# Where to start with track bed



## Morgar (Mar 1, 2010)

Hi, I live in Winterville, NC and being new to LGB and to garden railroading, I am at the point now where I can start lying track.

My back yard slopes downward away from the house, I had to built a retaining wall(8ft high on the back end) to encompass a swimming pool. I have an area of 10ft x 30ft to play with. My soil is sand which means to me - good drainage. 

What is the best way to get started in lying the track bed? I've read digging a 4"- 6" trench and putting crushed granite and then putting the track on top of that. Then use chicken "gravel" for the ballast. Are there any other ways? 

Has anyone used landscape lighting wire to power the lights and switches? Did anyone use PVC to run the wires or just bury them in the ground?
What did people do about building a control panel?

I am reading the books and looking at the internet. Where is the best place to get crushed granite/ballast? There is not much around here except Lowes and Home Depot. 

Any suggestions and/or comments are appreciated!!

Best regards,

Michael O'Brien


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## Idraw4u (Aug 19, 2008)

I am new to this as well, so my opinion isn't as "seasoned" as some.... but I say the first thing you need to do is get you track on the ground. Level out enough to see what kind of layout your going to want. I put out a Christmas one each year and it changes every year. So throw some track down and experiment for a bit.
As for laying track and roadbed.... there are as many ways as there are opinions. Some seem to work others not as well. Some are more permanent, some are raised... Once you now the layout you are somewhat content with a trench with gravel sounds good but you will want to make sure you use something that is course. Pea gavel will drain well but it won't lock together so your track will tend to slide around a bit. The grit will help with that some. Your Lowes or Home Depot may actually carry something like grit in bags back in the garden center?
As for power, PVC wire and so on... there are again LOTS of opinions and so on. Take a bit of time to read and post some questions individually in the other areas of the forum and and you will get some fantastic help.
Best of luck and happy railroading.

Todd


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## takevin (Apr 25, 2010)

a lot of these questions have been answered already, as i just started this a few months ago myself and up and running. Use the search engine.


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

I followed the techniques described in Marty Cozads article " Concrete Roadbed , Not as Hard as One Thinks" here on MLS. 
Never regretted this! It works great, so I can strongly recommend this method. 

The article is in the archive section: http://archive.mylargescale.com/articles/articles/concreteroadbed/roadbed01.asp 

Also, I glued the ballast in place using a mixture of 50% water and 50% water resistant woodglue. Let dry for a couple of days. This way the ballast stays in place, even after a hard rain shower. After 2 years usage about 95% of the ballast on my layout still stays in it's place this way. It only fixates the ballast (f.i. don't stand on it to much; than it will come loose) so you can easily remove it again if desired. There are (some real expensive) commercial ballast glues but they work the same as described above. 

Paul


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## Trains (Jan 2, 2008)

" Concrete Roadbed , Not as Hard as One Thinks" depends on how old you are! If you are young and
full of energy then go for it. If you are old, then go for the ladder or trench a lot easier. I did the trench,
2x6 cedar, and ladder method. If I had to redo my layout I would go for the ladder, again.

Don


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

If your old then you require more machinery to do the job. Note the two wheel wheelbarrow


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Track sliding around a bit???? Not here! 

I don't have soil, I have old sea bed... lots of sand and clay. I didn't bother with a deep trench.... no crusher fines either.. I gather my ballast on property. I sceen it for size and wind willow out most of the dirt. The bottom layer of 1/2" rock, put down the track and then poured 1/4" rock over the track and used a cheap 4" paintbrush to smooth out the ballast. The trench is good in normal soil as it offers better drainage... It's easy to level the track by vibrating it as you move to where you want; up down or side to side, while covered in ballast. 

I run on Aristo's Stainless Steel track and did use those tiny screws to hold it together or track clamps where the holes were off. 

My track moves with expansiom, but does not move under a train. For ballast you want broken rock with sharp corners, not smooth river rock. The broken rock does lock down with tamping and wetting. 

For your first RR I'd suggest the rock ballast method, it's a lot easier to scoop up loose rock to change the layout than to redo crete work. Get some experience running and trying different track designs. 

Part of my layout is in my driveway parking and should I ever sell the home, there won't be any concrete to remove.... 

I looked at chicken grit, but didn't buy any, too small in my opinion. Besides I find that the rain here does a good job of presizing my rock by run off! I carry a bucket and a flat bottom shovel and gather ballast at the base of slopes and in gullies. Yes I do need to replace some after a rain, but it's easy to do. I usually have some in a bucket anyway and that old paintbrush is kept handy; dump, brush and go. 
Decomposed granite make a good ballast and may be easier to find bagged at Home Disapointment or Lowes. 

After 5 years with the original loop and now a wye and reverse loop I'm thinking of a linear layout with reverse loops at each end. That change over will be lot of work by itself without having to bust up crete and haul it off. 

John


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## Trains (Jan 2, 2008)

John J,

That's all good and fine if you don't live in the city, with no room to store. I keep trying to talk the wife into moving
to the county but she won't budge.

Don


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

I recently eyed our front garden bed (weed bed) that the wife cleaned out (somewhat) and invested in a few pieces of the plastic trim from Homeless Despot and will be laying a simple oval on that. When I find some time again. I need to spend sometime cutting spacers and pre-assembling some evening. Maybe next week? For now this is temporary and solid enough to satisfy my need to get some trains running. 

Chas


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## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

I just floated my track on ballast, requires some leveling and re-ballasting in certain places maybe one or two times a year!! I did it this way, as you will find out you are always getting new ideas and want to change things around.. This year I have re-done three or 4 areas alone! So keep in your mind "Easy Peasey" try to do the least permanent, best for you method, you can think of that works for you!! And you will want to change believe me!

Here are a couple of shots of what I did no trench, no cement, just layout your track how you want it, when you have it like you want it, layout thick black plastic under the track, and go a little wider than I did I wish I would have now. But go about 8-12 inches wide on the plastic and then take a square shovel and get your ballast and just bury the track in 3 or 5ft sections then just pull up through gravel, and level and fill in the track trestle space to your liking. Here's a couple of shots. After the second shot was taken I changed again!! See why you don't do permanent! Nothing is constant in the universe except change! is a phrase I have learned from many years of trials and tribulations! Hah LOL Regal Oh and Yes "It's your railroad do what you want and like"!










Laying inner loop










newer change at West end changed again!!


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By Trains on 11 Aug 2010 09:10 AM 
John J,

That's all good and fine if you don't live in the city, with no room to store. I keep trying to talk the wife into moving
to the county but she won't budge.

Don


How sad Don

My sister moved here from Las Vegas. She now has a house on a hill. Nice view, Mountians, Valley No fence/block wall. She says she could never live back in the city again.









I feel the same way.


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## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

Michael, 
I will say that a good track bed is very important to the "fun" aspect of running trains in the garden. A lousy roadbed will cause derailments and shorts which are not fun. 
I used the ladder system using PVC board you can get from Home Depot/Lowe's. I've seen a lot of good feedback on concrete roadbed as well.


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