# Reccomendations for roadbed



## takevin (Apr 25, 2010)

Hi all, reading as much as fast as i can, but want to start this weekend working on a 8 x20 foot spot for my outdoor garden train. Till we move in a few years to a 5 to 7 acre farm we plan on buying and then go nuts. So in the interim, taking into effect I live in Illinois near the Wi border, lotsa rain and heavy snow in winter, what recommendations not do anything permanent like concrete, what would be a good choice for the road. Pvc plastic staked into dirt, gravel roadbed etc? thank you


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## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

I would recommend a PVC ladder system. Here is a link on how to build:  Ladder system


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

How many years is "a few years"? 

If it's 2 or 3, I'd dig a trench, fill with coarse gravel for drainage, and then smaller gravel for ballast, nothing real fine that can wash away. 

Regards, Greg


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## jfrank (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By takevin on 29 Apr 2010 08:49 PM 
Hi all, reading as much as fast as i can, but want to start this weekend working on a 8 x20 foot spot for my outdoor garden train. Till we move in a few years to a 5 to 7 acre farm we plan on buying and then go nuts. So in the interim, taking into effect I live in Illinois near the Wi border, lotsa rain and heavy snow in winter, what recommendations not do anything permanent like concrete, what would be a good choice for the road. Pvc plastic staked into dirt, gravel roadbed etc? thank you If it's going to be temp for sure just use this stuff. I use it for my railroad here in Houston and it works great. It has been down for almost 10 years in some places.

http://www.gardenrailwayproducts.com/


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## takevin (Apr 25, 2010)

No more than two or three years i would say, and anything going in, comes with. I would want it flush with the ground, the ballast idea sounds pretty good, and possible the roadbed system too depending on price..


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## Polaris1 (Jan 22, 2010)

I'd consider the plastic wood & pvc pipe elevated Curved Ladder technique by Paul Race. The best plastic wood (BearBoard from Elgin Illinois) is $22 per 8 ft plank (2x4) in Brown. You'll need to rip a plank 4 times (last cut is a skin cut) to get 4 3/4" strips or 16' of flexible road bed. Spacer block width is the same dimension as the PVC pipe OD. Supporting pvc pipes (I have 170 for 330' of track) must be cordless augered into ground a minimum of 18". 12" long auger bits from Stein Gardens. Support pipes located every 24" approx & spacer blocks every 8". Holes drilled in spacer blocks can be used as power feed wire holders. You'll need a lot of SS 1.5" long screws. I used 1200. Layout can be disassembled & reused in a different shape at a new site later. I used SS 332 Aristo 8' chunks of rail shipped in the Aluminum tube. $310 for 48' track going rate at St Aubins (Woodstock, IL). 
Slip on ties are $42 a case. The best track bender is a Train-Li 6 bearing set up for 332 rail at $280...... Nuff said about Curved Ladder for now. See the Paul Race comments on the Web.


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## sailbode (Jan 2, 2008)

Give that "flush with ground" a second thought. I have a friend who has half his layoutm elevated and half flush. The half thats flush is a royal pain keeping clean as he's under trees. leaves, tigs, even road bed gravel getting kicked seem to caus an endless derailment problem. The elevated section, even if only a few inches, tends to stay clean. 
I just finished my first outdoor loop and used the ladder system made of Mahagony decking boards.


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## thumper (Jan 31, 2009)

If you are on the east side of Illinois, visit the Chicago Botanical Garden. Do take your kids or grand kids. They won't want to leave!

The Garden has an area dedicated to trains [$1.00 separate admission]. It's a rather large area with 17 separate layouts - lots of trains running, but no worry about crossings or two trains on a track, etc. They use 1" x 6" pressure treated lumber for the track base. It is simply placed on the ground. Ballast and mulch make the wood almost invisible. The layout has been there for about 10 years withouth trouble, especially with regard to frost heave, etc. 

You will find staff very helpful and willing to talk about both construction and maintenance.

Also, all landscping AND STUCTURES are made out of natural materials. Check out Wrigley field. 

Take time to check out the video.

Here's the link to their site.

http://www.chicagobotanic.org/railroad/index.php

Enjoy your visit. 

Will


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## 6323 (Jan 17, 2008)

Posted By jfrank on 30 Apr 2010 05:05 PM 
If it's going to be temp for sure just use this stuff. I use it for my railroad here in Houston and it works great. It has been down for almost 10 years in some places.

http://www.gardenrailwayproducts.com/



I would NOT recommend this stuff to anyone!
Was a $250+ mistake on my part!!
Once installed, it looked more like a roller coaster.
The stuff warped way to much to be usable.


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## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

If you are going to be experiencing frost and snow, I would recommend you keep it about a foot off the ground, built up with compacted good clean well draining gravel (ie


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## takevin (Apr 25, 2010)

Was there for Mothers Day, only one guy knew anything construction and maintenance. Been there a few times and its a very nice layout. I built mine on the ground to make it look as realist as possible and used pvc decking board.


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