Proposed new SBLR - need advice about wood for track support.

[dunnyrail]

Can I please tentatively suggest you rethink about your artificial grass? It does last very long, and sunlight causes it to turn blue in a few years! It's also not environmentally friendly, as it stops the bugs from doing whatever bugs do, and no bugs, everything goes to pot. I know a lit of people use it, and it obviously negates the need for mowing, but it will still need weeding, and the weeds will be deep rooted jobs that will be a b*gg*r to remove

I think it depends on the turf, I have some offcuts from when next door did his garden lawn and that stuff is still fresh green after 3-4 years in his garden and the bits mine plus being in full sun all day. I also have some cheepo Lidl stuff that has weathered with dirt but not gone blue but has attracted some moss in places that makes it look more acceptable. But yes would never turn my lawn into artificial stuff, not so good for the dog and let us not mention what dogs do on grass! But yes nextdoor does have to weed his artificial stuff, but for many getting older I can see the attraction of not having to cut grass every week in the season but do agree with the bugs and miniature organisations sentiments. Below from next door.

Lidl

 

[GAP]

Having my previous incarnation of the SBLR built at ground level , the railway was supported either on buried blocks or on floating ballast. Worked well in Florida and lasted for 15 years until our move to Georgia earlier this year. As I’ve reported, trying to find a flat area up our mountain is a challenge. My latest scheme is to run the line elevated and hung off brackets from the fence. I’ve attached a photo of the fenced area (ignore the red annotations, they were for a company that’s going to be laying artificial turf). My aim is to have brackets off the inside of the fence to carry the track. Obviously there will be more elaborate constructions at the station end. However my request is about the wood to use for the the actual track bed. I don’t want to use reclaimed stuff like Filcris (not available in the US anyway) as I think the structural integrity of wood will be better. My thought is to use a treated timber board. Do those of you who’ve done this cover the wood with anything? I’ve seen people using roofing felt, but not sure if this is available in this part of the US. We do have roof shingles, but it’s not quite the same.

Hence my request for suggestions. Many thanks in advance everyone.

View attachment 314034

This is how I did mine the timber framework and supports are hardwood but treated timber same as the fence is made of should be just fine.
For the track bed I used fibre cement sheeting, it is weatherproof relatively cheap I use the stuff made to go under eaves coated in an acrylic paint.
It is easy to cut with a diamond blade in an angle grinder (very dusty so wear a mask, I can screw straight into it to hold the track in place. Been up for nearly 4 years and not even looking like deteriorating.

"Mainline" Construction Logs

The construction of the railway mainline began in August 2019. I divided the construction of the railway into 6 separate stages. Stage 1...

ringbalin-light-railway.blogspot.com

 

[Martino]

No final decision on the artificial grass yet. However real grass will apparently not survive long here. Maybe two years and then will need replacing. So that’s $16000 every two or three years. The area is on multiple slopes and has dogs walking all over it. With the water run off and dog walking it will become a mud bath very fast. The mulch that is there has been down under a year and has already washed and worn away in may areas. We’ll hav to see what the warranty is like but apparently it’s quite robust. We want to discourage the ticks and bugs in the dog/train area. The rest of the 9.25 acres is wild preserve so there are plenty of bugs and wildlife out there. Mowing real grass on this area would also be a major challenge. Lastly, I’d have to install an irrigation system. more cost and would put a strain on our well and water filtration system.

 

[GAP]

No final decision on the artificial grass yet. However real grass will apparently not survive long here. Maybe two years and then will need replacing. So that’s $16000 every two or three years. The area is on multiple slopes and has dogs walking all over it. With the water run off and dog walking it will become a mud bath very fast. The mulch that is there has been down under a year and has already washed and worn away in may areas. We’ll hav to see what the warranty is like but apparently it’s quite robust. We want to discourage the ticks and bugs in the dog/train area. The rest of the 9.25 acres is wild preserve so there are plenty of bugs and wildlife out there. Mowing real grass on this area would also be a major challenge. Lastly, I’d have to install an irrigation system. more cost and would put a strain on our well and water filtration system.

