Chris Kieffer said:
You can’t have just 1 ballast hopper.
Hmmmmm……… why are those wise words bouncing around in my head?
After two long days, the mighty WORK 900 has managed to move all of the ballast to the backyard.
So, how many trips did that one car make??? (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Andy, I don’t even want to think about it. The conductor was keeping tally marks, but I think he ran out of ink one hour in.
After the first day, I had to stare at the photo on the driveway and convince myself that I had actually made a dent in it.
This stuff is really nice to work with. We had a heavy rain last night and nothing moved. Today it is nice and hard. I’ve been busy trying to level things out. I think it may be a week before I can throw some track down.
Shane
Well, it’s raining again, so I guess I’ll post a progress report.
I’ve been leveling the roadbed using a piece of fence post and a level, and it seems to be working pretty good. I put out some track to get an idea of how things are going to fit, and it’s laying nice and flat. I’ve decided that I’ll run a double main around the outside of the yard to get operations up and running. Once the switchyard area is complete, I’ll work on removing grass and laying the main lines.
Next year my plan is to rebuild the deck. I’m going to shorten it by four feet to give me a little more “train” room. I plan on laying a couple of lines running under the deck while the area is exposed. The grand plan is to have four loops, with a yard and some industries. A second double main will run about a foot higher. The left will be a city, the top and right will be prairie, and the bottom will be mountains built into the side of the deck.
I figure over the next few years, I can work on each permanent area, and run detour track as needed to keep operations up and running. I have about 1500’ of track, so I think I should have enough. I only have 14 switches, so I may have to purchase a few more as work progresses.
Shane
Once you get a train running … then you can move on… step by step … (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)great progress so far …
Everything has been roughly set up. Now I need to mark everything and start digging. All the gravel that used to sit around the deck is currently stored in the upper right corner under the trees, so the track has to avoid that area for now.
Shane
NICE !
Shane Stewart said:
Chris Kieffer said:
You can’t have just 1 ballast hopper.
Hmmmmm……… why are those wise words bouncing around in my head?
You can always lease Herzog ?
Ten neighborhood kids with Tonka trucks would have that pile moved in no time.
Chris Kieffer said:
Ten neighborhood kids with Tonka trucks would have that pile moved in no time.
My boy all but wet himself when I dumped a load of 3/4 minus for sub roadbed almost 15yrs ago. But he got all his stuff out and moved them for hours.
Judging by what it did to my wheelbarrow, I’d be stuck repainting all of their Tonka trucks. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)
Looks good Big Bird…ah…I mean Rooster. My bridge can only handle one track. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cry.gif)What did you use for your bridge deck ties? They look great.
Shane
Shane,
The deck ties are ripped down redwood which is spaced so the track ties float in between (as you can see). I then just spray painted them black with very heavy coats. I know the material was 5/8" thick and I believe I ripped it into 3/4" strips making them 3/4" high x 5/8" wide. The entire bridge is 1/2" box steel with 2 beams running down the middle supporting the ties.
However your bridge is WAY more detailed than mine and pretty awesome…nice work!!
Thanks Rooster. I’ll add that to my book of “G”. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
I called the County today to see if I could drop off sod at the recycling depot. I can’t, but they said as long as I don’t go over 200 LBS, I can slowly get rid of it using my green bin each week. I’ve started piling it up along the side of the house. Fun, fun. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-sealed.gif)This will be a little tricky, as the truck will reject any bin over 200 LBS… I’ll have to be careful.
Shane
You could hang the sod on the fence and let it dry out making it a lot lighter and possibly even fall apart ?
Or give it someone who could use it
Rooster, drying it will help. I have it tarped to protect it from the daily rain we’ve been getting.
David, unfortunately, I didn’t put enough care in the removal to make it reusable.
This looks like a great start. Love the overhead shot.