Welcome back

Well, a lot has been going on in the garden this summer, and I'm proud to say that the railroad is now fully operational!  Later on when it's not so hot I'll bring the trains out for filming again.  Anyways though, this post isn't really about the railroad, but more about what I learned building three railroads in five years.

I'll start first with the first railroad:


Built in 2008-09, this railroad was very simple, using section curved track, and four switches.  It was essentially an L shaped oval with a pond and a small yard in the middle.  you can see in the diagram below:

The railroad was quite fun to watch, but not much fun to operate.  By the time the big move came to South Dakota, this railroad was really just gathering dust.  I longed to have some operation in my railroad, not just display tracks and a loop.

But that doesn't mean this railroad had some good points too.  For a beginner, this railroad is quite fun, and affordable.  the design allowed operation from anywhere, and the train could be accessed from every angle.  The brick patio (grey blocks) allowed an operator to set tools and work, as well as pitch a lawn chair an watch.  There was also a railroad tie seat.

With that said, let's go over what I did right:

• I built the railroad so that it could easily be maintained and operated.  I allowed at least 3 feet of space all the way around the railroad except for the right side of the pond which went up against some low trees.  Ironically, that was the least troubled spot on the railroad.
• The railroad had easy access to electricity.  A 50ft extension cord could reach the railroad from the house, and was easy to pick up.  Since it was only one outlet though, I couldn't have anything else.
• I provided drainage fro the whole railroad.  The railroad had a large retaining wall about 2 1/2 feet in height running along the North (bottom) side as shown in the diagram by the red line.  Behind the wall, I had set a PVC pipe with holes drilled in it to provide drainage.  It ran from  the middle left, to the lower right hand corner, exiting on the right.  This allowed the pipe to have both a slope, and drain about 2/3 of the railroad.
• I made the tunnel short.  The general rule of thumb is to not have a tunnel longer than you can reach.  I can reach about 30-34" from one side.  I also recommend making an area of overlap, that can be reached from both sides.  So if I just use 30" for my reach, I can have a 60" (5ft) tunnel.  Really not all that bad.  This tunnel was only about 3ft long though just to break up the scene.
• And I packed the dirt before laying track.  As I filled the area with dirt, I stomped and stomped until the dirt was as hard as a rock.  I did this next to the retaining walls to so that I could see where weak spots were.  By the time I was done, the dirt wasn't moving anywhere.

Unfortunately, I also had a few things that I did wrong:

• I didn't properly lay the track.  I used rounded gravel for ballast, which doesn't settle.  I had figured that after years and years, the ballast would fill every nook and quit moving, but I was wrong I guess on that part.  For two years, I had to realign track every time I operated.  The track was also not staying together, as the joints were loose.
• I didn't secure the track together.  No matter how settled the roadbed is, I found you can't get a reliable connection from one piece of track to the other.  I was also running small locomotives, with only a few pick up wheels for power which made the track standards even higher!  So the locomotive could rarely get a solid connection, and so to counter that, I was forced to run the trains fast.  By running the trains fast, I was able to build enough momentum to carry the train across bad sections.  But it didn't look exactly beautiful.
• Switches were jamming.  With so many loose pieces of ballast, the switches constantly failed.  From that point on, I decided I wasn't going to rely on the switch motors, but rather through my own hand.  In other words, I was going the manual route.  I finally perfected that on the third time, which I will explain alter.
• I soldered track.  In order to fix the electricity problem, I decided to try and solder pieces.  I practiced on a couple spare sections (which I'm still glad I did, or else more sections would be ruined) and I tried soldering a few on the railroad.  First, I want everyone to know a couple things about soldering

1. First, the soldering iron needs to have a large output of heat for this much metal.  Remember that I am working with brass 1/3 of an inch thick, which absorbs a lot of heat.
2. Second, the track is outdoors in changing weather, with freeze thaw of water, and temperature swings moving the track has it changes temperature.

         That means that the track moves around, and so the joint eventually breaks if not done perfectly.  So I

         quit trying and eventually replaced the sections of track.  I'm currently using the soldered pieces on

         sidings and on display tracks in my room.

So with that said, there was a lot I did wrong that I knew I needed to fix.  That brought me to my second railroad:

The second railroad was built in 2010 and lasted until June, 2011.

The second railroad never really got close to being done, but it was still a learning experience.  this railroad was meant to fit into the front yard, so it was narrow, and short in length.  In other words, this was a small railroad.  It would have looked like the diagram below:

As you can see, the railroad isn't much.  Now this railroad was bordered by sidewalks on two sides (bottom and left) with a fence running on a third side (top).  Then the trees (brown circles) and house (yellow box on the right) with a pathway round to the backyard kept the railroad from getting any bigger.  I managed to run trains for about 1 month before I had to tear it up and move again [we were in a rental house for that year].

Now as an ornamental lawn piece, this would have been fine.  If no one is really serious about operating a railroad, and just wants a train to run behind a mountain, then this would suffice until something larger is built. However, this really didn't serve my needs.

