# Expanding my Garden Railway - Underway



## LGB333$$$$ (Oct 11, 2017)

My mason contractor finally started the 3 - 4 day project in my backyard. Here are three photos from the work done first day........I have a sloping backyard so they're building a retaining wall that will be filled in with top soil and then three inches of crushed stone #9. I'll post some photos of the completed project. Then my work begins to start laying track. I've also attached a copy of the layout's design which continues with a raised base of double wall blocks to hold a double track line around the remainder of my backyard.


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## denray (Jan 5, 2008)

This is going to be a very good watch, please keep us posted as you are working on it. 
Looks to be a fun layout
Dennis


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## Treeman (Jan 6, 2008)

What will be your maxium grade?


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## LGB333$$$$ (Oct 11, 2017)

*My Garden RR Expansion*



Treeman said:


> What will be your maxium grade?



I'll have to measure that.........I asked my mason to keep it level as much as possible. But you see my original raised railway in the middle and it has a pretty good incline and all my LGB locos and my USA Trains Hudson J1 have no problem with its grade. I'm thinking the new line will be less than the old RR. The dirt fill for the retaining wall is actually lower than the concrete patio under my house deck. In order to make it level with the patio, they would have to raise the retaining wall another 1 1/2 feet and I didn't want to do that because of appearance and cost.


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## LGB333$$$$ (Oct 11, 2017)

*Day Two Progress - Garden Railway Expansion*

End of Day Two Photos' explanation below:
1. Photo #1: My contractor originally estimated needing 2 1/2 dump truck loads of dirt to fill in the retaining wall to be level. It required FOUR - costing me $350 per load.
2. Photo #2 and #3: To get around two large trees and their roots, I'm going to use two double LGB truss bridges which are four feet length each, so for the two main lines around the perimeter of the new RR will require four LGB bridges per bridge (eight total for traversing the two trees)............but it will actually add character to the layout. I'm thinking of spray painting the plastic bridges silver, although brown or black will probably show better.......any thoughts?
3. Photo #4 and #5: The two main lines will curve around this corner and then go under the steps to my deck and then parallel the existing oval I installed 10 years ago.
4. Today my contractor will level out the dirt in the retaining wall area to accommodate at least 3 inches of crushed stone #9. There will be stone caps placed on the top of the retaining walls all around the RR, and the #9 crushed stone will be level with it. 
5. Bill, my contractor's tractor operator........he moved the four dump truck loads of dirt into the retaining wall and today is moving the crushed stone #9 to cover the dirt. I plan to install a rail yard with buildings, the Pola coaling tower I recently bought at the York TCA Show in April, and locs sheds, lots of switches, etc. And of course, I use the Massoth DCC system, so I'll power all the LGB switches with Massoth DiMax 1 channel switch decoders that fit into the track ties at each switch.......see Photo #6. 

Looking better all the time!


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## LGB333$$$$ (Oct 11, 2017)

Greg Elmassian said:


> In the first set of pictures, the grades looked a bit like a roller coaster, but I see in this second set it was the camera/angle/lens, things look much better..
> 
> 
> Although my neck hurts from rotating 90 degrees on a couple of them ha ha!
> ...



I've fixed the photos and put them in better sequence as the construction of the RR base continues.


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## LGB333$$$$ (Oct 11, 2017)

*Day Three Photos*

Here are some photos of the work. I'll have lots of space to eventually lay a rail yard with buildings, coaling station, etc, on the large space created by the retaining wall.......will need to design it first.

Rain stopped the work late afternoon. Monday the contractor will complete its work and then my task to lay the track begins.......ugh! Using AML brass flex track just like I did on my original small 65 foot oval that I built ten years ago. I'll post photos at the end of Day Four.


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## denray (Jan 5, 2008)

Thank God for the tractor, I love my old JD and loader
RR looking veyr good, keep us posted
Dennis


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## LGB333$$$$ (Oct 11, 2017)

GROUND/SLOPE OF RAILWAY
My contractor has done an amazing job of extending the track line from the left side of the new retaining wall area, i.e., building the two raised block structures that will house the two 8 foot bridges. I bought at Home Depot yesterday a $60 24 inch Husky digital level and measured the level of those two structures and they are "0" grade! I want to keep the slope to 2% max from that point going up to my patio area......same from the right side of the retaining wall area. See both photos. So, on Tuesday when they return for the final work, I'm going to have them take out more dirt to get the slope down to 2%. It currently measures about 5%.

Would lamp cord be suitable to power this layout, intially two 150 foot mainline loops, but eventually a railyard within the retaining wall large area with lots of sidings, track switches, etc. I'll be using my Massoth DCC System: Central Station with adjustable max 12 amps, and Massoth 12 amp power supply.


