Breaking Ground - Finescale - of a sort

[Peter Insole]

What peculiar times we are living through eh?

I don't know much about the political term "Levelling up" that's being banded around at the moment, but a vital version of it has become necessary on our own little railway!

When the first section of experimental rail was laid, I started at the edge of a brick path and only had vague notions about any subsequent direction of travel. That two and a half metres of line was set out with a spirit level, but it quickly became apparent that the ground beyond was dropping down into a slight dip midway along the garden! Content with simply following the terrain towards the east, I had not noticed that the brick path was itself rising westward towards an immovable concrete step! Now the decision to use the studio foundation slab as a station platform has been formalised, along with the firm intention of extending the rails beyond to a turntable, depot and sidings, that solid step is now an obstacle that will have to be crossed! I don't think it would be a particularly good idea to have any degree of gradient alongside the platform, so the original section has got to be lifted and repacked.

The job was a bit tedious and frustrating - but it did at least provide an early opportunity to work out suitable repair and maintenance techniques for dealing with our rather peculiar, geodetic road bed?!



After sweeping away the top layer of chippings, removing fishplates and scooping out the compacted material along the joints, I was very relieved to find that complete (and quite heavy) sections could be lifted without disturbing or damaging any of the rail fixings...



I was surprised by the colour, and how hard the original layer of sharp sand had compacted and "set"!

Laying fresh sand to a precise gradient was a bit of a faff, but I got there in the end...




With the platform road to be laid with rather more conventional timber sleepers and loose ballast, the raised section has been "fenced off" with cut brown tiles in the same manner as the pointwork!

By the close of play yesterday I had emptied our last two bags of grit over some weed-proof membrane, but that allowed me to work out precisely how much would be required for the coming weekend work.




Thanks to Glenn for generously providing transport, and the supreme effort of Mr. O., (who found the three lengths of timber that I wanted for the new sleepers buried right at the very bottom of a huge, freshly delivered pallet load in the store warehouse!) all materials are now on site!

Pete.

 

[Neil]

The images of the track panels complete with roadbed remind me of how track replacement for the tramway in Ghent was done a few years ago where track, roadbed and sets were craned in as a single unit.

 

[Peter Insole]

Thanks for posting those images Neil. Very interesting to see how it rests on relatively few pads, and the puzzling rail gaps - with bits of wood in between...??

There must be a cunning plan for those bits?!

Pete.

 

[Peter Insole]

I have never coped very well with heat, so while some of my neighbours have been sitting out in the sunshine and saying "Isn't this lovely?!", I have been diving for cover!
The dark, dank cellar seems to be the only place where the air has remained pleasantly cool and breathable, so I have been taking the opportunity to drill rail ends and make up more fiddly batches of fishplates during the hottest part of the day!

Mercifully, the evenings have been just about tolerable enough to get some track extension work done outside. By the time I have been packing up and thinking of taking some photographs of the day's progress, it has usually got too dark!

The following images were therefore taken in a moment of midday madness...!



The brand new ballast does look terribly white, with an odd and unappetising "Turkish delight" effect, with each stone sugared by a thick layer of chalky powder. Surprisingly, and almost unbelievably, the natural colour underneath is in fact a middle to dark grey...!



It is only just starting to show through in areas where I am frequently walking over it! I can't help wondering how much that useless dust weighs, and what it is costing me per bag..?!

Perhaps it is just as well I can't count?!



Apart from gasping for oxygen in the blistering heatwave, and being blinded by the ballast, I have really enjoyed making up some conventional trackwork!

I am hoping that it will all settle down nicely in the end, and am rather looking forward to gazing upon it in the gloaming while sitting on the platform bench (and sipping a nice cuppa) outside the station master's office!

Pete.

 

[michael mott]

Heatwaves are certainly potentially dangerous, it is forecast for 30C here tomorrow, last summer it hit 38C here in Edmonton I could not spend any time outside in that heat. Our home is air conditioned which helps but I only use it sparingly.
The track is looking super Pete, Does the fence line stay open or is it a temporary thing? Personally I like it open. feels less like a fortress.