Things I did right:

• Besides repeating what I got right last time, I also tried to give a little more accessibility to the railroad.  With two sidewalks, and a worn pathway, this railroad was maintained from all sides, with no trees to duck under.
• I made the pond look more realistic.  on the first railroad, the pond was okay, but it still looked like a large bathtub.  So this time I dressed it up with rocks around the edges.  In the winter, it would freeze to the bottom, so I didn't bother putting in plants.
• The pond pump had a net around it.  My first pump failed due to clogging, so the second pump had netting around it.  I still have to clean it off, but the pump is now protected.
• The roadbed was solid.  I finally came up with a solution to my roadbed problem.  I installed cinder blocks like what you can see here:  http://riksrailway.blogspot.com/2006/04/how-did-i-lay-track.html  (about this time I started blogging, and Rik found my blog a while back.  Since then, we've occasionally talked, but this is one good idea from his vast website.  The cinder blocks kept the roadbed level.  By encasing the blocks in the dirt, the foundation didn't move and inch, and I was able to wire the track easily.  I never did ballast the track, which would have made it look better, but I had to move again.

Things I got wrong:

• I still didn't connect the track properly.  Though I didn't really solder the track, I tried other methods of connecting the track.  Such experiments include: plastic strip ties, twist ties, running paperclips through the joiners to tighten them, cleaning the track really well, and gluing the track to the cement.  None of these had any affect on the conductivity.  And so the joints failed, and I had to constantly realign the track.
• I made the plan too boring.  Even if I had built the railway completely, I knew I wouldn't really like it after a few months.  So I kept this in mind for the planning of my next railroad.

The third railroad was being thought up in my head for a long time, and in late 2011, I began construction on it, still working out the details as my other posts will serve as testimony.  This railroad is by far better in many ways.  I first decided to work out the electrical connection problems before I really did anything permanent.  I came up with a system where the track is screwed down to a block of wood, and wires are connected via a screw going through the wire, and brushing against the track.  On some joints, the track is connected with rail clamps to keep the track from moving around.  I also ordered new track to expand my collection and provide a longer main line.  The final track plan is below:

Okay, it's not the FINAL plan, but it gives you the general idea.  This railroad is definitely a big step for me. I did several things which I never did before.  I was met with new challenges, and came up with some good (and not so good) solutions.

So then, the things I did right:

• I finally have a reliable wiring system that uses 12 gauge wire screwed down next to the track so the screw touches the track and provides a connection.  Rail clamps make up the joints on the switches and in known trouble spots.  I have a few extra should any other problem areas develop.  
• The yard is unique with a track plan that allows for a train to leave, and only come back to the yard by backing up, or by backing out and coasting back in.  This gives the feeling of a real yard connected to the main line.
• The bridge is now secured to somethings solid, the ground.  I have 9 inch nails that go into the ground to serve as support for the bridge.  Do I expect it to last?  No, but the railroad won't be here too long anyway.
• The ballast being used can lock together to form a tight bond.
• Again, I kept the Railroad within about 50 ft of a power source.
• I finally have a storage solution.  One thing I never figured out how to do is properly store the rolling stock and locomotives in a dry spot.  I now use a large tote with a lid that I store in the shelter next to the house.
• The power supply has a selected location.  This whole time, I was just connecting the power pack to the track and pulling it apart when I was done.  I mounted the power pack to a 2X4 and I have it set up so the whole thing can slide on and off of a fiberglass pole.  When I want to run trains, I just slide it on, plug it in, and I'm good to go.  
• I am also trying to get into the habit of good maintenance.  Up until now, I was just trying to figure out how to care for the railroad.  Now I am cleaning track, cleaning locomotives, and testing everything regularly to make sure everything runs smoothly.  I'll go into detail on a future post.
• Finally, the trains are now running in tandem.  The reason for this is that one locomotive will stall easily, but with two, there is more power, and one keeps the other moving over the rough spots.  unfortunately, the locomotives don't move at the same speed, so this can't be a final solution to the problem.  If I can't get the track clean completely, perhaps another locomotive will be needed so that full trains can run.

Even though I still have most of the railroad put together, there are some things I wish I could redo:

• I should have had a more stable area for the ballast.  The railroad basically has ballast sitting on the ground.  Even though the railroad is only short term, it still bugs me that the track can still move around.
• The ballast is also a little too big.  Just a minor annoyance, so I'll keep it in mind for the next railroad.
• The power supply is too small.  I just use a train set transformer which delivers 1 amp. of electricity.  So my power pack is maxed out.  The next railroad is going to need a bigger power pack.  Unfortunately, the next railroad might not be for a while, so I don't know where I'll be then with my collection of train items.

As you can see, I tried to learn from my mistakes, and hopefully you can take this as advice for your own railroad.  I believe this is what anything in life is about, gradually getting better at something so you master it in time.  Even the greatest modelers in this hobby had to start somewhere.  For me, it was a small railroad in the yard.  For you, it could have been a train set, or a magazine that inspired you.

This is also what this blog is about, showing everyone that this isn't hard, and is a fun, rewarding hobby if you take your time to do things right.

Speaking of 'right'  I also want to leave this post by saying that everyone will find the method that suits you best in time.  There is no 'right' way to build a railroad.  Some of the experts tend to forget that (including me, and I'm no expert!), and so we always have to be reminded about this.

Thank you and stay in tune with this site, there are good things in this blog's future!

--jjw2795