wood planks for sides, 4x4 treated wood posts set in foundation blocks ment for wood decks, this eliminates having to dig holes and pour concrete to deal with our frost heaves. To keep it looking presentable as this is in our front yard, I thought of using half round landscape timbers to built a retainting wall look, mounting them vertical creating a pleasing look around the front and two sides of the layout. Layout top would be even with the bottom of our front windows. I can see it in my mind's eye, now if I can just bring it to life! Mike

[tom_tom_go]

Hi Mike,

A raised line has many benefits. Check out my line in my signature to give you some ideas of building off the ground.

[artfull dodger]

Very nice, I have to keep mine pleasing to the eye as our line is in our front garden. The back yard is sun baked all day long and gets quite hot. The front with its 2 huge shade trees is in the shade all day long and tends to have more of the UK style growth with moss and the like due to the extensive shade. Its probably more of an affordablity issue than a construction issue at this point. I have some of the lumber needed, but not the mesh or the foundation blocks yet. There used to be several evergreen bushes where the line is now, making any type of digging very difficult. So raising it up will really help me in building a more realistic stream for my two bridges to cross. I love the RH loco in the pics, aquiring one of the Lady Anne class engines is up there on my bucket list. If our bloody exchange rate would level off, I would be moving it up the list. But right now, they are quite expensive. Methinks a Regner Konrad and Chaloner will be first up for new steam power in the future. Mike

[tom_tom_go]

Thanks Mike. Like the railway she is not finished yet!

RH do kits of Lady Anne which are much cheaper than RTR which is the route I am taking for my second loco for coal firing.

[Keith S]

I'm turning 40 this year too, and I am not pleased. I do not have a railway yet at all.

I second Tom's thought, building a kit for a Roundhouse engine is very rewarding. You can order the engine kits separately, in order to lessen the blow, and it is less expensive overall. The instructions are so well done you stand an excellent chance of ending up with just as good an engine as a factory assembled one, if you are careful with the paint.

[artfull dodger]

I can paint quite well. I do model train repair work and custom painting in the smaller scales, mostly brass models. In the USA, its not that much cheaper for the kit over factory built unless you spring for the RC control. I have built an Aster Pannier Tank kit in the past, so a RH kit would be simple. I just finished a Regner shay kit for a friend and will be building his Lumberjack sometime later this month. The kits do soften the blow to the wallet a bit. I think a Regner Konrad or Max kit will be next. Need to finish my Willi first though. Mike

[hussra]

Count me in as another for the "40 this year" club

[artfull dodger]

Welcome to the future 40 and up crowd! I am working on getting the money up to get the upgrades/options for my Willi, then I think a Max kit will be next. I like the vertical boiler engines. If the Mamod Brunel had steeper gearing, it would probably be on the short list, but I hear its a bit of a speed demon and needs further gearing reduction added. Mike

[Keith S]

One of my friends asked me yesterday if it bothered me to be turning 40. It hadn't occurred to me until he asked, but now he's got me thinking about it, yes it does, doesn't it.

Mike I didn't mean to question your painting ability. That's just what I found to be the hardest part. I am terrible at painting because I always touch the model while the paint is still wet. I had to put the engine in a box and tape it shut and tell my wife to guard it for a week, that way I didn't touch it until it was cured.

It's not the easiness of the Roundhouse kit that pleased me, although it was easy, it was the pleasure of seeing such precisely and well-made parts and the excellent instructions that made it feel worth doing. I wouldn't have the same appreciation for the quality of the engine if I had just bought it. Although I'm sure the Regner parts are a similar quality. Appearance-wise though, if you're experiencing lust for a Lady Anne, a Regner won't make you feel any better.

[artfull dodger]

I suffered the same problem of wanting to touch the model to soon. I solve this in 2 ways, first I bought a couple of old cookie sheets at a local rummage sale, I put a layer of common cooling foil on them. and I paint the model on the sheet. Then I bake the item in the over at 180'F for 1 hour, then remove and allow to cool naturaly. This helps with paint adheision and you can more easily handle the model after it cools without hurting the paint. Obviously this only works on brass, diecast metal or other metal models. Ones with details glued on also cannot be baked so it goes into our spare room to be forgotten about for about 3-5 days to dry and harden. Painting takes lots of patience, something I find that I lack more and more as I grow older. So I force myself to be patient. Always remember....Age is mostly mind over matter, if you dont mind it....it doesnt matter!!!

[Narrow Minded]

It doesn't always work, but I find having "too-many-projects-on-the-go" is usually a distraction from wanting to handle drying paintwork too soon
Well, that's my excuse for the bits of part built kit all over the place!

[Andrew]

As I prepare to turn 40 this year, getting down on my hands and knees isnt getting any easier.  I am really thinking about raising the railway this spring

Oh dear, is 40 when ground level starts to get too low?! I turned 38 last week and am in the middle of reconstructing my line - at ground level... Thought I ought to do it while I still can, but maybe that's not as long as I thought!

It's end to end, and the upper terminus ought to be at a decent level (not quite sure yet 'cos I started in the middle) but the lower one might be a pain, literally... I'd better get the kids trained in coupling and uncoupling 3 link chains and changing points correctly for running round...

Good luck with the line,

Andrew

[Pendo Pilot]

I was 40 in August last year...What are you bunch on about, I'm planning on making my line lower, it's ground level now but I've shaken off the dread of having a 4 & a zero in my age bracket so I'm going to have it underground with lots of awkward access areas. Being 40 is great, the last 4 years in my 30's I could never remember how old I was when people asked. 40 is easy to remember, oh & I feel the same as I did when I was 21, just click a bit more sometimes.

[IrishPeter]

I did the big Four-oh three years ago, and it was no big deal. The only complaint that I have is that I have more things that click in a morning, and that ache at night when I have been doing some heavy digging. I plan on slicking with ground level for at least another fifteen years, or until the next house move - if there is one.

Cheers,
Peter in AZ

[Crackingjob]

Rowan (who like me is modestly over 40) on the AWNUTS site is posting his new line...worth a look

http://whymsical.com/index.php?topic=897.msg7368#new