Michael

 

[Peter Insole]

Thanks Michael! The trouble with living in towns is that all the brick, slate, acres of tarmac and masses of concrete everywhere are an enormous and very effective storage heater! We find that "going against the tide" and keeping all our curtains, windows and doors closed for most of the day definitely keeps the air a degree or two cooler indoors. By the evening though, when the sun finally sets, the battle is completely lost! Dark slates and soft, Suffolk Red, solid wall brickwork starts giving it back! We get slow roasted overnight in our little old fashioned, terraced, Victorian oven!!

The lack of fence panels is indeed something of a mixed blessing (?) There is a rather sad, but nonetheless slightly amusing story about that fence:

Very many years ago, when still a mere youth, I had a bit of a (quite unnecessary) spat with a former neighbour. Unfortunately, the young man let the disagreement fester, and eventually decided to prevent me from using our previously shared, "allotment" path by installing a tall boundary fence down the middle! Although the guy was a big, fit, strapping lad himself, he was struggling to do it solo one morning - while I was quietly working in the adjacent studio. Those tall concrete posts and long gravel boards are ludicrously heavy, and there were an awful lot of them to lug down the garden and set upright in their deep holes. I could hear him grunting and swearing until I could bear it no longer! I stepped outside to observe, and then rushed over to grab a pole that he was clearly losing control of, saying at the same time:

"Don't worry mate, I'll hold on to it while you get that cement in..!"

Then I continued with the next one, and so on...!

After a while, and having set almost all of the remaining posts in place, he questioned me:

"Here, why are you helping me..?"

"Ah well" says I, "This fence must be costing you an absolute fortune, and it's certainly damned hard work putting it up... and all because you don't want to be able to see me... Has it occurred to you mate, that I might not want to see you either?!... You're doing me a favour, but I'm getting it for free, so the very least I can do is spend some time giving you a hand...!"

He appeared to puzzle about that for short while, then said:

"Wanna beer mate?"

"Ta very much!" I replied and gratefully accepted what was obviously a peace offering!

The property has passed through several owner/occupiers since then, but the current freeholder is renting it to a charming family that have become good friends! Heaven knows what might happen later? I do have some sympathy with the landlord though - perhaps especially now with costs spiralling as they are, and I'm not so surprised by his apparent reluctance to replace all of those ancient timber panels?!

Pete.

 

[mickoo]

It is only just starting to show through in areas where I am frequently walking over it! I can't help wondering how much that useless dust weighs, and what it is costing me per bag..?!

It isn't, what you have there is unwashed aggregate, it'll wash down in time.

Washed aggregate and stone is about 200-300% more.

My new back garden;



In the two quadrants are Scotch pebbles (30-40mm), an unwashed dumpy (800Kg) is about £190 and going up daily.

I didn't need a dumpy and got unwashed (18) bags at 20Kg for £8 a bag, washed is £12 a bag. Basically I paid almost as much as a dumpy for half as much product but I couldn't hide the excess left over (below).

Bags cost more than dumpys so work out what you need carefully, sometimes getting a bit more and having a thicker layer is more cost effective.

In my case, Scotch pebbles all unwashed, Dumpy at 800 Kg = £190, same in bags, 40 bags at £8 = £320, better yet, throw some thick plastic sheet down and buy loose tip up truck, same price as dumpy but you get 1000 Kg.

I don't think you can get washed Scotch pebbles in bulk so it's all bagged, therefore, 800 Kg of washed Scotch is £480 in 20 Kg bags.

Oh and those prices are trade as I know the landscaper well, add 20% for VAT on top.

If you're thinking about getting any aggregate or garden stone, do it now, don't make the mistake of thinking it's too expensive, next week or the week after it will be more expensive.

The fence was put in last year, the posts were £8 ea, a year later they're £18 ea.

 

[Tom Insole]

I must say this is starting to look like quite the trip up and down the branch! If it wasn’t so darstidly darn hot I’d of been rallying the children into the car for a trip up and down the line…
Hopefully all cools off a bit before I have to go back to work on the 26th…..

Tom.

 

[Simon]

Pete

I love the story of the fence, and the way in which you wittingly or otherwise maneuvered your disagreement into calmness.

I'm sure there's a lesson somewhere there for the rest of the World...

And the railway looks absolutely brilliant too.

I have a beautiful platform barrow that my dear friend Dave made for me many years ago, handmade in wood in the style of the old LSWR, shod with iron tyres, it is a slight "miniature" but pretty and practical.

