Laying track in grass

[yanksali]

New to garden railroading. Is laying track on grass recommended or should tracks be elevated for a better eye view?

what is best method to lay tracks on grass? Remove strip of grass, add a weed barrier and just use ballast to secure tracks in place?

What kind ind of ballast is best?
House is Houston area where there are few days of frost.

If I wanted to have tracks go from ground level to an elevated position do they sell elevated structures or must you build your own?

 

[dunnyrail]

New to garden railroading. Is laying track on grass recommended or should tracks be elevated for a better eye view?

what is best method to lay tracks on grass? Remove strip of grass, add a weed barrier and just use ballast to secure tracks in place?

What kind ind of ballast is best?
House is Houston area where there are few days of frost.

If I wanted to have tracks go from ground level to an elevated position do they sell elevated structures or must you build your own?

Wow lots of questions.
1 you can lay Track on grass quite happily, I did this on a Garden many years back using LGB Track to form a return loop to a Terminal Station that was the first bit of permanent line. The temporary loop moved up the Garden to maintain running as I moved the line up the Garden withbpermanently laid area’s. Only issue is that you need to lift to cut the Grass.

2 so just straight in the grass for temporary. For permanent you can do as you said, rather than barrier I prefer black plastic sheet with a few knife cuts at the bottom to stop water pulling, suppresses weeds much better.

3 For Ballast you could use Postcrete laid dry then watered in. Be careful near Points, best to Greese or Oil the moving parts when you do this. Will make for a quick layout. I did one for a friend like this with around 150ft of Track in just 3 days.

4 you are more than likely to need to build your own elevated parts, though LGB make Bridge Piers and sloping piers to get to a height.

 

[Rhinochugger]

Products come with different labels n the other side of the pond.

I like track at ground level, and yes, simply remove the sods of grass, weed control matting is good as it allows drainage, and for ballast, I tend to use 6mm stone chippings loose - the track will bed into it in time, but it doesn't get sucked up a garden leaf vacuum. you can occasionally belt a small stake into the ground through the matting as a method of fixing the track where clearances are important.

For raised track bed, there are a variety of approaches, but in the UK there is a re-cycled material called Filcris (think of plastic wood) which allows you to make up ladder sections the correct width for 45mm track.

 

[JimmyB]

My is laid on grass with a slope:

This id the preparation:

New Layout 1

• JimmyB
• 10 Jun 2018

Using block for the elevation

IMG_0252_1.jpg

• JimmyB
• 8 Jul 2018

Gradient block work

 

[yanksali]

Thanks for the replies. What is postcrete, where do you buy it?
Where can you get 6mm loose stone chipping?
Are those cinder blocks or gray bricks? Looks good but also looks like you need some masonry skills to cut

 

[JimmyB]

Postcreate is ready mixed cement for fixing post i.e. just add water mix and pour. stone chippings normal from a Garden Centre, and the block are aerated blocks (thermolite), which can be cut with a wood saw, and just mortared together. have look at this thread for the blocks lazy-building

 

[adverse camber]

I agree that direct on grass is only good for temporary. Eventuually the grass needs cutting and doing that without damaging or taking up the track can be difficult. I know first hand that when strimmers and sleepers do not mix well and the sleeper always comes of worse.

When I started out with my first and second layout many years ago I fixed the track down to a concrete bed to which you probably could have anchored artillery and not have it move. However it is a pain to take the track up for any reason, even worse to adjust or modify and very time consuming hard work to lay.

My current layout (>300meters) combines two of the methods discussed above in some areas it is raised as illustrated and in others at ground level on granite chipping (called grano) which I buy from a local aggregate merchant in one ton bags. This allows movement with heat expansion and the odd knock. It is easy to take up and put back down again and modify.

As suggested above line the trench for the grano with a weed fabric and I line the sides with broken paving stone to retain the grano and keep it away from the soil of the beds though which it runs.

For the elevated areas, I have used both sleepers (massive and make good retaining walls but heavy and expensive) and 12mm marine grade ply on a frame of 25x50timber screwed to 100mm posts banged in the ground much as illustrated. If I were doing it again I would have either used much cheaper ply and covered it with roofing felt. Even marine grade will only last about 10 years if regularly damp, or have bitten the bullet and gone for one of the plastic sheet materials mentioned above. they are very expensive but would probably see us all out.

 

[dunnyrail]

I agree that direct on grass is only good for temporary. Eventuually the grass needs cutting and doing that without damaging or taking up the track can be difficult. I know first hand that when strimmers and sleepers do not mix well and the sleeper always comes of worse.

When I started out with my first and second layout many years ago I fixed the track down to a concrete bed to which you probably could have anchored artillery and not have it move. However it is a pain to take the track up for any reason, even worse to adjust or modify and very time consuming hard work to lay.