Try grass alternatives look for "steppable" plants a few examples below

Grass Alternatives: 12 Low-Maintenance Lawn Replacements

Wish you could ditch your grass altogether? Or, how about replacing your lawn or part of your yard with a stepable carpet? Before you put down yet more grass seed, discover 10 grass alternatives.

www.almanac.com

 

[Greg Elmassian]

yeah, it does not turn blue any more, that problem solved. He lives in Georgia, there are plenty of bugs all around, a small plot without bugs won't cause global warming or killing all insects!

Watering on fill? no problem, grass does not have deep roots in general (weeds do)

If you put the correct base and underlayment, you don't get weeds coming through.

Paul: it must be very different in the UK!

 

[JimmyB]

If you put the correct base and underlayment, you don't get weeds coming through.

some weeds will punch through anything, otherwise eradicating them would be easy.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

With the drought here in California, many people have artificial grass. I don't see any weeds. Of course I did specify proper materials, underlayment and installation.

Most people have the top layer of dirt removed, then sprayed with weed killer, then coarse sand underlayment and then a barrier of some type and then the artificial turf.

Where I live, cheap products are not allowed by the homeowners association, nor inappropriate preparation. Perhaps that is my viewpoint, but for small areas, how hard is it to do it "right"?

(one can always find a way to do any task poorly)

 

[JimmyB]

With the drought here in California, many people have artificial grass. I don't see any weeds. Of course I did specify proper materials, underlayment and installation.

Most people have the top layer of dirt removed, then sprayed with weed killer, then coarse sand underlayment and then a barrier of some type and then the artificial turf.

Where I live, cheap products are not allowed by the homeowners association, nor inappropriate preparation. Perhaps that is my viewpoint, but for small areas, how hard is it to do it "right"?

(one can always find a way to do any task poorly)

I appreciate you environment is different to the UK, but take one particular weed "Japanese Knot-weed" this is a "notifiable" weed and can take years and thousands of £s to eradicate. The other thing is, most of the UK (if not all) do not have a HOA, in fact I have never heard of one in the UK, and have no idea of their purpose.

 

[Paul M]

Paul: it must be very different in the UK!

I hope so, otherwise what would the point in travelling?
Obviously trying real grass on raised lines won't work, and there is the obviously benefit of not having to cut it, but it still needs careful consideration to replace a whole lawn with it, as Jon says, animals hate the stuff!

 

[PhilP]

What's a 'HOA'?

Can't spot it in the thread..

PhilP

 

[GAP]

What's a 'HOA'?

Can't spot it in the thread..

PhilP

Home Owners Association? #27

 

[Rhinochugger]

err…….yes. The line would need to be at various levels. It’s all do-able I suppose. I think that once the wood treatment and the grass is sorted a major measuring session is called for. I’d like to have a station area with buildings and that I think I can accomplish along side the wood retaining wall actually under the porch on stilts. That would provide some cover too. Then I would extend a single running line with a passing place that would run around the fence. That would be at various levels relative to the fence in order to keep things level-ish. Then ending up in a ground level area over to the far side. No continuous run, or at least I can’t see how that could be accomplished at the moment.
Measuring tape and spirit level is waiting in my future.

If it were me (and of course it isn't) I would start at ground level or just above close to the house where it's higher and run out level from that. I don't know how high that would come up the fence posts.

It might be possible to provide posts inside of the fence posts, clamped rather than bolted to them, as an independent support for the railway.

Those timber baulks that are facing up the earthworks below the fence line make an excellent running base for a single line 45mm track, and they're obviously treated for longevity, so something like that could be used where the rail is nearer the ground. (That was how my first line, the WWSR was constructed with a two-foot drop across the garden.) I would advise against putting a water-proof felt or membrane on top of timber - it traps moisture underneath, and timber will last longer if the airflow allows it to stay dry naturally. I know Jon (Dunnyrail) has used it, but it goes against my builder's instincts.

