# My backyard track, start to finish



## afinegan (Jan 2, 2008)

The method that my dad and I developed (and took alot of cues from this forum) for raised outdoor track building.This setup for electric and livesteam.

There are 2 way toggle switches for the 2 mains and the 2 sidings(4 switches). Can turn on the power on whatever track you want and also the direction, (also off)
Should be a very friendly steamup track.

First I started with measuring my yard and drawing up a quick cad drawing using xtrkcad(free rr cad program), told me I needed 280' of track so I ordered 300 










Once I had my plan down, off to the Homeowners meeting to get it approved, I wrote up a proposal using the loophole by categorizing the backyard railroad as a "childrens playground"
Supposedly there was a few people who had there track disapproved by the HOA and they won a court battle when there lawyer put it in the "childrens playground" category lol. (don't have sources, heard word of mouth).


SO I figured out what I needed, I wanted to keep the track on the cheaper side so I build it entirely from Home Depot pressure treated wood.

Ingredients:

Track Roadbed Supplies 

120 1" X 4" X 8' pressure treated boards (alot of people use trex like materials for the top decking)

18 4" X 4" X 10' posts, they ranged in my backyard from 2' to 3' and I dug 2' into the ground.
5 boxes of stainless steel screws, 2 1/4" X 7 square drive
Clear tube (for water leveling)
Posthole digger rental



Track Supplies

300' Code 250 brass track from SVRR
4 #6 switches with ground throws
Single rail bender
50 SVRR rail clamps
rail slips that came with the track for straightways (allows expansion/contraction) 



Misc Supplies:
Lawn marking paint

Flags
Garden hose laying around


First I layed out the track, marking with the flags, using the garden hose to get the curves properly laid out










I rented a 1 man posthole digger from homedepot and dug all 34 holes









I dug all the holes 2' deep









Setup the first post as the keystone post, all posts will be water leveled to this post









Placing and leveling all the posts, I didn't use concrete, to the city
its considered temporary lol, Don't have snow down here, I think once
in the 70's and the snow didn't make it to the ground lol










Connect all the posts together with the 1" X 4" X 8' cut.









Building the deck on top, When I built the circles, I hammered a post into the center part of the 

circle diameter and used a rope to make sure my circle was as close as I could get and to make sure
the 12.5' - 13' diameter is kept.










Laying the track, (the rail and the ties came seperated), All the tracks are at a minimum 7.5" center-to-center apart to prevent collisions
the rail is layed staggered, so the joints arent together, makes for smoother track and smoother curves. I also always started laying track from the switch on.




























My dad and I had a birthday steamup last weekend (my 30th birthday), even though it rained I still got some good pictures,
(the side moving ones where blurry, but the focus perspective ones where great) Still getting use to dialing in this camera (new canon DSLR rebel xs).





























Blowing the Weltky Whistle (remote control) 










Best picture of the day that I took. (have this at 3888 X 2592 pixels at 72 ppi)










In all, it took me 2.5 weeks, IM a semi young guy and just was excited to work on it, one of my life wishes/things to do, to check off lol.

I hope you enjoyed my post, hope it wasn't too make pictures (tried to keep the size down, optimized in photoshop for web) 

Soon, Ill have a few south floridian's (mostly sparky guys) over for a trainup/steamup I will then proceed on switching them to the darkside


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## CCSII (Jan 3, 2008)

Really great looking project. You are so lucky to be able to do it with your dad.


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## Jack - Freshwater Models (Feb 17, 2008)

Andrew, 

Looks good! What is your minimum radius? 

Jack


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## afinegan (Jan 2, 2008)

about 12 foot diameter (6 foot radius) minimum, I opted to go as wide as I could lol, I am happy with the result.




I will probally add building's, bridges etc etc over time, this is just the starting foundation


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

Must be an impressive and extensive check list given the quickly completed project. Enjoy it and looking forward to the many post about your meets.


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## Jack - Freshwater Models (Feb 17, 2008)

Posted By afinegan on 06/02/2009 6:47 AM
about 12 foot diameter (6 foot radius) minimum, I opted to go as wide as I could lol, I am happy with the result.




I will probally add building's, bridges etc etc over time, this is just the starting foundation  



I am amazed that the Mike will negociate the curve! Bridges, turntables, and trestles are lots of fun! How about a curved trestle on one end? It's always fun to add more to the layout!

Jack


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Very nice, and I envy you having sand to dig in. Up here, we deal with clay and surface bedrock, so my track floats. 

Larry


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## afinegan (Jan 2, 2008)

The accucraft K28 mikado will negotiate 8' foot diameters (minimum diameter listed on accucraft's website), it has blind drivers so the 12' diameter curve was a cakewalk, but the outer curve that the mike is on, is more like 13' diameter. 
In the pictures it was running around on its own with no indication that it was having any trouble (not even slowing down) on the curves.


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## Kurt Sykes (Feb 28, 2008)

I have to agree Andrew,I have fun running trains with my dad also.
Here are some pics of our railroad in my back yard.
Kurt


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## Kurt Sykes (Feb 28, 2008)

Pardon that last post of mine, 
I am just learning how to post on this web site with pics 
Kurt


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## afinegan (Jan 2, 2008)

I got on my roof yesterday and put together this photo (made up of a bunch of photos).
The picture seams don't quite fit but its good enough for wing'in it. lol 











Sorry for going out of bounds, very wide photo


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## jfrank (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice Track. Looks really great. I want to know how the decking material(120 1" X 4" X 8' pressure treated boards) you used holds up. We have a club layout here in the Houston area and I am still looking for a good material to use to replace the current deck which is deteriorating. It's mostly treated plywood. I was thinking about using hardiplank 1x4's or 1x6's for replacement decking. Anyone tried that before?

On the track, the only person I know that used it here has not had good luck with it. The ties tended to deteriorate in the hot Texas sun. Personally I used Llagas Creek which has held up well. The club used Aristocraft ties and commercial code 332 alluminum rail that fits the ties(I forget the manufacturer) that we bought in bulk. So far it has held up well.


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## afinegan (Jan 2, 2008)

Its just standard pressure treated wood (millstead brand) from Home Depot, I was pushing my budget slightly so I went the cheap route, My fathers layout is almost 2 years old and its holding up, but different areas, different climates will have different affects, I am south florida so I will have to see how it holds up over time. Im curious since there is a higher humidity here than where u are (I think anyway), how much that plays a part. Temps here go from low 40's to 100's at most. The wood did move slightly here and there after initial placement (settling) but the track has stayed level. 

If it doesn't I will replace the top with trex or some type of synthetic decking material, no problem. I have less experience than you with track hehe. (trying to get the local 7.5 gauge club to build a club track, only found about 10 gscale/gauge 1 guys in south florida so far (which is nutzs, theres a zillion people who live down here...)) I expect once I build a good club track, they will come haha


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## msimpson (Jan 5, 2009)

Hi Andrew, 

Great layout. I like the way you've avooided the inside/outside/wrong side problems. 

May I suggest that you either paint your boards or apply something like Thompson's Water Seal? The new generation of pressure treated lumber (no arsenic since 1/1/04) does not hold up like the old stuff did. If you know people that have had their wood decks forever, that's the arsenic in it. Particularly in hot, moist climates like Florida, unprotected wood decays rapidly. 

Color me jealous -- Mike in Tallahassee


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