Developments On Grant's Railroad

2021 Garden Railroad Rebuild

We thank Grant for sending along these amazing images of his rebuild of the garden raiIroad as well as the wonderful "back story" and captions.  What follows is in Grant's own words.

 I built my first Garden Railroad 30 years ago (boy, time sure does fly by) which was a simple loop with a passing siding. The roster consisted of the LGB 2-6-0 mogul plus a handful of LGB cars. The trains ran on track power. The general inspiration for the railroad was the Denver South Park & Pacific Railroad of the 1890’s.

Over the succeeding years the railroad “moved” to other locations around the property as we evolved the flower gardens, with each move the railroad grew in size while retaining in the concept of a “railroad in a garden”.

Unfortunately the current version languished over the past 10 years as other priorities consumed my time. The railroad soon fell into disrepair and saw limited “train” action. This layout consisted of two return loops connected with a single track and had a couple of passing sidings. The layout was designed more for running trains round-and-round as opposed to operations.

Fast forward to spring 2020 where an unrelated event rekindled interest in the railroad.  Our septic system decided that after 50 years of receiving the family waste, it was no longer going to accept any more. This resulted in replacing the septic tank and weeping bed which required removal of one half of the railroad. I also retired last year which meant I had more time for the hobbies and with the pandemic Lock Downs, I was “forced” to turn my attention to the railroad!

Upon further inspection of the remaining part of the railroad (referred to as the Southern Loop)  we determined certain pieces required rebuilding as the underlying 2x8 road bed had essentially dissolved.  I started with the curve at the far south end of the railroad as it was also experiencing operational problems as well since the curve wasn’t uniform and was “pinched” in a few spots. The following describes the rebuilding of this section of the roadbed.

Click on the image of the track plan to enlarge it for better viewing.  Click outside the track plan to return to the default look of the page.

Our property has a gentle downward slope to the rear fence thus providing interesting topography for the train to run through though the track is perfectly level. This loop is bordered by a vegetable garden on the right, lawn & upper patio behind the retaining wall and more lawn on the left. In the middle we have the lower patio with the rest of the space filled with flower gardens. The track parallels the rear fence as it heads towards the Northern Loop.

I never thought to take pictures before I commenced ripping up the old trackage so I don’t have a “before” view. The Micro Engineering track was mounted on 2x8 pressure treated lumber that sat on stone dust / dirt. The track was carefully removed as it will be reused.

What was left of the wood went into the trash.

This work was performed during the exceptionally warm April days which was before the flower gardens had woken from their winter slumber thus making  access to the right of way easier.

Once we laid the removed track beside the other curve on this loop we could see how erratic the curve was hence trains were prone to derailing.

To make life easier on us we used the patio’s flat surface to lay out the new roadbed which was made from sections 2x8 PT wood screwed together. Through careful measurement of the construction site, we determined a uniform curve with a radius of 6 ft 9 in would fit the space nicely. A compass was fashioned from a piece of string which ensured the wood pieces were cut and fashioned together correctly. After assembly, the track’s centre line was then drawn on the boards.

The new roadbed assembly was then lifted into place. You can see here how the old roadbed did not have a uniform radius!

The new curve alignment required a change to the turn out leading to the passing track. Originally the right hand switch was on the curve but it’s branch radius (LGB turnout) was significantly tighter than the new 6ft 9 in radius thus we had to move the switch forward to the straight section of track.

Here is the turnout in the new location. Relocating the turnout has shortened the passing siding by a couple of feet so we decided to move the far turnout the same amount thus retaining the capacity of the siding.

Once the location of the sub roadbed was sorted out and attached to the existing roadbed, crushed stone was shoved under the 2x8’s and leveled. The expectation is the crushed stone will provide better drainage than the previous stone dust. The track was then re-installed but with the kinks removed!

The back side of the curve connects to a Howe truss bridge. Some fine tuning of the trackage is still required but in the mean time the trains transverse this section under a slow order.

The Connie taking a short train through the new trackage – smooth running!

The Connie running past the Hancock Station. Note the track gang is in the process of completing the passing siding.

A few days of focused effort was required to repair this section of track which, based on the vast operational improvements, was well worth the effort! Unfortunately, through running the test trains, we discovered a track problem on another section of the layout that requires attention, more on that later.  Grant.

We thank Grant for this amazing posting covering the recent developments on his Garden Railroad.  We look forward to seeing more pics and stories from this awesome looking railroad in the near future, Grant!