 

[Rhinochugger]

I appreciate you environment is different to the UK, but take one particular weed "Japanese Knot-weed" this is a "notifiable" weed and can take years and thousands of £s to eradicate. The other thing is, most of the UK (if not all) do not have a HOA, in fact I have never heard of one in the UK, and have no idea of their purpose.

One of the worst things that permeates through traditional weed-control membrane is bluebells - another invasive plant (although not notifiable) which, in the garden can be a PITA. However, again, this may well be a European plant, but I bet there are plenty of US species that do the same.

 

[PhilP]

I am fighting (wild) Wood Anemone in the front garden..

I seem to be winning under the front hedge, but it appears to have choked-put all the snowdrops Mum planted in the long bed. - This bed is also full of (mainly blue) Bluebells..

PhilP

 

[Martino]

A Home Owners Association (HOA) or Property Owners Association (POA) is a resident-run group that governs a neighborhood or multi-unit building, primarily by making and enforcing rules to follow if you live there. They do (or similar things) exist in the UK. I know because I have sat as a director on a couple. They sound to the uninitiated as a pain, and indeed they can be, although by and large they are a force for good. Our POA would not allow artificial grass in public visible areas. However the area we are looking at is basically a ‘dog run’ deep inside our property. I am not proposing replacing an existing lawn. This is an area of hillside around part of the house that has been build up to provide the dog area. It’s on a steep slope. It drains very well. IF (and it’s a big IF) we go down this route it will not present an environmental issue. The Preserve is a 1600 acre gated community and is dedicated to being ‘natural’. No community golf courses, tennis courts etc. Just a few nature trails. There are rules about what can and cannot be done to maintain the forest, waterfalls and creeks. The aim is to keep as much of the flora as indigenous as possible. All properties are a minimum of 3 acres. Ours is 9.25 acres. The vast majority of our property will never be walked on by humans - certainly not by me - it’s too steep and heavily wooded. The area I’m talking about for our dog run area is a minuscule area in comparison. The possibility of putting a garden railway in the area is a bonus. It’s not a ‘garden’ in the British sense, and not really a ‘yard’ in the US way.

I also have an area at the front of the house that is terraced and stepped and may be a better place for a more conventional railway, although that will also have challenges.

Thanks for the advice about not putting roofing felt or similar on any supporting wood. That makes perfect sense. Indeed the suggestion not to have ballast on the tracks is also good. That may be a reason why I don’t go down this route as I like my railway to look relatively realistic, with a ballasted track (see the link to the South Buckinghamshire Light Railway Facebook below). I’m not much into raised lines on stilts. Each to his own etc.

I greatly appreciate the advice from everyone. Many thanks.

 

[Paul M]

All properties are a minimum of 3 acres. Ours is 9.25 acres

Shows the difference in size between you and Britain, that sort of area in Cambridgeshire would have 3 dozen houses, a block of flats, or 2, and a supermarket. No room for grass, artificial or otherwise

 

[Martino]

But then again there rural areas of the UK - Lincolnshire for example - that have large areas that are not built up. Same here in the US, just 40 mins down the road Atlanta is a major urban city.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

And downtown Atlanta, Georgia:

was crowded even in 1889 !!!

 

[Paul M]

But then again there rural areas of the UK - Lincolnshire for example - that have large areas that are not built up. Same here in the US, just 40 mins down the road Atlanta is a major urban city.

Yes, but there's an awful lot more room in America, and we need Lincolnshire to grow our food

 

[dunnyrail]

Yes, but there's an awful lot more room in America, and we need Lincolnshire to grow our food

Though with the latest figures of immigration one can imagine the whole of UK turning into some kind of ‘Blade Runner’ type single Town in time.