My current layout (>300meters) combines two of the methods discussed above in some areas it is raised as illustrated and in others at ground level on granite chipping (called grano) which I buy from a local aggregate merchant in one ton bags. This allows movement with heat expansion and the odd knock. It is easy to take up and put back down again and modify.

As suggested above line the trench for the grano with a weed fabric and I line the sides with broken paving stone to retain the grano and keep it away from the soil of the beds though which it runs.

For the elevated areas, I have used both sleepers (massive and make good retaining walls but heavy and expensive) and 12mm marine grade ply on a frame of 25x50timber screwed to 100mm posts banged in the ground much as illustrated. If I were doing it again I would have either used much cheaper ply and covered it with roofing felt. Even marine grade will only last about 10 years if regularly damp, or have bitten the bullet and gone for one of the plastic sheet materials mentioned above. they are very expensive but would probably see us all out.

There is another form of Plastic Sheet in UK called Eco Board. Comes in 8x4ft Sheets, is great and easy enough to cut to all sorts of baseboard requirements. It is however fairly thin and does require quite good support, I have used Wicks Tannalised Gravel Board on my Friends Layout (approx 3x1inch). We have covered the Eco Board with Good Quality Roofing Felt with an inch or two overhang at each side so that Water does not creep under the board to the Wood. This system should give many years service, probably seeing out even the under 60’s amongst us.

 

[Rhinochugger]

Thanks for the replies. What is postcrete, where do you buy it?
Where can you get 6mm loose stone chipping?
Are those cinder blocks or gray bricks? Looks good but also looks like you need some masonry skills to cut

Postcrete is a sand / aggregate mix that has some form of additive to reduce shrinkage - it's a UK brand name and the idea is that you can chuck it in the hole dry, pour water on top, and it will set rock solid without the normal shrinkage associated with mixing water to sand and aggregate (reverse of bulking)

There's probably a US equivalent - try looking under fencing materials

 

[RogerK]

Postcrete is a sand / aggregate mix that has some form of additive to reduce shrinkage - it's a UK brand name and the idea is that you can chuck it in the hole dry, pour water on top, and it will set rock solid without the normal shrinkage associated with mixing water to sand and aggregate (reverse of bulking)

There's probably a US equivalent - try looking under fencing materials

That would be QUIKRETE® Fast-Setting Concrete Mix. Sets posts without mixing, pour dry mix into hole and soak with water.

Also, I don't think the US has a product equivalent to Thermolite. Wish they did

 

[dunnyrail]

That would be QUIKRETE® Fast-Setting Concrete Mix. Sets posts without mixing, pour dry mix into hole and soak with water.

Sounds about right, the UK stuff sets within minutes.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

Thermalite is "foam concrete", composed of quartz sand, calcined gypsum, lime, cement, water and aluminum powder,

Known in the world as AAC (Autoclaved Areated Concrete), there are manufacturers and dealers in the US

Search "AAC blocks usa for sale"

here's a company in Florida Aercon AAC Autoclaved Aerated Concrete

Greg

 

[Gavin Sowry]

Check out my thread 'Taita Gorge Railway' in Large Scale Pictures..... 19 years of practical experience (and advice).

 

[Greg Elmassian]

Where's pictures? I see media... no help... the drop down has a search media, and "Taita" returns zero results.

Can you make a link?

Greg (clearly the link in your signature does not work as you said)

 

[Gavin Sowry]

Where's pictures? I see media... no help... the drop down has a search media, and "Taita" returns zero results.

Can you make a link?

Greg (clearly the link in your signature does not work as you said)

Go to Forums, then Large Scale Pictures, then Taita Gorge Railway (it's near the top).

 

[Perry]

Please ignore the dates. These were taken during July 1918 as I constructed my layout. It's double tracked with interchange turnouts & is fully operational now. Construction took about two months.

 

[Perry]

 

[PhilP]

Please ignore the dates.

These were taken during July 1918

...

I doubt that Mamod loco is that old Perry?


But the 'modus-operandi' applies, whatever the period..

Do you have any finished-article photo's?

 

[PhilP]

What others have said regarding track in/on grass..

No reason not to just 'get something down' and have a play..



Well, until the next time you need to cut the grass!

 

[Perry]

Oh, good grief, 2018.

As you can see, I am not good with a camera in closeup. The 4 wheel coach is a pottery planter, hot glued onto a wood chassis with lolly sticks for the roof. It sits on a siding during better weather to add character. The wheels are redundant Mamod drivers slid onto a couple of lengths of steel rod for axles & kept to gauge by wrapping electrical solder along the axles. It's not for hauling!

The snowplough is fabricated with lead sheet, epoxy resin adhesive & hot glued to a block of wood. It's very heavy & requires two Mamod power, but it punches through an inch of snow. The red SL1 has RMW 40 psi copper boiler with water gauge, regulator, displacement lubricator, steel wheel, connecting rods & improved cylinders & pistons. The green SL1 has original boiler set at 25 psi, with regulator & lubricator.. Both are gas fired.