Removing the 'hump' in Melaleuca baseboard

[gregh]

I built Melaleuca station in 1994, on a 3` wide by 20` long `basedboard` supported on timber `legs` at 4` spacing. It is adjacent to a large Melaleuca tree – hence the name.
Recently a 25mm high `hump` has developed in the centre apparently due to a tree root pushing up the legs. And naturally the hump occurred at a set of points to make it dificult for trains to stay on track.

So today I cut 50mm out of the two (back and front) legs and lowered it by 25mm. That leaves another 25mm for future hump removal!

So here`s the sequence.

The situation before I started. The hump is not that noticeable but it is there!
(the grey box is the now disused track power switching box. I should remove it and the wiring but I still remember lying on my back under there installing the colour coded wires and couldn`t bring myself to snip them all off!)


I installed tempory supports either side of the leg to be cut, then attacked the leg with a circular saw.


After much cursing the stuck saw blade, I managed to remove the 50mm section


I then used bits of packing in the gap and removed the temporary supports when the height was correct. I repeated with the back leg and then I then bolted aluminium brackets across the gaps


Replaced the lattice and the finished product looks like this.


This shows the profile of the baseboard before and after the work ( vertical scale is very exagerated)


And I managed to do the work without damaging anything. Amazing 8)

 

[mike]

nicely done Greg..the joy of having a wooden raised railway.. wood rot, and ground heave..sweeling and shrinking.. and thats just me..

 

[dunnyrail]

Nice job Gregh.

I have a much smaller hump to deal with as well. But mine I think will be trickier to do as it was due to inadequate build on my behalf! There ia a Track below that is causing a lack of a simple solution. Hope I can manage a similar no damage as you have.
JonD

 

[ge_rik]

Why is it that these problems always seem to occur where there is pointwork? I had to tackle the opposite problem, part of my baseboard had dropped. I kept putting off repairing it until it reached the point where I simply had to do something. In the end, it wasn't as bad a job as I expected. Just concreted in another leg and attached a new cross member to support the saggy bit.

Rik