The Gopher Light Railway

[Dwayne]

With the recent discussion about inactive members it was about time I chimed in again as it's been awhile since my last post.

Since my last post the wife unit and I have since closed on the house and moved into the place about a month ago which is located on a .43 acre lot here on the west side of Okie City.

Aside from the minor renovations I'm doing on the bathroom and painting of the main bedroom, attention has been given in prepping the yard for the future outdoor layout which has been bestowed with the name of The Gopher Light Railway, a three-foot narrow gauge line running small engines and short trains. The name was the wife unit's idea as pocket gophers inhabit the yard typical of this part of the city.

The lot measures 104' wide and 208' long, running north-south lengthwise. The highest point is the northeast corner which then slopes down outward in a fan shape and drops about 18 inches before leveling out at the center of the lot where the house sits. My plan is to place the railway along the north property line as shown in this very, unartistic sketch...



A couple of pictures for a better idea. First photo is the left (west) side of the yard, second photo of the right (east) side of the yard which is the highest point.





The backyard is graced by several pecan trees, a laurel oak, an ancient white oak, a couple of maples and three dead Austrian pines that seemed to have died last year and need to be removed. Some sort of ground cover is growing along most of the north fence line.

The purpose of the GLR will be to transport the rare mineral Nonameium (used in everything and in nothing) from the Noname Mine to a yet undetermined transfer point where it will be dumped into standard gauge ore cars for shipment to the outside world. Track and turnouts will be handlaid Code 250 aluminum (currently have about 100ft on hand) on redwood ties.

The GLR's main engine will be a heavily kitbashed radio controlled Bachmann Porter...



A second Porter awaits kitbashing too (with the above during it's building stage)...



A couple of unfired, virgin steamers (a kit Ruby and ready to run Ida) will also see service...



So with this post I hope to share with ya'll the gradual building of The Gopher Light Railway. Updates will be forthcoming as my 12 hour workdays and the never ending honey-doos allow.

[MDLR]

I'm sure I speak for many of us in saying we'll look forward to watching your progress.

Are you intending a near ground level line, or are you going up on stilts?

[Dwayne]

I'm sure I speak for many of us in saying we'll look forward to watching your progress.

Are you intending a near ground level line, or are you going up on stilts?

I want to keep the track elevation flat for the most part. The eastern loop will be at ground level while the western loop will be raised. As I have other areas of the yard that need leveling I'll have sufficient fill for this. I'm considering used railroad ties as the retaining walls as they're common and inexpensive in my area (the BNSF and UP run through here).

[MDLR]

I'm considering used railroad ties as the retaining walls as they're common and inexpensive in my area (the BNSF and UP run through here).

That'll be eminently sensible and appropriate - just watch out for sap, tar and other miscellaneous "yeuk" that can and does leak out of sleepers - not good for white skirts!

If the ties (sleepers in REAL English ) end up being used where you could sit on them, put a "seat" of plywood or (if you can get it in the US of A) something we call decking boards on top.

http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/st ... %3EDECKING will give you some idea. It comes ready treated and it's got grooves on the top - zoom into the picture to see the detail!

[Dwayne]

I'm considering used railroad ties as the retaining walls as they're common and inexpensive in my area (the BNSF and UP run through here).

That'll be eminently sensible and appropriate - just watch out for sap, tar and other miscellaneous "yeuk" that can and does leak out of sleepers - not good for white skirts!

If the ties (sleepers in REAL English )  end up  being used where you could sit on them, put a "seat" of plywood or (if you can get it in the US of A) something we call decking boards on top.

http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/st ... %3EDECKING will give you some idea. It comes ready treated and it's got grooves on the top - zoom into the picture to see the detail!

I speak Okie. What is this English you mention?

The only downside of railroad ties is that having curved retaining walls becomes more difficult to achieve. I may go with brick or blocks. Jury is still deliberating the options as I'd like the layout to blend in with the yard as much as possible.

