Railgon Scratchbuild
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Holy cats! Looks like that engine could tow a small car!
I did the same thing, Checked out my back yard too!LOL's I only have 20'x35' of back yard left
55' train wouldn't have enough room. But that pipe and plywood would help with the grade problem very nicely!
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Hey, if I had to run my train on that high bridge, I'd opt for a little bigger flanges too. 
Brian, that locomotive is a heck of a deal compared to an HO DC only P2K model for $125. Even after you got done adding everything, it's not much more than some the Blueline or MTH diesels with sound. How much were the freight cars? I imagine they were a bit more than the HO variety. The civil engineering work must have been a faily large cost too, judging from the looks of those bridges. I asked the wife if I can build a 1:29 railroad in the yard and she said sure, as long as it goes around a swimming pool. So much for that idea.
Brian, that locomotive is a heck of a deal compared to an HO DC only P2K model for $125. Even after you got done adding everything, it's not much more than some the Blueline or MTH diesels with sound. How much were the freight cars? I imagine they were a bit more than the HO variety. The civil engineering work must have been a faily large cost too, judging from the looks of those bridges. I asked the wife if I can build a 1:29 railroad in the yard and she said sure, as long as it goes around a swimming pool. So much for that idea.
BNSF_Denali_Sub
BNSF SD70MAC's
That is incredible work! Beautifully done!
CharlesH.
Member
Charles,
No need to imagine.....I took these pics a year and a half ago......this train was 55 feet long.....the Geep handled her nicely.
Enjoy,
Brian Briggs
Holy cats! Looks like that engine could tow a small car!
Thanks guys,
Ted,
Yes the wheel treads are too wide and the flanges are too deep.....you must model proto since every scale has differing levels of incorrect treads and flanges, and only the proto people have the lattitude to critizize others indescepancies.
Jim,
The cars costs vary. Currently the LGB ACF Railbox cars and the Centerflows can be had for about $50.00 if you shop wisely. USA Trains makes the finest detailed cars....the 40' and 50' PS-1 boxcars are about $65.00 each. That doesn't include the cost of Kadees, and the LGB cars need to have steel wheels installed.
Take care,
Brian Briggs
Ted,
Yes the wheel treads are too wide and the flanges are too deep.....you must model proto since every scale has differing levels of incorrect treads and flanges, and only the proto people have the lattitude to critizize others indescepancies.
Jim,
The cars costs vary. Currently the LGB ACF Railbox cars and the Centerflows can be had for about $50.00 if you shop wisely. USA Trains makes the finest detailed cars....the 40' and 50' PS-1 boxcars are about $65.00 each. That doesn't include the cost of Kadees, and the LGB cars need to have steel wheels installed.
Take care,
Brian Briggs
IronBeltKen
Lazy Daydreamer
Well Brian, that certainly answerd my question! I have an Emory Gulash [Pentrex] video of trains in southeast Michigan from the early 1970's, one of them shows a DT&I geep working a yard in front of the McLouth Steel works in Trenton. Loved the growl of that normal-aspirated 567B prime mover! That orange/black paint scheme was a classic too, I was saddened to see this road absorbed into the GTW/CN system. Nothing lasts forever I guess...
My freelance shortline (the Iron Belt) uses an orange-and-black paint scheme, but not identical to DTI's.
I have an Emory Gulash [Pentrex] video of trains in southeast Michigan from the early 1970's, one of them shows a DT&I geep working a yard in front of the McLouth Steel works in Trenton. Loved the growl of that normal-aspirated 567B prime mover! That orange/black paint scheme was a classic too, I was saddened to see this road absorbed into the GTW/CN system. Nothing lasts forever I guess...My freelance shortline (the Iron Belt) uses an orange-and-black paint scheme, but not identical to DTI's.
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Brian, with HO RTR freight cars starting to push $30 for the well-detailed ones, $50-$65 for G scale doesn't sound so bad. Sounds like you are a very careful shopper. You dodged my question on the civil engineering aspect though. Any idea how much time and cost went into that? I was looking at the backyard today, which is mostly not level, making mental calculations of how many cubic yards of material I'd have to move to get the grade set. I think a backhoe and bobcat would be needed.
You dodged my question on the civil engineering aspect though. Any idea how much time and cost went into that? I was looking at the backyard today, which is mostly not level, making mental calculations of how many cubic yards of material I'd have to move to get the grade set. I think a backhoe and bobcat would be needed. Jim,
You'll definately need a backhoe and bobcat for that pool!
