Building the Pine Belt

Construction of a garden railway

Our backyard had some problems:

- Bench raised area with a slope in front

- Hard to mow and maintain

- Shade all day

- Moss more than grass

- Hard pan just a couple of inches down

- A number of existing trees that couldn't be cut

I already had a small layout when this picture was taken, one about ten feet wide and thirty feet long. I wanted to grow, but I couldn't just dig holes or clearcut the space. I would have to take an additive approach, which meant that I'd have to make a comprehensive design.

Action on the first layout proves that the location has more promise for a garden railroad than for a lawn. I learned a lot about outdoor model railroading during the year or so that this layout was all I had. It had 5 foot diameter (r=2.5) curves and the standard Large Scale switches that have a 4 foot diameter curve (r=2).

I built the girder bridge in the background along with the covered bridge, even though had nothing to cross with them. My granddaughter, Vickie, toddled out at 2-1/2 years old and climbed on the bridge, proving its durability. It was named the Victoria Bridge and carries that name to this day.

Homemade water tower and windmill join with the birdhouse buildings to make the only structures on the line. Perhaps my next great push would be to populate the new, larger layout with more buildings and put in roads and such. It's nice to know that you're never finished.

The first task was to make some planning stationery. I took two pieces of grid paper taped together to make an 8.5 x 14 inch sheet. Then I measured and marked the position of every fixed item. The process was quite interesting, as I checked and crosschecked locations.

I also examined and measured the contours and elevations of the land. I used nothing fancy. I simply used a straight 8 foot 2x4 which I rested on the bench with a level on top. Then I measured the distance above the ground at the other end which I held above the lower area, keeping the 2x4 level.

From that, I learned how high I would have to make my wall and could begin calculations to determine the amount of fill dirt necessary. Of course, I would first need a workable track plan.

This was perhaps the fifth drawing I made, even if it isn't exactly what I ended up building. Still, it is this drawing that was used when construction began. It is rough and in pencil with smudges and erasures, but it worked!

The diagonal line represents an underground electrical line from the house to the shed. The small marks at the bottom left are compass indicators for various radii of curves.

I call this layout a "butterfly" for fairly obvious reasons. I wanted the train to snake around playing peek-a-boo. The lowest elevation for track would be at the tunnel and cut, while the highest elevation would be atop the ridge in between. The loops at either end are a classic rendition of a railroading reality that you sometimes have to trade distance for grade.

This is a computer-created map of what the Pine Belt is today, more or less. When it was first built, it had a combination of 8 foot diameter (r=4) and 10 foot diameter (r=5) curves. I wanted nothing less after the operation problems I often had with narrower curves. I also used nothing but the so-called Extra Wide switches which are really a number 3.5!

The lighter-weight yellow line is actually an industrial spur which uses two of the tight radius switches and some of the 5' diameter track. This new layout is now about 20 feet wide and 40 feet long.

Meanwhile, in the summer of 2001, I rebuilt the 8 foot diameter curves into 10 foot minimum. Meanwhile, I was having slide problems on the slope near the bridge behind the right-hand loop. The drawing above shows a trestle in there, and now I use one, having taken out the difficult hill. The blue line is an expansion area I'm exploring. I may run it around the back through the shade garden. We shall see.

Construction began with laying down the base rocks for the retaining wall according to the plan. The indented curve in the wall is to protect a pink flowering dogwood that eventually expired anyway. Even with the tree gone, that curve is a very eyecatching design feature.

Most of the large rocks were already on the premises, having been leftovers from the original landscaping from before we bought the place. They were strewn along the side of the house and I kept dragging them out and putting them in place. I was surprised at how far they went!

I had to bring in several loads of rock for the top row and have them ready when the fill dirt arrived. I have been asked why I didn't use RR ties? They are heavier and would have been harder to work with, requiring fancy cuts to circumnaviage the space. In the end, I also like the look of the rock better.

Here's a dramatic shot of a train on the first layout in the background with the new rocks in the foreground. Actually, this photo wasn't taken for effect; it was a planning tool. I carefully put the lens on a level surface so that it was just the same height as the bench. It clearly shows that the first row of rocks will not be enough to attain a filled surface level with the bench.

This led to a search for rocks perhaps only half the size of the ones on the bottom. In the end, a friend who was moving to California offered a nice bunch of rounded river rocks that accomplished the job just fine. Rock wall people will say you shouldn't mix rock types, especially from one layer to the next, but I rather like the effect. The lower rocks obviously have the massive anchor shape needed, while the upper rocks have a smoothness that nicely caps the project.

I calculated that I would need five yards of fill dirt to bring the front fill area up to the same level as the bench. Then, if I wanted hills, I'd need another three yards. I was tempted to get 10 yards, but purchased 8. We mounded the dirt in front so that it could compact when we watered it.