All the best, Mike Hamer, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

New Canopy Goes In

 New Canopy Goes In

We thank Bernie for the pics and the captions!

Saturday was a work day for a small group of volunteers to put up the new tarp. After unwrapping the tarp, the first thing Fred noticed was that there was no valance as a water drip. The requirement for the valance was verbally transmitted and obviously did not get to the production floor. Nevertheless, the tarp is a good fit and appears to be well made. It will mean protection from the mid-summer sun and the occasional rain. We will have to jury rig something to protect the backboard and shelf from water drip.

There was an install crew of four; Lawrence, Marcel, Chris and Bernie. Fred was the foreman and go-fur, steadying ladders, handing out tie wraps and the tail snipper.  

 The tarp is unpackaged and ladders in place.

 Lawrence is untying rope that will be thread through the tarp so that it can be pulled over the structure.

Marcel is handing the rope to Bernie, who is on a ladder, to feed over the structure. Once done, the ropes on both ends were in place and the tarp was pulled over the frame. It worked really well.

Marcel and Lawrence installing the first corner tie wrap under the watchful eye of Fred.

Chris is pulling the tarp tight positioning the opposite corner for its tie wrap.

The four corners are tied down and Chris is installing tie wraps on one end.

 Marcel is trying out a lamp to see if it fits. Alas, it was a little too large.

Fred helps Marcel attach one of the lights. 

 Lawrence taking a break.

 Marcel and Chris brought out the ever important fridge. Marcel is looking at a piece of steel hardware wondering where it goes. No one knows.

                 Chris checking that all of the grommets are tied down.

Freddy standing outside the newly tarped structure. The top of the tarp is actually white.

 Moe showed up and sits with Chris and Marcel to admire the lovely new tarp.

             Time to play as Marcel runs his CPR FA around the layout.

Again, thanks to all of our volunteers who devoted their time to setting up the new canopy tarp.  Your efforts are greatly appreciated by all members!  Here's to the time when we'll all be able to gather to run some trains!

All the best, Mike Hamer, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Spring Clean-Up

Spring Clean-Up

We thank Bernie for sending us these great looking pics from the earliest of the spring cleanups!

What follows is Bernie's account of the work being done on the railroad.

Once the OVAR Interchange and the Zoom display is done, I take a week off. Local walks and yard work take up most of my time now that summer appears to be here. Some of us got over to Freddie's on Saturday to do yard work. The grass was quite deep, so it needed cutting. Still lots of leaves around Firgrove. Malcolm is continuing to realign the retaining walls.  Lawrence has done a great job realigning the stone work. He will also be working on the bridge. Freddie and Andrew were adjusting and lubricating switches. Marcel is back from Arizona after his 14 days of isolation and negative tests. Marcel ran a CN RDC around the layout. Andrew brought a brand new shiny Burlington GP-7. Doing yard work at Freddie's gave me a break from doing yard work at home.  A few photos to whet your appetites.

Friar Fred is praying to Mecca, as Bernie tells us!  (I think Fred needs to turn 90 degrees to the right!  Hehehe!)

Marcel helped clean the track and ran his RDC as Lawrence worked on the stone work.

Andrew unboxed his pretty Burlington GP-7 and ran it as well. He also helped Fred adjust and lubricate switches.

The pond has been filled and loose stone on top. We will have to get patio stones on it because the chairs sink in.

 I also filled four cans of needles from Mount St. Helens. They had been raked into piles so the lads could spread excess stone dust in the shaded walkway area.  There was a lot of stone left so they spread it around by Bell, Spruce and Mount St Helens. It is deep in places and I am not sure how we are going to be able to rake the high quantity of needles that will surely fall on the this loose stone. I really think we are going to have to get patio stones down on that area.

Marcel examines his RDC as it takes the curve out from Glen Hammond.

Lawrence is hard at work focusing his efforts on the retaining wall near the junction.

Those walls look great!  Thanks go out to Lawrence and Malcolm.

The leaves around Fir Grove were ankle deep.  Four bags were filled from this area alone.

Love the new addition to the fleet, Andrew!

She's a true beauty!

 

Firgrove looks a lot cleaner now!

Lots of items to be picked up curbside!

Thanks, Bernie, for sharing all of these great photographs.  When restrictions are lifted and we are able to gather (with social distancing in mind) and without the threat of serious fines we should be able to assemble the canopy in preparation for some form of train running hopefully in the near future!

All the best,

Mike Hamer, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada