StevePER Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 After lots of procrastinating I've started building. Working around other commitments, and the hot weather, progress is slow. I'm going with the name Swan River Railway because we're about 350m away from the Swan River. Seems as good a name as anything else I could come up with. I've started cutting out the track base using 12mm marine ply. Below is a photo of the first few pieces laid out... doing that has definitely helped to visualise how big it's going to be, and this is only the first stage. The plan is to start with not much more than a loop around the tree, and then add more later. As you can see there are few plants to deal with. We had a truck load of free mulch delivered on Friday and I've started spreading it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Good to see another layout taking shape. If only we'd got a little bit of that sunshine over here What's your plans? How do you propose supporting the ply baseboards? Looking back on my own limited experiences, if you've got ample room available then I would suggest that you try to keep the curves to as large a radius as possible because that always looks much better and results in fewer problems down the line. The ones in your photo look okay although it's difficult to judge what size they actually are. You won't regret making them as large as you possibly can. Keep us informed of progress and well supplied with photos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevePER Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 I'm planning to try something experimental to support the baseboards, namely to use PVC reticulation pipe. It's free (I have plenty in my garden) and it won't attract termites. I'll paint the exposed part with bitumen paint (same as the wood) to hopefully protect it from going brittle in the sun, and fill it with concrete for extra strength. Then each one will be supported with concrete. The curves in the photo are roughly 60" radius, which I think looks pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 60 inch radius curves are no problem and your trains will look great round those once completed. Will be interesting to see your method of baseboard construction/support and how it performs. There's no right or wrong way outdoors and we all have to do what we need to using the materials we have available. I would think PVC will be fine and if filled with concrete then it will certainly be solid enough. Looking forward to photos when you get started on the first ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublecee Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Looks like an interesting start. My only reservation would be when that much starts to dry out and get dusty. You could find yourself servicing your loco's on a very regular basis. Are you keeping the track at that level? Or is that just to show where a knee high wall is to be built? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevePER Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Looks like an interesting start. My only reservation would be when that much starts to dry out and get dusty. You could find yourself servicing your loco's on a very regular basis. Are you keeping the track at that level? Or is that just to show where a knee high wall is to be built? That's a reasonable concern. Underneath the mulch is grey sand, and it's my feeling that mulch will cause less problems. Woodchips might be better but this mulch was free. The track will be raised slightly above ground level. There is a slight slope so how much it's raised will vary across the layout. I don't want to go any higher than knee level if possible (just because I think it will look better close to ground level). Hopefully this, combined with plywood covers on the track, will mitigate the cleaning problems. Putting some plants around should help to. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublecee Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 fair points. From my own perspective, having it raised to around knee level has helped me in two ways... Its given me greater flexability on how I film the runs, and getting good angles when not using wagoncam, and also saves the knees and back when taking care of daily care issues and maintenance. Worth considering, and of course, you can always plant around the raised areas... Here is an example from my own garden https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-V3-y_fx5XoQ/UdHi_PkXmVI/AAAAAAAABdk/cbmulrZzx-8/s640/blogger-image-1388125927.jpg' alt='URL>'> at 6 foot 5, im really grateful for not having to get on my hands and knees to clean track, and in your case, that dust and sand will become less of an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevePER Posted January 30, 2014 Author Share Posted January 30, 2014 A small amount of progress this week. I've attached the first of the PVC "legs" to the track base using Liquid Nails. I'm not certain that Liquid Nails is the right adhesive for the job but it feels strong. I've drilled a hole in a piece of off-cut as a frame to hold it in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublecee Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 interesting approach... keen to see if this holds up to task in hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traingeekboy Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Actually, I've seen layouts down with tubing as a sub bed for the track board. They do make brackets for tubing that I've seen. I used some when I had to build my own shower curtain rod; going the cheap route as usual here. Ot maybe get some metal brackets, L shaped ones, and put on on each side. Are you going to use anything under those boards? I worry that your boards will dip between supports. Hope I don't sound too negative, but I've had to destroy plenty of fine railways due to warped boards. It's no fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevePER Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 I wasn't planning to put anything underneath. I was guessing that the supports would be close enough together that it wouldn't need anything. But it's just a guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traingeekboy Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 Ahh ok. It's worth trying and seeing how it goes. Anything more than 1 foot apart and I would worry about warping as time and weather sneaks into the wood, but if you've seen my layout you'll see that fine craftsman ship is the last thing that comes to mind. he he Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 I wasn't planning to put anything underneath. I was guessing that the supports would be close enough together that it wouldn't need anything. But it's just a guess. How close together will the supports be? I'm no expert when it comes to constructing things and I'm far from qualified to offer the right advice but I do get an uneasy feeling about 12mm plywood without plenty of support - but there again I do tend to over engineer things myself (I'm more into concrete and bricks ) How high will the track bed sit on the posts? Apart from the effects of the elements it's also got to withstand the occasional knock or mishap but I'm sure once you get two or three posts in place you'll get the feel for whether it will be able to withstand everything. I would probably be inclined to add a narrower strip of the same plywood underneath ensuring that they are well fastened together to prevent any possible warping and then give the whole lot a good seal - but that's just my gut feeling. Just do a short section and see what you think first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanR Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 To be safe from the start I would fix 2x1 or 3x1 timber on edge between the supports. Or better still angle iron or angle aluminium. I think you'll probably regret it if you don't! I used steel framing intended for plasterboard walls. Much better to over engineer it than under engineer. Ian R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevePER Posted February 3, 2014 Author Share Posted February 3, 2014 Enough people have commented that you're starting to convince me... I think I'll do a combination of putting supports closer together and adding another bit of timber underneath. It's only going to be at knee height or below, so I'm pretty confident in the supports but the warping has me worried. Maybe I should have done it in concrete from the start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Davidson Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Although I used 18 mm ply my posts are about a meter apart, except the curves where I put more and closer together. So far my layout has held up pretty well considering the elemnts up here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Your main problem will be where two boards join. If this joint can rise up then you'll get a sag elsewhere. I sketched this up years ago but never posted it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevePER Posted February 10, 2014 Author Share Posted February 10, 2014 I've started adding the extra bracing, which is made of lengths of treated pine. I'm almost ready to start the first batch of painting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traingeekboy Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I don't know why I didn't think to post some images sooner than this. For long runs the ideal method is to turn the underneath piece on it's side as it has more strength that way. If you held up up and looked at the end the two piece would make a T shape. I grabbed a shot of a L girder bench work design. Those bigger L shaped girders show what I am talking about. http://www.eldoradosoft.com/images/3pi/object_design/Bench4x8.gif' alt='URL>'> My style of benchwork is based on that only I simplify it so that I have a long piece as support. like the black painted 1x2 here. It is supported by a 2x4 right into the gound 18", but it's dry enough to do that here. Sadly hardly any photos of the underneath part of my layout as it's not what I want people to see. http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6208/6124448074_b7f1a52450_o.jpg' alt='URL>'> Then I top that with my plywood. http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6168/6139213412_f293401736_o.jpg' alt='URL>'> In one place I have a long section of about 8' I used a 2x4 for that part as I needed more strength. http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6136/6012280221_c8654fd1ae_o.jpg' alt='URL>'> Hope that helps. Of note is that I am an inherently lazy builder. So for me less is more. So far so good after what three years of having the layout out in the weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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