# Elevated Track- tips, tricks, any help is appreciated



## Matt Z (Dec 2, 2009)

Hey everyone, I am getting ready to build an outdoor layout at my family's cabin. Here in Arizona we generally don't have issues with snow, rain, animals trampling track, or anything but the sun. Although there are a few spots where we do, the cabin being in one. 

So I am looking for any kinds of suggestions from anyone. Maybe some tips from those who have learned the hard way? 

I am planning on building the top deck out of 1x4 with a 1x2 frame underneath being supported by 4x4's. Does this sound feasible? Or are there are things I should consider? 

I am also planning on using a deck stain to finish it, and during the winter possibly come up with a tarp system to keep it somewhat protected, 

Thanks a lot, 


Matt


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

I built my elevated track using 1x6 boards for the track roadbed support, lengthwise/parallel to the track. I think this was a bad idea for two reasons...

1) If the engine (or other cars) derail, it can be a long way to the ground for expensive toys. See below:



2) I used AC2 treated wood (actually Southern Yellow Pine, I think) and it was still quite wet with the chemicals when I got it. I let it dry a week or so in my garage before I started building and noted that the wood had taken on quite a curl, cup and warp. Nailing (Screwing) it down to the girder substructure (two 1x4's on edge separated by 4-inch long 2x4 "studs" every 16 inches... or usually one at each end and one in the middle) tended to straighten it out a bit, but the more it dried the worse the cupping got, such that the track was kind of running lengthwise down a gully! But when it rained, the wood of the upper surface expanded and the board would then be bowed upward along its length and the track was then running lengthwise atop a ridge (and somewhat unstable side to side!). Some of my boards were 6-ft long and could be cupped downward on one end and upward on the other end. The disparity between the elevation of the joint of two boards could be as much as 3/4-inches if one was cupped up and the other down. Moisture and the lack thereof seemed to be the cause of all this variation and it changed during the day depending on the amount of sunshine.


My recommendation is to cut the boards used as the roadbed support into 1-ft lengths and attach them crosswise to the direction of the track. This will provide a "landing zone" for derailed vehicles and cupping/warping become a crosswise problem and this does not cause the track to become unstable crosswise. You will still have some variation in level of the track as it runs across so many boards (and this will increase the number of board-feet you need to buy) but with so many there should be less of a problem given the averages of them in short distances.

Unfortunately, making the subroadbed 1-ft wide tends to cause the CEO to think about double- (or triple-) tracking the surface







which is an expense the CFO will balk at







, as well as take up the space considered the "landing zone" for errant cars, thus defeating the initial purpose!


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## RioShay (Feb 26, 2009)

Hi Matt, a great thing about this forum is all the great info and methods of construction and tips that can be shared. We live up in the mountains of Oregon and have heavy snow and critter invasions. We still decided to build an elevated railway and used 1x6's painted with outdoor latex paint, then mounted on concrete blocks. this got us up and running and let us build trestles and landscape later. all our two/three foot elevated wood sections have held up nicely, but our ten/eight ft sections warped a little on the ends, we are now replacing the longest pieces with some trek synthetic 1x6's. On the ground sections of track, we used red paving bricks with some ballast. we have had several visitors that have wanted to start their own garden R/R but were hedging because of the seemingly daunghtless construction, and all have commented that our construction was simple, looks good, and got the R/R up and running pretty quickly, and have gone on to start their own R/R in a similar way. i'm sure you will find a building system that you will be happy with


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## Matt Z (Dec 2, 2009)

Thanks a lot for the tips men, both layouts look great. I really cringed when I watched that loco fall. It's like nails running down a chalk board! 

I am still in planning mode, but here is a question of something I have never seen before. Has anyone tried to use a coat of roofing tar over say, plywood, as a sealant and protector. While it is still wet I could see throwing down some 1/4 minus and calling it ballast or rock. What do you think>? 

Matt


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## Ron Hill (Sep 25, 2008)

Matt, here in the Mississippi delta it is flat. My layout is ground level and the only problem I have is in a heavy downpour. The mulch sometimes washes off the layout into the drainage ditch and dams up the ditch and floods out the layout. I have seen several layout in the west that are gound level. Is there a reason you want to build the layout so high? If you are going to landscape the layout it will be really hard. If you plan to landscape with plants and buildings, you might consider building either ground level or raised up somewhere between 8 and 24 inches. 
Ron


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## Matt Z (Dec 2, 2009)

Hey Ron, no real desire to landscape or plant vegetation around it. It's going to be up at our cabin, which we really only get to during the summer time here. It's nice to think that I won't have to worry about heavy rains washing out the soil and track. Also, it would also be very nice to sweep pine needles off of a hard surface then to take the risks of damaging the track on floor level. Long story short, once this is up, I would really like for it to be virtually maintenance free. And I want to make sure what I do put up is going to fulfill that. 

Matt


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## sandbarn (Feb 13, 2010)

Matt, 

Have you seen Richard Smith's Port Orford Coast RR. He built a raised platform layout and also created a 196 page pdf document detailing exactly how he did it. There is a link to the document somewhere on this site but I'm not sure where it is. Check it out. I've downloaded it and plan to use it as an instruction manual when I start building (which I hope will be this summer). 

Lloyd


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

*Port Orford Coast RR - PDF File 25MB*


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## Matt Z (Dec 2, 2009)

Thanks for the info! That's great of him to do so. 

Matt


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## rmcintir (Apr 24, 2009)

I've been pouring over the Orford Coast RR doc. Mine won't have that much elevated real estate (for a while) but it was interesting to see how his ladder supports worked. I cleaned up the garage this weekend to get my woodworking back up and running. I told my son it was for his Eagle project so he would help but I am secretly planning quite a bit of railroad construction.


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

Appreciate the kind words indeed but I must clarify just a bit.... 
It was Steve C. that gathered my all too numerous posts together into the PDF file for everyone to access. He did a lot of work to organize many individual posts I did over several years and put them into a most fine and useable form. The credit goes to him. Thanks Steve!


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## johnsteam (Feb 16, 2008)

On my portable elevated layout I was using pressure treated 1x6 boards. I just could not take the warping and twisting of the boards anymore, so I cut 12 inch (double track) by 8 feet, strips of pressure treated 3/4 inch plywood. Much much better, straight and flat. As for a roadbed surface I cut ashphalt shingles of a suitable ballast color, and it looked great.


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## gwscheil (Aug 6, 2008)

Here in Kansas City, PT 2x6's, with an occasional 2x8, have held up well mounted on PVC posts, for 2 years now. The posts are heavy wall, sch 40 2" ID. No frost heave yet. Low guard fences on a few curves. The 1x fence boards twist with rain, but not the bases.


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Go to Live Steam forum, search on "elevated layout". Lots of information - whether you're live steam or sparks.


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