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## fyrekop (Sep 20, 2011)

Lamp cord probably not a good idea for power. The larger the gauge (wire is sort of backwards with 20 gauge being much smaller than 10 gauge) of the wire the more resistance and potential power loss. I used 10 or 12 gauge wire on my site which has a couple of long loops like you are planning and don't have any issues even 120' from the power source.
And the old adage about something being "Dirt Cheap" doesn't apply to our hobby.
Looks like a good build. Enjoy


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## LGB333$$$$ (Oct 11, 2017)

*Wire*



fyrekop said:


> Lamp cord probably not a good idea for power. The larger the gauge (wire is sort of backwards with 20 gauge being much smaller than 10 gauge) of the wire the more resistance and potential power loss. I used 10 or 12 gauge wire on my site which has a couple of long loops like you are planning and don't have any issues even 120' from the power source.
> And the old adage about something being "Dirt Cheap" doesn't apply to our hobby.
> Looks like a good build. Enjoy


A boater friend and customer of mine recommended using marine grade tinned duplex cable available in various sizes including 10 and 12 AWG. The strands are tinned to withstand water corrosion. The brand he uses for his boats is Ancor Marine Grade Tinned Duplex Cable. It's available online from WalMart and other dealers in 50, 100, 250 and 500 foot lengths. The online price at WalMart for the 100 foot 10 AWG is $95. This appears to be much better than the landscape wire for years of reliable garden railway use.


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## LGB333$$$$ (Oct 11, 2017)

*Day 4 Begins*



LGB333$$$$ said:


> Here are some photos of the work. I'll have lots of space to eventually lay a rail yard with buildings, coaling station, etc, on the large space created by the retaining wall.......will need to design it first.
> 
> Rain stopped the work late afternoon. Monday the contractor will complete its work and then my task to lay the track begins.......ugh! Using AML brass flex track just like I did on my original small 65 foot oval that I built ten years ago. I'll post photos at the end of Day Four.


Day Four - Final Day of Contractor's Work started this morning. I'm having them lower the base by the patio and going down each side to be about 2% slope or less on the grade. I'll post additional photos at the end of their work today. Using the #9 gravel on top of the base also allows for adjusting the slope when the track is layed.


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## LGB333$$$$ (Oct 11, 2017)

*Garden Railway Baseline Project - Finished!*

My landscape/masonry contractor completed their work today, Day 4, in half a day........of course they brought in four folks to do it. See the finished baseline they did for me under my guidance on the design and details. Crushed stone gravel #9 covers all the line. I'll use more to lay the tracks after I glue side pieces on both sides of the blocks to hold in the gravel in place, prevent rain washing it off, etc. See the next to last photo that shows how the gravel will be positioned up to the bridges with an example of the siding pieces I'll glue to the top of the blocks on each side. I found this sample side piece at Home Depot yesterday, it's a plastic type material used for deck siding. The last photo is of the four person crew who completed the work today.......the guy in the red hat is the mason who has a excellent skills and an eye for leveling and placing the blocks.......he did all of the block and cap stones placement and gluing.

Now my work begins to lay track.......luckily a friend of mine has offered to help!


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## LGB333$$$$ (Oct 11, 2017)

Last Friday I worked four hours on laying track on the outer loop mainline including anchoring the four LGB 50610 truss bridges over each of the two open spans. A friend came by and we worked another three hours. Then Saturday and Sunday mornings, I worked another eight hours.......only four sections of six foot AML flex track remaining. So, before the rain hit today, I hooked up one of my DCC systems, the Piko Central Station and used my Massoth Navigator, to test run my LGB Rail Truck with its Soundtraxx Tsunami2 power/sound decoder I installed last year. It ran great. 

Last Friday I bought a garden stool, called a GardenKneeler by Yard Butler, for use in installing the track, i.e., measuring, cutting rail, and installing the rail clamps. For a senior citizen with lots of arthitis, this thing is well worth the $50 I paid for it at my local hardware store. It's both a stool and a kneeling pad.......works super!

Besides the photos, I'll try to post a short video of the Rail Truck operating while pulling a hand car.......it has Soundtraxx' "electrical locomotive" sound file, so it makes all kinds of little noises as it runs, and I can ring the bell and blow the horn using my Massoth Navigator wireless controller.

I've posted a 4 minute video on my YouTube Channel of the LGB Rail Truck takes a tour of the entire track loop. You'll see the entire outer loop main rail line in this video:


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Looking nice. That stool looks very handy for us old bodies.


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## LGB333$$$$ (Oct 11, 2017)

placitassteam said:


> Looking nice. That stool looks very handy for us old bodies.


