# It's official



## Nohandles (Jan 2, 2009)

Today I finally got to the point of starting the new railroad. It is going on top of 2x4 pressure treated lumber for the road bed. I got really tired of fixing and leveling the old layout on top of 10 inches of crushed lime stone. Plus it was right on the ground which created an abundance of problems to fix. It won't be perfect but will lessen all the problems that being directly on the ground caused. 
All diameters are going to be 20 so anything I want to run should be fine. 

I'll post some pictures as soon as I progress a little further.


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Just out of curiousity, what problems were you having with the free floating track? The elements washing out the track? 

Congrats on your start, good time of year to start outside. 

Regards, Greg


----------



## Nohandles (Jan 2, 2009)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 05/30/2009 10:59 PM
Just out of curiousity, what problems were you having with the free floating track? The elements washing out the track? 

Congrats on your start, good time of year to start outside. 

Regards, Greg

We live in a city called Ridgeville and we live between 3 ridges, my street is the lowest one in town so you can imagine the water. Plus the frost heave was a real problem in the spring. This will be much easier to fix movement plus the back yard slopes 2 feet so with this I can run the trains more level.


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks Doug, in well-drained areas, many people have better luck with the system you are changing away from. I completely understand your situation. Are you going to anchor your wood with supports driven below the frost line? I would think the frost heave on your boards would be the same as the ballast unless you anchored it where the frost heave could not affect the anchors. 

Regards, Greg


----------



## Nohandles (Jan 2, 2009)

Yes I should dig down 36 inches and concrete posts in but I am unemployed at the moment so I didn't want to anchor it to well and then have to move it. I've seen several railroads in the area with T post supports and they are not having trouble with frost heave so I believe it will be ok until we are sure we are staying in our house. One other thing I forgot to mention is that my wife has a disease the makes her quit unsteady at times so with the old track system she would stumble and step on the rail causing repairs at times. With the 2x4's down she can step on the top and not do damage. I have 12 new #6 switched and with exeption of 2 they will all be on the 12 inch high portions of the RR where it is unlikely they will be stepped stepped on. Once we know we are stazying for sure I plan to anchor and build dirt up the the road beads for more landscape opportunities.


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Very good Doug, and thanks for the explanation. 

If your #6 switches are Aristo, you might consider the $4 drop in parts for the frogs if you are having the problems I have, the wheels dropping into the frog and excessive wear in the frog itself. They are from Train-Li, and are saving my frogs. 

Regards, Greg


----------



## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Correction Greg. $10 for the frog insert for the NO 6 AC switch. Later RJD


----------



## GG (Jan 1, 2009)

Correction Greg. $10 for the frog insert for the NO 6 AC switch. Later RJD 




Greg had me worried there for a sec...


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Damn... I mis-remembered... well, still a good idea, but just more money.... 

Sorry! 

Greg


----------



## Nicholas Savatgy (Dec 17, 2008)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 06/01/2009 2:09 PM
Damn... I mis-remembered... well, still a good idea, but just more money.... 

Sorry! 

Greg




*Welp thats the 1st thing to go with old age.....HE HE HE







*


----------



## Schlosser (Jan 2, 2008)

Nohandles, I hope you have better luck with pressure treated wood than I have had. I put in a brick sidewalk with edges 'secured' with pressure treated southern yellow pine 4x4s. A year or so later they had warped in two directions, sometimes upward, sometime sideways, sometimes bothways and even with a twist. I read later that that kind of wood must be secured - nailed or screwed - to keep it from warping. 

Have relaid the sidewalk with edges of (nominal) 16x8x2 inch concrete blocks set on edge so that the 2 inch dimension is part of the walk way. The 8 inch vertical side is to keep the walk from sliding down a hill. It needs a whole lot less maintenance than the previous one. 

I have had bad luck with 2x4s, also. They were used as weed blocks under wood fences that came close to the ground but not touching. Thought they would keep varmits from crawling under the fence; not so. 

Art


----------



## Nohandles (Jan 2, 2009)

Greg- thanks for the reminder. I have 3 of those to install. I got them after an earlier discussion about them.
For the pressure treat lumber, each piece is tied with 3- 2x4's with the cup side going up. If I find there needs to be more cross bracing then I can add them at any time. They have been on the patio for a month now and have stayed straight so far. Hope they do. I've made it all the way around to the third side and hope to finish it today so I can start laying track tomorrow.


----------



## Paul Norton (Jan 8, 2008)

Our club railway uses 2 inch thick pressure treated lumber, crown up for roadbed. The scraps are used to join sections together with deck screws. End cuts are sealed with a preservative.

 

We have 6 month long winters and deep frosts. Any frost heaves are usually over by the time the ground around the railway is dry enough for operations.

As the ground is well compacted/undisturbed, we do not dig down to secure the roadbed. The 4 x 4 legs of the older raised portions are set on patio stones, leveled with ballast. The newer construction uses patio stones and deck blocks for the 4 x 4 posts.

 

Last year we removed some PT roadbed that had been down for years to replace the walls around it. 

 

Although it was still in good shape, it was replaced as used in other areas.


----------



## Nohandles (Jan 2, 2009)

Nice looking railroad Paul. The only difference on our RR's is that I was a pattern maker so I trigged out the angle for a 16 inch cord on a 20 foot diameter so the curve hangs on 1/8 of an inch on each side of the 2x4.
I'm down the last 42 feet of the 660 double track main line. Then the there will be a loop on the inner main that will be about 400 feet with a 10 track rail yard on it.


----------



## Nohandles (Jan 2, 2009)

Whooooooooo Haaaaaaaaa, both main lines are in even though it rained off and on all day here. I finally got sick of running for cover and just worked in the rain until it quit around 6.00. Now I can start laying track. Oh Boy, Oh Boy, this it going to be great. I have some really cool up and down ungilation like a real railroad. Once the dirt is built up it will look really cool. My goal it to get something running on the outside main by Sunday. 
Pictures soon.

Doug


----------



## Nohandles (Jan 2, 2009)

Here is one of the first shots with the road bed down. I plan to fill
between and on the outside of the 2x4's and ballast then plant
succulents.


----------



## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Paul Norton on 06/02/2009 2:08 PM
Our club railway uses 2 inch thick pressure treated lumber, crown up for roadbed. The scraps are used to join sections together with deck screws. End cuts are sealed with a preservative.

 










Paul: Just out of curiosity, what is the radius of this turn?? And are those 2 x 10 or 2 x 12 sections mitered together?? You may have solved a problem for me.


Thanks, Bob


----------



## Nohandles (Jan 2, 2009)

I don't have a full diameter since I ran out of rail joiners I couldn't stand it any longer so I cleaned the top of the rail and ran about 300 feet back and forth. It was great running after 7 or 8 years. After running a pair of Atisto RS3's I got brave and got out the Accucraft K27. It ran great even in some spots I was sure would be a problem for it. Now I'll get the window in the basement prepared to have the track run through it again. It worked great accept for some water problems origionally. This time I going to use the window well surround to put back in place after a run to keep the water from coming in again.


----------