My construction is 2" pvc pipes driven deep into the soil with 2 layers of 3/4" plywood on top. Add in lots of paint and that will be the cost. I didn't keep track of my cost, so I can't give an exact number. The plywood is already begining to degrade so I woud advise against doing it this way. If I were doing it today and I wanted the elevated system like mine I would do it what they call the ladder method (there's several books about garden railroad construction). It's the same pvc pipes but with strips of siding trim vinyl on each side of the pipe.....much easier to get sweeping curves just not as wide a surface.
Regards,
Brian
You'll definately need a backhoe and bobcat for that pool!
My construction is 2" pvc pipes driven deep into the soil with 2 layers of 3/4" plywood on top. Add in lots of paint and that will be the cost. I didn't keep track of my cost, so I can't give an exact number. The plywood is already begining to degrade so I woud advise against doing it this way. If I were doing it today and I wanted the elevated system like mine I would do it what they call the ladder method (there's several books about garden railroad construction). It's the same pvc pipes but with strips of siding trim vinyl on each side of the pipe.....much easier to get sweeping curves just not as wide a surface.
Regards,
Brian
vato loco
Just a Foolish Saint!
Brian, with HO RTR freight cars starting to push $30 for the well-detailed ones, $50-$65 for G scale doesn't sound so bad. Sounds like you are a very careful shopper.
I did the same thing, Checked out my back yard too!LOL's I only have 20'x35' of back yard left
55' train wouldn't have enough room. But that pipe and plywood would help with the grade problem very nicely!
Rico
BNSF Modeller
Very nice Brian, you're leaps and bounds ahaed of my dream "project"!
Since our house is sitting on an old Tyndall Stone quarry, we have a few acres of rocks where I plan on running a shay up a hill with beer and back down with fire wood.
Hope to start next year! We already have a stream with waterfalls dug out and I'm going to be starting a trestle this winter. Oh the dreams...
BTW when we till the garden we occasionally unearth narrow gauge track or parts from the original tramway!
Since our house is sitting on an old Tyndall Stone quarry, we have a few acres of rocks where I plan on running a shay up a hill with beer and back down with fire wood.
Hope to start next year! We already have a stream with waterfalls dug out and I'm going to be starting a trestle this winter. Oh the dreams...
BTW when we till the garden we occasionally unearth narrow gauge track or parts from the original tramway!
Rico, that's pretty cool that you have a yard with parts of narrow gauge tramway still buried in it. That rocky soil looks like a real challenge for a garden railway. Elevating it the way Brian described might be easier than trying to build on grade.
Brian, my backyard is just a little under half an acre so I've got plenty of space and only one big river oak in the way. The north end is near level and the south end slopes away at about a 15 degree angle and ends up in a drainage swale that carries water away for the yard and runs behind the neighbor's houses before dumping into a seasonal creek. Assuming I could ever build a garden railroad without having to put in a pool (yeah, right), I was originally thinking of building from the level portion in a loop down to and across the drainage swale with the track running on fill to keep the percentage of grade under control. I'd need a bridge to cross the drainage swale anyway so elevating the sloping section is probably a lot easier than hauling in fill material and getting that compacted. Thanks for the warning about plywood, since I'm sure that's what I would have chosen too. Now, if I can only convince the wife that a train is as good as a pool...
Chris, you need to move up here. Nice red clay soil that's easy to excavate and you can get a nice house on an acre of land for $200,000 or less. We do have a few alligators in the swamp near downtown and one occasionally takes a stoll down Main Street and freaks everyone out.. Other than that, the biggest lizard we have is about six inches long and I've yet to see a poisonous snake in the three plus years I've lived here. The people are nicer here, and there are lots of big lawns that need cutting.
Brian, my backyard is just a little under half an acre so I've got plenty of space and only one big river oak in the way. The north end is near level and the south end slopes away at about a 15 degree angle and ends up in a drainage swale that carries water away for the yard and runs behind the neighbor's houses before dumping into a seasonal creek. Assuming I could ever build a garden railroad without having to put in a pool (yeah, right
), I was originally thinking of building from the level portion in a loop down to and across the drainage swale with the track running on fill to keep the percentage of grade under control. I'd need a bridge to cross the drainage swale anyway so elevating the sloping section is probably a lot easier than hauling in fill material and getting that compacted. Thanks for the warning about plywood, since I'm sure that's what I would have chosen too. Now, if I can only convince the wife that a train is as good as a pool...Chris, you need to move up here. Nice red clay soil that's easy to excavate and you can get a nice house on an acre of land for $200,000 or less. We do have a few alligators in the swamp near downtown and one occasionally takes a stoll down Main Street and freaks everyone out.
. Other than that, the biggest lizard we have is about six inches long and I've yet to see a poisonous snake in the three plus years I've lived here. The people are nicer here, and there are lots of big lawns that need cutting.
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