Yes, it was a lifesaver with my weak back. I even used it to get down on my knees and then put my chest on it and then lean over to fasten the rail clamps on. In may case, I'd pay $100 for one if that's what they cost!


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

The kneel/seat thing is at Walmart for $24. Online it's less. Wife has one for gardening.


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## LGB333$$$$ (Oct 11, 2017)

Chris Scott said:


> The kneel/seat thing is at Walmart for $24. Online it's less. Wife has one for gardening.


Chris - Appreciate your sharing with everyone the information about these type garden accessories.

I'm sure you can find these type units cheaper at many places. I looked at online WalMart and they have various models, as you say from about $24 to $40, but many of them don't appear to be as good a quality (heavy duty metal and construction) like the GardenKneeler by YardButler that I bought at my local hardware store. I know I paid more at my local hardware store that day than trying to find one cheaper at far away HomeDepot or Lowe's.......but I was in the midst of laying track that day and needed one immediately. It's worth it to me to pay more for "convenience" sometimes (and I do get a 10% military discount there), but that's obviously a personal choice. 
Thanks
Tom


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## LGB333$$$$ (Oct 11, 2017)

*Safety Issue - Falling Tree Limb*

I was watering my grass seedlings next to my new garden railway base that my contractor planted, and I heard a large cracking sound and then a thud! A large rotted tree limb had fallen luckily into the ground right in front of my deck's starway.......didn't hit my new or old layouts. After than shock, I'm going to get a tree company to inspect the tree branches of the two large Oaks in my backyard and the large Poplar in my front yard. If a limb this size fell on me while I'm laying more track, it would give me a serious headache! I'm planning on having an open house for my new railroad in the Fall and I don't want any safety issues from my trees with visitors.


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## LGB333$$$$ (Oct 11, 2017)

Thought I'd update everyone with the status of the track installation on my new garden railway. It's been so hot back here in Washington DC area that it's not conducive to working outdoors. But the last few days I installed Massoth Single Channel Track Switch Decoders into five LGB 16000 series 22.5 degree track switches. These Massoth units screw into a track tie next to the switch and are powered by the track......two wires are soldered to Massoth Brass Rail Connection Clamps and the other two wires go to the LGB track switch motors. You first program each decoder with a address. I also discovered that these Massoth units have a built-in time you can activate by CV which will automatically throw the switch back to its original position after a set time......pretty neat. I'll use that feature on the three way switch I'm going to use for my three bay loco shed in the future railyard.

The photo below shows the installed switches and the beginnings of the second loop of track. At the top of the photo there's a switch which will vere off to the railyard. This weekend the heat will drop down to the upper 70s so I hope to get more track installed then.


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## fsts2k (Jan 13, 2009)

Looks great! How often are you putting feeder wires in?


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## LGB333$$$$ (Oct 11, 2017)

fsts2k said:


> Looks great! How often are you putting feeder wires in?


I haven't put any in yet but plan to put at least one to the far cover of the track, and maybe another one into the future freight year which will have lots of switches and track.


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## LGB333$$$$ (Oct 11, 2017)

*Iron Spike Ceremony for Installing Last Track Section*

September 15, 2019: Held an Iron Spike Ceremony at the last track section installed today completing the inner mainline of 150 feet of track which connects byswitches to the outer mainline of 150 feet of track. This included assemblying four more LGB truss bridges for the two eight foot spans for the inner loop. Now I need to work on the railyard design and installation and also assemblying about 10 Piko buildings for it. See the Iron Spike photos I took this morning after I put the last two Split Jaw railclamps together....that's a real railroad spike I found on a section of track in Virginia.


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## fsts2k (Jan 13, 2009)

Congrats, it looks great


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## LGB333$$$$ (Oct 11, 2017)

*Railyard Design*

RAILYARD DESIGN STATUS

Today the weather has been great for track work dropping from the 90s the last few days to low 80s. So, decided to play around with my remaining pieces of track and switches to get ideas for the track design of the railyard. I'm ordering another box of 12 sections of AML 6 Foot Brass Flex Track from RLD Hobbies. I'll have to pay $40 for shipping this time......all the other boxes I've bought from RLD Hobbies at the last three annual East Coast Large Scale Show in York PA. I also need to order some additional left and right hand switches. The below photos show the second iteration of the track which I like better. On the left side of the railyard I'll install a three bay locomotive shed using a three-way LGB switch you can see in the photo. While I was laying out the track, I had a brainstorm.....there's also space in the far left area to install a track "Wye"so a locomotive can change direction.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Your yard "ladder" looks nice!


There were 2 versions of the LGB 3 way switch, and the "tighter" version would even derail a Shay some times. That switch looks like the "better" one, but I cannot tell.


Nice progress, 



Greg


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