[MDLR]

The only downside of railroad ties is that having curved retaining walls becomes more difficult to achieve. I may go with brick or blocks. Jury is still deliberating the options as I'd like the layout to blend in with the yard as much as possible.

If you were to lay the ties flat as they were originally laid, rather then on edge, you could cut them into shorter sections and use these "bricks" to create curves (perhaps with iron rods threaded throgh holes to stop movement) - a bit of stain / creosote on the cut ends where exposed (ie on curves OUT, rather than curves IN) would hide the cut ends effectively.

[spooner]

Cut sleep(ties)can be hard on saw blades.
Keep up the good work and keep posting.

[Dwayne]

The only downside of railroad ties is that having curved retaining walls becomes more difficult to achieve. I may go with brick or blocks. Jury is still deliberating the options as I'd like the layout to blend in with the yard as much as possible.

If you were to lay the ties flat as they were originally laid, rather then on edge, you could cut them into shorter sections and use these "bricks" to create curves (perhaps with iron rods threaded throgh holes to stop movement)  - a bit of stain / creosote on the cut ends where exposed (ie on curves OUT, rather than curves IN) would hide the cut ends effectively.

Not a bad idea. Something to consider.

A friend of mine had his line raised about 12 inches. Instead of making a retaining wall per se he used sporadically spaced boulders with the dirt flowing down and around them giving him a slope with Alberta spruce, juniper and other low growing plants in place to keep everything from washing away. The area at the base of the slope was the "river". An occassional dry stream would eminate within the raised area cutting down beneath the tracks (necessitating the need for some trestles and bridges) and feeding into the river. The "river" was his walkway along the front of the layout.

[Dwayne]

Cut sleep(ties)can be hard on saw blades.
Keep up the good work and keep posting.

No doubt. I'd use a chainsaw for certain if I went this route.

[Dwayne]

Today was the first day of construction on the GLR. After fueling the GLR's primary earth moving and construction unit the Dwayne One with a couple of cups of premium black coffee... work began on the eastern loop of the line. The skies were overcast but temperatures were hovering in the low 60's enabling that the first loads of fill were delivered in short order.



Taking into account that the GLR's engine units will be of the 0-4-0 live steam and four wheel diesel variety, the eastern loop is laid out at the line's minimum radius of 48". The Dwayne One moved at least twenty loads of dirt from a future patio project site to the eastern loop location throughout the day with one break for lunch and signing Christmas cards at the wife unit's insistence. By the time nightfall shut down construction, the donor site had been stripped of it's entire available fill and deposited to the GLR.



Each load hauled in was tamped down and smoothed. Since actual track laying will not commence until spring this will allow the fill to settle over the winter months and subsequent low spots that appear can be filled in at that time. As fate would have it the GLR trackplan has been modified slightly from that of the original plan posted previously. Below shows an updated version (subject to further modification). Naturally my artistic talents are inadequate for a close to actual representation.



The plan is now looking at having a curved trestle installed around the big assed laurel oak... running between it and the existing concrete firepit (which may have at one time in the past been the base of an elaborately designed outhouse with running water as evidenced by the discovery of a pipe leading to it). Anyways... rain is forecast to move in tomorrow. The construction crews will have the day off as a result. Next update will be posted as it happens. Stay tuned...

[Gremlin]

WOW wish I had so much space to play with. If I was lucky enough to have a garden that size I'd make a much larger loop, go round the tree and further back. I have tight curves, but only because I had to as it's a very small garden.

[MDLR]

Have you considered reinstating the water supply to the fire pit? could be useful for watering ther garden, if not steam locos.......