In this picture, the dozens of wheelbarrow loads brought by my son, Jeremy, our friend Chad, my daughter's friend Matt, and my teaching colleague Chet have all been completed. Notice that Victoria Bridge is tentatively placed, as is a tunnel liner that didn't work out.

The aspen and claredendrum trees were at some risk from this process. You don't want to bury deeper the roots of a tree since that suffocates the tree. In this case, half of each tree is still at its old level and half is buried. I was warned that both trees would need extra water, which we provided.

This view reveals the early details of the layout. Bridge and tunnel are in, track is laid, but ballasting has not been done. The tunnel portal was poured into a homemade form. I placed small rocks into the form and then poured the concrete mix atop it.

I learned a lot about concrete doing this. Most premixes contain too little Portland cement and are better off used for post hole filling than for structural elements. The guys I talked to who make concrete statues and stuff say they mix their own, using double the cement and cleaner sand. They also work with a soupier consistency.

Turns out the stones I put in also have a similar effect as using reinforcing rod, giving strength to the structure. Unfortunately, the plastic tunnel liner made from an inverted window box wasn't up to the task. The sides started bulging in. Had I put it in and then pour concrete around it, it would have survived. Live and learn!

Tunnels can be a big pain, but they provide tremendous visual appeal, so we take the bother to build them. The first tunnel collapsed and had to be rebuilt, which is what is happening here. Notice the thick concrete walls and the portals which are cemented in place. This tunnel won't collapse!

The roof is made of treated plywood which went into place as the forms were removed. A layer of visqueen was put over that and then dirt was filled in. This last summer, the tunnel was opened up again, this time because we reradiused the curve between the cut and the tunnel. Of the two, the tunnel was actually easier to move, though it only had to go over about three inches.

We also had to raise the roof so that Plate H cars such as the USA Trains' Husky Stack could pass through it. Victoria bridge and the covered bridge all needed to be raised.

After a month and a half, I had a running layout, if a rather austere place. The covered bridge is one of the first things you see and is very eyecatching. It does, however, provide important service crossing the dry creek that drains the basin where the white flowing dogwood sits. Without it, the area inside that loop would tend to fill with water.

The tunnel floor and the bottom of the cut are also places that are low and likely to fill with water. I designed drainage into each one and have yet to see any sign of flooding.

From the tunnel floor to the top of the ridge is almost a constant 2-4% grade, challenging my locomotives with every trip. If you need to have the top of the upper rail 12 inches over the rail below, a 3% grade will require 33 feet of track with a constant slope. Curves add grade equivalence. Having to go with Plate H clearances required that I get some of that back by loosening curves from 8 feet to 10 feet in diameter.

When I received a USA Trains "Husky-Stack" car to review, it came loaded with two containers soaring to 22 scale feet above the railhead! I already had problems with an LGB Rio Grande caboose's cupola hitting the South Portal, and the Bachmann Shay wouldn't pass through with its native balloon stack.

Prototype railroads have faced this exact problem themselves. Plate C, the common clearance guide from the early twenties, specified overhead clearances of just over 16 feet. In practice, most had 18 feet or more. Most rail lines, like mine, have long stretches where you've got clearance to the Moon, punctuated by overpasses, power lines, tunnels and so on that restrict height.

Going along the line and raising everything to 23 feet meant raising the tunnel an actual three inches. This, in turn, changed the grade geometry of both loops. Since there was no practical way to add much length to the loops, I added a little length by changing radius from 4 foot to 5 foot, where I had 4 foot radius track. I also had to raise Victoria Bridge the same amount and raise the roof on the covered bridge to clear. In that case, I trimmed the curved opening to a more square shape and added spacers to lift the removable roof structure.

This layout is beginning to mature. Look close and you can see the extra clearance over these Plate C cars in the tunnel. Double stacks barely squeeze through, but don't hit at any speed, and all my other rolling stock breezes past with room to spare.

Adding plants is always fun, but putting in a water feature is a lot like work! I tried to keep as much of the hole in the new fill area where the digging was relatively easy, but the back node got into the hard pan and it got to be pick axe time. I went to my local stone supply to get the big, flat rock that makes the basis for the waterfall. The overall effect is quite pleasing and the sound of running water either relaxes you or makes you want to go to the bathroom.

This is a shot from a review I wrote on the two 50 foot mechanical reefers behind the Geep. You can just glimpse the trestle under the cars. A mature layout provides many opportunities to capture dynamic photos.

The rocks in the foreground are necessary to hold the slope during wet weather. At some level, you'd like to just play with trains, but then outdoor realities force you into the role of civil engineer. Generally, you are rewarded constantly for overbuilding, and you will usually be punished no less often for underbuilding. In the end, the rocks are also a nice part of the picture, helping to impart the sense of rugged Western railroading.

Thanks for dropping by. Check back from time to time; I'll add more when I've got something new to share.

If you have questions or comments, email trainchaser@trainchaser.com