Leaves on the line!

planty · Post by **planty** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:17 pm

How do people keep leaves off the line? My railway meanders around a flower bed and as such gets a covering of dried up leaves that handily derail small engines. It's a constant battle to keep clear.

Also any tips for keeping plants under control or away from the track? I tried some netting and canes to keep things back, but this has a habit of getting pushed towards the track and then acts as a net that's great at catching handles from carriages!! Must check my loading gauge!

PeachBottom · Post by **PeachBottom** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:48 pm

We use a stiff broom to brush the track before we have a play and then send around the battery loco without any stock to check things....and ask James about his sanding our track!

benchmark · Post by **benchmark** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:27 pm

I too use a stiff broom. My 6 year son loves sweeping the track clean for me ....yeah i am an advocate of child labour

I have a leaf blower/vacuum but i cant be bothered getting it out of the shed each time.

planty · Post by **planty** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 8:50 pm

I find a stiff brush removes a lot of the loose ballast under my track though?? Need to build some kind of leaf blowing come snow plough wagon

Narrow Minded · Post by **Narrow Minded** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:20 pm

I find a stiff brush removes a lot of the loose ballast under my track though

Though it's "prototypical", loose ballast is a nightmare for all sorts of reasons (some locations being worse than others). Far better to bond it somehow (there are several well documented methods), and again in certain locations even this is "prototypical"!

laurence703 · Post by **laurence703** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:28 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkLZjsraahI&feature=plcp

Removing leaves (and hedgehogs) Using a toilet brush of all things...
The entire series is on there by the way

benchmark · Post by **benchmark** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:02 pm

laurence703:73201 wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkLZjsraahI&feature=plcp

Removing leaves (and hedgehogs) Using a toilet brush of all things...
The entire series is on there by the way

If you skip to 12:00 in the video you see him build the toilet brush cleaner.

planty · Post by **planty** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 11:28 pm

Ah yes forgot about the converted toilet brush wagon in the Garden Railway series!

maybe that's the answer

Dr. Bond of the DVLR · Post by **Dr. Bond of the DVLR** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 11:16 am

I tend to send anyone who's loitering at the yard down the line with a stiff brush in their hand and a bucket of sand... The line is beautifully clear as far as the nearest pub...

IrishPeter · Post by **IrishPeter** » Mon Sep 03, 2012 7:30 am

Strange as it may seem I use a leaf rake! The worst culprity for dropping leaves n the line is not the pines - though they produce some nice long needles that can cause derailments, but the scrub oaks which drop copious amounts on to the line at unusual times of the year - like April when they are stressed due to lack of moisure!

Peter in AZ

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Leaves on the line!

Leaves on the line!

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