[Dwayne]

@Gremlin... I'm an oddball over on this side of the pond in that I actually love the tight curves, the small engines and the short trains typically shown on this forum. Most large scalers over here want to run BIG engines with 100+ strings of freight cars with miles of track crisscrossing their yards like spaghetti in a bowl. There are two other well known forums that continuously provide examples of this that I visit occassionally. Leaves me unimpressed to be honest. If I really want to watch big trains I only have to drive a few miles to the BNSF mainline and watch the real thing. This forum provides me with many fine examples of what can be done when space is limited even though I have ample square footage. Because a typical work day for me is twelve hours long, my time is limited which prompted me to decide to keep the layout smaller and simple.

@Brian... my wife and I are researching the history of the property. Although the current house was built in 1969, (neighbor's homes were built in the 1940's), land and tax records available at the county courthouse indicates that it was homesteaded back in 1911, which at that time would have made this part of Oklahoma City... the country. As is typical of that era the place likely was a small farmstead sitting on a 40 acre plot before it was parcelled out and the city grew up around it. Although the current house is on city water and sewer, it also has a functioning water well and seperate septic system which the neighbors lack on their properties. My wife is keenly interested in learning the actual history and is still looking into it.

Because I have the well I already have an outdoor source of water for gardening needs. Summer here often leads to drought conditions (this year was the worst on record) which prompts the city to impose watering restrictions. The water well will allow me to ignore any restrictions as it's seperate from the city and keep the place green and alive.

[pauly]

I dont think your unfired Ruby or Ida will like your tight curves much, have you considered geared locos like those available from Regner?
Really with Live steam its best to use the largest curves available to you, I built my little layout using LGB R2 and it posses a serious challenge to my steamers.

[Dwayne]

I dont think your unfired Ruby or Ida will like your tight curves much, have you considered geared locos like those available from Regner?
Really with Live steam its best to use the largest curves available to you, I built my little layout using LGB R2 and it posses a serious challenge to my steamers.

Can't say that I have. To be honest I don't foresee the live steamers being operated much now. I bought them thinking that they'd see action on a line I had planned to build on a five acre property I own in the southeastern part of Oklahoma. That line would have had large curves. Plans changed and the wife and I decided to stay in Oklahoma City because of employment.

The GLR will have it's trains headed up by RC/battery powered engines for the most part. Plug and play more or less, especially with restrictions on available play time because of my work schedule.

[Dwayne]

I dont think your unfired Ruby or Ida will like your tight curves much, have you considered geared locos like those available from Regner?
Really with Live steam its best to use the largest curves available to you, I built my little layout using LGB R2 and it posses a serious challenge to my steamers.

It's been a few days since the above was posted. Today, while continuing to add fill along the line I got to thinking about this. Since I'm not familiar with LGB equipment or track I looked online to find out some information to educate myself.

I do believe there is a misunderstanding between "radius" and "diameter". According to this website R2 curves produce a circle diameter of 1556mm... or 61.26 inches.

The eastern loop of the GLR has been laid out with a 48 inch radius which works out to a circle diameter of 96 inches. Big difference between 61.62 inches vs. 96 inches.

A R3 curve produces a circle diameter of 2396mm or 94.33 inches... which is close to my planned 96 inches.

According to the specs on the Accucraft website, the minimum radius for the Ruby/Ida engine is 24 inches. Though I'm not an expert on their running characteristics, this would indicate that the radius of the eastern loop on the GLR would be more than sufficient to allow them to negotiate a 48 inch radius/96 inch diameter circle.

As mentioned, I'm continuing to build up the right of way. With sunshine to counterbalance the 46°F temperature, I spent a couple of hours playing with dirt. The top photo shows an overall view of the loop looking east. It currently rises about 10 inches above the existing ground level:



The next photo shows the right of way as it extends westward from the loop. At this point the existing ground level begins to drop downward:



The final photo is looking westward from the loop as the right of way heads off towards some unknown ground cover where it will then curve southwesterly to go around the laurel oak which is off camera and to the left:



The area to the right of the r.o.w. will eventually be filled in but for the moment I'm simply concentrating on getting the roughed in right of way in place. If adjustments are necessary then I won't have to move as much dirt.