For various reasons, although I love it, I would be very happy to donate it to you and your railway, I think it would complement what you are achieving pretty well.

I'm not sure how I'd get it to you, but if the thought appeals then let me know and I'll send you some pictures and dimensions.

Simon

 

[Peter Insole]

Thanks Mick! I dare any blade of grass that is brave enough to poke it's head up out that soil patch - the happy bunnies will nab 'em!

I think I sort of get it on the pricing - and indeed had considered the economy of "dumpies", but the number of individual bags used so far more or less confirms that like you, I would have ended up with an excess. The posh ballast is actually quite shallow - just enough to surround and grip the sleepers - although I have used grit underneath, mainly to ensure good drainage for the timber.

At £7 per bag (retail) of fancy stones, (VAT inclusive) looks like I'm getting a bargain! A perfectly good reason to grab it now, while stocks last!!

Indeed, that's where I have been this afternoon...!!

Yes Tom, it is a bit warm out there! I hope you might take some comfort if I tell you that it is also a bit of a chaotic, not very child friendly building site - with lots of holes, twiggery and several sharp tools laying about at the moment!



Mr. O,. and me are doing our best, under the circumstances, to get ready and safe for small visitors very soon!

Pete.

 

[Peter Insole]

Thank you so much Simon for your most kindly offer! It sounds delightful - and perfect - are you really, really sure...?!

Perhaps maybe we'll get a chance to meet up at an exhibition some time soon...?

Pete.

 

[Osgood]

Gonna need a barrow crossing now.

 

[mickoo]

Thanks Mick! I dare any blade of grass that is brave enough to poke it's head up out that soil patch - the happy bunnies will nab 'em!

I think I sort of get it on the pricing - and indeed had considered the economy of "dumpies", but the number of individual bags used so far more or less confirms that like you, I would have ended up with an excess. The posh ballast is actually quite shallow - just enough to surround and grip the sleepers - although I have used grit underneath, mainly to ensure good drainage for the timber.

At £7 per bag (retail) of fancy stones, (VAT inclusive) looks like I'm getting a bargain! A perfectly good reason to grab it now, while stocks last!!

Indeed, that's where I have been this afternoon...!!

Yes Tom, it is a bit warm out there! I hope you might take some comfort if I tell you that it is also a bit of a chaotic, not very child friendly building site - with lots of holes, twiggery and several sharp tools laying about at the moment!

View attachment 166597

Mr. O,. and me are doing our best, under the circumstances, to get ready and safe for small visitors very soon!

Pete.

The Rabbits are working on HS3, it'll be on time and on budget

If you only need a small area then bags have to be the way, but there does come a cross over point. Yours looks like a granite of some sort, much cheaper than decorative stone by far.

The strips down the side of mine are French drains to allow excess water an area to hold and drain away after covering so much of the garden, they're topped out with 10 mm shingle, a dumpy doesn't go far so a little trick is to lay 4" of cheap ole 20 mm pebbles onto a membrane, then lay another membrane on top of that to stop the 10 mm migrating to the base and top up the last 2" with 10 mm.

The landscaper did the slabs, edges and deck frame in front of the workshop, I did all the stones (2400 Kg) membranes and decking boards but ran out There's still another 500 Kg to go in the trench in front of the workshop.

If you can afford it then grab everything you think you might need, shortages are not going to get better or prices slow in rises is the word on the street. The workshop was finished a couple of months ago, the builder reckons to do it now would add £2K on top of top out price, lunacy.

 

[Pencarrow]

I'm in the middle of doing a back to brickwork rebuild of our ensuite. It was supposed to be a simple re-tiling job but a multitude of sins from the original build were uncovered and in the end it was just simpler to get shot of everything that was trying to fall off and crumble rather than work very slowly and carefully to retain as much as possible.

The reason I mention this is picking up on Mick's point about material costs. I have been absolutely stunned by how much materials have gone up, and also how difficult it has been to assemble all the materials, fixtures and fittings for a bathroom. I've been let down multiple times on deliveries with parts of the order suddenly being out of stock and not available.

I've lost count on the number of retailers I've visited in person and online before managing to get everything. I dread to think how much time has been expended on this 'smallest room project. At the moment the train room looks like a DIY store. Toilet, shower cubicle, sink, plumbing items, cement board, timber, tiles and trims - the list goes on.

