The Gopher Light Railway

[spooner]

I think you meant INCREASE the gauge on corners.

[MDLR]

I think you meant INCREASE the gauge on corners.

That's applies on the track - given that the track gauge is (I suspect) fixed already, reducing the BTB a smidgeon is the only alternative.

[pauly]

I never said they couldnt do it I just said they wouldnt like it, the hardest thing you can ask a steamer to do is go around a corner.

[DolwyddelanLightRail]

I never said they couldnt do it I just said they wouldnt like it, the hardest thing you can ask a steamer to do is go around a corner.

Especially a mamod

But back to the thing of altering the gauge, this is done on the Ff & WHR on some corners, I've been told the maximum alteration is a 10mm increase in gauge on the corners to help the garrets go round them!

[Pendo Pilot]

How much operation they see is unknown. My work schedule is 6pm-6am (life of a trucker can suck) and thus I'd be more inclined to just run my rc/battery powered locos instead of bothering with the steamers.

I work similar kind of shifts sometimes (Actually I work all different & crazy times. Example's being 3am starts, midnight starts & the like, the life of a train driver). But after a night shift & a bit of a sleep once the groggy head has recovered theres a certain calmness about running steam. The preparing with water oil & gas, lubrication as it brews up & then just a relaxing drive about. I'm sure your steam will see plenty of use.

The right of way is coming on sweet, you seem to have really got stuck into it well. A good roadbed will reward you with a good railway in time.

[Pendo Pilot]

But back to the thing of altering the gauge, this is done on the Ff & WHR on some corners, I've been told the maximum alteration is a 10mm increase in gauge on the corners to help the garrets go round them!

It's done, or at least was on the standard gauge lines as well. During training school with BR we were taught how the wheel profile meant that it was slightly less diameter at the edges than it was at the flange end & that combined with slightly widened gauge meant less binding on curves with solid axles & no differentials.

[Dwayne]

Decided to make a change to the east loop of the GLR today as I wasn't 100% happy with it these past few days. Flipped it over and tucked it more into the corner.

Details and pics on the GLR blog: http://glrwy.blogspot.com/

Now... off on my nightly run to Dallas.

[Dwayne]

Howdy fellow modelers. Time for an update on the Gopher Light Railway. Although busy with my job, I've managed to continue to build up the r.o.w. and add small additions to improve it a little at a time since the last update.

Cinder blocks recycled from other parts of my yard were used to construct a retaining wall along the back side of the r.o.w where it leads away from the eastern loop that I've built up. The holes of the blocks are completely filled with concrete and are heavy enough to simply be stacked two high to hold the fill in place.

Old fence posts were cut down to an appropriate length and incorporated into the retaining wall as well. Since the posts were originally treated with creosote, they had nearly no decay in spite of their age from the fence line from which they were liberated.



The next photo was taken today and shows more fill brought in and put down in place over the past week. As I was hauling this dirt in the idea came to me to add a tunnel feature for a possible future spur line. Using recycled concrete slabs from other yard beautification projects, I constructed the sides of the tunnel bore. I hope to complete it's construction within the next few days (weather permitting). Details on the reason for the tunnel and it's incorporation can be read on my blog.



The unartistic sketch below (not to scale) portrays a rough rendering of the tunnel and future spur in relation to the eastern loop and how it all will fit together (hopefully if all goes well).



Unfortunately this is about all I've accomplished as of late. Twelve hour workdays and weekends filled with honey-doos for the wife have simply prevented me from accomplishing more. I'm extremely anxious for winter to be over and begin laying track in the spring.

[DolwyddelanLightRail]

I rather like the track layout!

[Dwayne]

I rather like the track layout!

Thank you. It seems to be evolving from the original as I go. The plan had been to have the entire line elevated but that has been revised to only have the eastern loop elevated. The western loop will be at ground level as will the spur(s). In the unwritten backstory the eastern loop portrays the mountainous region of the line where Nonameium is mined and brought down to the transfer point (the western loop area) to be exported to the outside world.

The sketch portrays the current portion that I'm working on which is about 40 feet in length (the yard being 104' across). The spur heads back east and then will curve south and eventually lead toward the mid-point of my yard some 100 feet distant from this eastern loop to terminate at an "industry" beside the driveway.

I foresee that when I have the western loop in place another spur line will diverge from it, pass the side of the house and proceed towards the outdoor shop I have in the front portion of my yard which would require about 275' of track.

[Dwayne]

The weather the past few days has been nice which allowed me to complete the cinder block retaining wall along the back side of the GLR. Although the fill is level with the tops of the blocks at the moment, once track laying begins it'll be scraped down as needed to allow for the 2% gradient.



With the wall completed I moved on to the tunnel again. I had planned on purchasing flat pavers to cap the tunnel bore but opted to use material on hand. A pad of concrete measuring 4' x 6' provided the material for the tunnel roof. To use it I had to chisel the slab into 18 inch wide strips using a pointed steel chisel and a four pound sledge hammer. After patiently chipping away at the slab for about thirty minutes the desired smaller piece would break away. I needed two slabs to completely cover the tunnel bore.

Each piece is about a foot longer than necessary. When the desired fill is put in place I'll remove the excess amount. I felt it was better to err on the side of too long initially than to be too short. The roughed in result below.



The embankment on the right side of the tunnel bore in the above photo will eventually have native rocks added to create the river chasm that will pass between the tunnel and the laurel oak. More fill will be wheel barrowed in and dumped behind (left side in photo above)the tunnel. A small hill will rise as a scenic break seperating the track as it approaches and departs the bridge that will circle around the oak tree.

[DolwyddelanLightRail]

Blimey! Those really are quite substantial earthworks! I can see those being great places for photos!

[Pretoria]

Blimey! Those really are quite substantial earthworks! I can see those being great places for photos!

AND big enough for a 5" gauge track !

[Sir Clothem Cap]

Wow thats some major workings Keep it up

[Dwayne]

Thanks everyone. I enjoy the ability to get outdoors and simply work like a machine. Saves wasting money on some fitness club.

[Dwayne]

The trackplan for the Gopher changed a few weeks ago when a segment of the line I had completed didn't appeal to me. Originally the line was running from a loop on the east side of the backyard to a loop on the west side:




Then came the idea of installing a tunnel and a spur line:




And now, eliminating the west loop and using the proposed spur as the main going to a location south of the east loop.




Grade is 2.5% from the upper tunnel to the lower tunnel.




A vital piece of track laying equipment showed up in the mail a couple of days ago. A Code 250 railbender made by a good friend.

[Sir Clothem Cap]

I do like your design, dont forget the odd siding for other trains waiting for the main line. Round the tree looks a bit tight.

[Dwayne]

I do like your design, dont forget the odd siding for other trains waiting for the main line. Round the tree looks a bit tight.

A couple of sidings will be added, just didn't show them on my rough sketches. The curve around the tree will be on a "whimsical" trestle and incorporates a 30" radius (by design) requiring a slow order to negotiate. The rest of the mainline uses 48" radius for a minimum.

[Narrow Minded]

That's all looking great!
I envy your weather conditions - I'm in the middle of a bit of engineering work myself on the Westwood & Loscoe and it looks like the Somme!

[Dwayne]

That's all looking great!
I envy your weather conditions - I'm in the middle of a bit of engineering work myself on the Westwood & Loscoe and it looks like the Somme!

We've had an unusually mild winter this year in my neck of the world. Warmer than normal temps have allowed me to get more done than I had planned... not a bad thing but as a result remodeling projects in the old house we bought have been shuffled to the back burner.