I'm sure that some may be wondering as to why I'm not using a more solid foundation. As the climate in central Oklahoma is moderate and we have no frost line, my plan is to simply place the track in ballast. To make it easier, I'll fabricate the handlaid track in sections on redwood ties at the workbench then install them on the layout. At least that's the plan if all goes well.

[IrishPeter]

Dear Dwayne,

I am based out in Arizona up at 5400' and we get some hard frosts here, though it is nearly always above freezing during the day. My trackbed has the same characteristics as yours and withstood repeated 20 and 25 degree frosts last year without significant movement. 

There are a few things you need to note to help weatherproof it.

1. Make sure you have pounded your earthworks into shape to get the air pockets out of them.  Some folks favour spraying to the point of saturation with water, but out here where water is scarce that is frowned upon.

2. Make sure you put a black plastic weed membrane between the earthworks and the first layer of ballast.

3. Make sure you have a good half an inch of ballast under the sleepers.  Make sure it is well tamped down with the long side of a shot end of 2 by 4 before laying the track on top of that.  

4. You will need to check levels and alignment ccasionally, just like a real railway, but it is a damn sight easier to align level and tamp in 15mm scale!

5. A Ruby is very happy with 48" radius curves, and will go down to 30" without tears. I would suggest that for the sake of smooth running you have a short section of 96" radius track leading into the 48" radius curve as it takes the jerkiness out of cornering.  Tight curves reduce the haulage capacity of your locomotive due to the increased rolling resistance, so avoid sharp curves on steep gradients especially when using small locomotives.  There is an appreciable, but not severe braking effect on my two Ruby class engines when they go round the 5' radius at the top of the big hill (40' of 3%) on my line even though that section of track is (almost) level.

6. The haulage capacity of a large cylinder Ruby is pretty good for an 0-4-0.  I find eight four wheel wagons ballasted to 10 oz. each up a 3% grade is within the capabilities of a Ruby.  However, if the whole rake is running on steel wheels then she can haul nine.  You might be able to do five standard US box cars on 3% due to the lesser rolling resistence of bogie stock.  If you are keeping your gradients to 1 or 2% your maximum load will be quite a bit greater.

I hope there is not too much in the way of 'teaching Granny" in the above.

Yours,
Peter in AZ

[Dwayne]

Peter, input and advice is appreciated. My primary goal this fall/winter is to build up as much of the right of way from the eastern loop westernward as weather permits and let nature settle it in even more during the winter months with track laying starting around mid-April of 2012. As I've built up the r.o.w. I've done it in layers of an inch at a time, tamping it down as I've built it. No chance of air pockets. What I don't get built this fall/winter I'll continue next year, advancing foot by foot like the prototype does. Of course, in the back of my mind I know that spur lines will be added in due time. With a nearly 1/2 acre lot it's bound to happen.  :lol:

Speaking of elevation, we're at about 1200 feet and because of our location relative to the Gulf of Mexico and the Rockies, we tend to miss out on severe cold for the most part which seems to skirt north over Kansas instead. Summer... well, that's another story. Biggest concern then is tornados.  :|

Both the Ruby and Ida are newer versions with the larger cylinders. How much operation they see is unknown. My work schedule is 6pm-6am (life of a trucker can suck) and thus I'd be more inclined to just run my rc/battery powered locos instead of bothering with the steamers.

My philosophy towards model trains and life is K.I.S.S.  :D

[Keith S]

Ah, but the ritual of filling, oiling, building up steam, running, etc, is pretty hard to beat with the live steam engines. Much more like a real railway experience. You might like it. It's cathartic.

[Dwayne]

Ah, but the ritual of filling, oiling, building up steam, running, etc, is pretty hard to beat with the live steam engines. Much more like a real railway experience. You might like it. It's cathartic.

Doing what I do for a living, I need all the stress and relaxation relief I can get. I'm sure that once track is laid the steamers will see action from time to time. Only time will tell.