Now that everything has been obtained, I can finally proceed with finishing off the removal of all the existing fixtures on Friday without fear of the project grinding to a halt. Whilst just about still useable, significant 'enabling and site clearance works make the facilities look like there's a war been going on. I've all next week off to hit the job hard. Looking forward to the heat wave... Joy.

The railway is looking great Pete. Really lovely to see it bringing joy to the family.


Some filler required to make the ceiling good...


Large holes to the cavity filled...


Extract fan, lights and new ceiling going in...

Hopefully this explains why there's not been much in the way of modelling posts of late but I am enjoying seeing what others are doing.

 

[Richard Gawler]

Last year my WC flush packed up. It had been flaky for years. I called in the firm who do the servicing on CH boiler and they told my partner (who was house-sitting for me) they couldn't repair it because it was rusty, suggested getting a complete new bathroom, and gave her a bill for their call-out charge.

Three weeks later I had a plumber recommended by a mate. He got the old cistern off in five minutes flat and then the pan out all in one piece, but it took him another three hours to get the new pan in - and this on a house barely 20 years old. In particular, he had to go out and buy a special flange for the soil pipe.

I mention all this because I know, if I had tried this myself I would have been without a loo for a week (and no en suite here) and if a professional needs a morning to change a WC then I can see just how difficult things can get. He didn't actually charge very much - about £120 for the labour - he is Gas Safe and I may well be getting him back to do the boiler service.

 

[simond]

Wondered what you’d been up to. I did our en-suite about 8 years back, when I was still travelling a lot. It was not fun.

and there is still one of those fiddly finishing-off jobs to do…

 

[Nick C]

Last year my WC flush packed up. It had been flaky for years. I called in the firm who do the servicing on CH boiler and they told my partner (who was house-sitting for me) they couldn't repair it because it was rusty, suggested getting a complete new bathroom, and gave her a bill for their call-out charge.

Three weeks later I had a plumber recommended by a mate. He got the old cistern off in five minutes flat and then the pan out all in one piece, but it took him another three hours to get the new pan in - and this on a house barely 20 years old. In particular, he had to go out and buy a special flange for the soil pipe.

I mention all this because I know, if I had tried this myself I would have been without a loo for a week (and no en suite here) and if a professional needs a morning to change a WC then I can see just how difficult things can get. He didn't actually charge very much - about £120 for the labour - he is Gas Safe and I may well be getting him back to do the boiler service.

I've changed three flushes now - we live in a very hard water area so nothing plumbing related lasts long. You can buy the flush mechanism separately, and fit it to an existing cistern - took me about an hour each time.

 

[Richard Gawler]

I've changed three flushes now - we live in a very hard water area so nothing plumbing related lasts long. You can buy the flush mechanism separately, and fit it to an existing cistern - took me about an hour each time.

Yes. The plumber bless his heart offered to do this for me after the cistern came off so easily. But with the 1990s gold plating worn away and the internals pretty much growing limescale like a living organism - and a shiny new toilet just taken out of its box, my mind was made up.

Incidentally (and I forgot to say this earlier), Pete I am much enjoying your account of your garden railway.

 

[Peter Insole]

Oh dear, all this latest stuff reminds me of the things I should be doing around the house!

Having said that, my wife has just this very morning consented (while wearing her chief accountant hat) to the next order of rail. "Get enough to finish the job... before the price goes up any higher" she declared!

Wow!!

Pete.

 

[Peter Insole]

Rich came over this afternoon to see the latest progress, but he was under strict instructions to just "chill" - which is probably an odd term to use right in the middle of a heatwave?!

Mr. O., had earlier given the ghastly white ballast a quick swoosh with his pressure washer and it was all looking quite nice...



Our champion head ganger is also steadily reducing the terrific heap of elderberry wreckage and bagging it up ready for recycling!

We behaved ourselves and sat on the platform chatting quietly for little while... but then I thought: "What the heck, time for some special train services for grownups only!"

Ha - hah!!



That was when the fun really started...

Just to prove that this is a proper, working railway...



The little engine was working hard up the gradient... He - he!!



No need to worry about getting smuts on the washing with this one though...!!

It was a jolly good way to forget all the grim and serious stuff for just a few hours.

Pete.