We’ve made a number of improvements over the Summer. Some we’ve already covered. Some not. We’re making progress, albeit slowly. The main focus is getting trains running again, and to do that, we need to start laying track again, not pulling it back up.
Something that’s been bothering me is the lack of progress on setting the last batch of roadbed bricks in place. It’s been a couple of months since the last batch of bricks was cast and laid in position. That’s mostly on me for not improving the state of the garage. It’s in no shape to work on any project. Not until recently anyway.
I’ll save how the garage and the office were updated with new shelving and other improvements for another post. To say the least, the casting bench is ready for action. And speaking of casting, it’s time to set those roadbed bricks in place then cast more and place them.
If you remember from the Roadbed Bricks – Round Three post, some of those 3D printed ballast profile molds had warped and yellowed from the UV exposure. What’s left of them are sitting in a bucket outside the carriage doors of the garage. So the “then cast more” part is going to have to wait.
Setting The Bricks
We’ll get back to that later. Now it’s time to set the rest of those bricks in place. They’ve been lying there on top of what’s left of the artificial turf that needs cut back to make room for them. Time to better protect that 14# power feed cable in the process by “hiding” it under the turf next to the bricks.
My “wheelie cart” helps save me from having to crawl around on my hands and knees. Lately my knees painfully remind me I’m not getting any younger. In the spirit of “there’s always something else that needs done first”, the tires need inflated. They’re not quite flat, but they could definitely use some air.
I grab the Dremel saw bag and the retractable extension cord and get that ready to go while waiting for the compressor to build up pressure. The retractable air hose makes it easy to fill the tires just outside the side garage door. Much better!
The first thing I find once I get going is most of the four bricks are already sitting right on the dirt. If it weren’t for that black “weed control” fabric and just a wedge of turf, they could be set right in place, if the dirt had been moved anyway. Time for the yard cart… Which is full of water!
Well, not all the way full, but Hurricane Debby dropped a good amount of rain on us. Easy enough to dump it out and roll it over to the job site. I made sure when I ordered the new Gorilla Cart™ it came with the solid tires. No worrying about flats!
A couple of quick cuts with the Dremel saw make quick work of that turf wedge. And the black fabric can be pulled out of the way enough to set those first four bricks in place. It takes a few tries to remove enough dirt and test fit the contour for each brick.
Annoyances
That fabric certainly is annoying though. Not only does it NOT stop the weeds from growing, it’s so flexible it’s nearly impossible to cut with the Dremel saw! The one thing it DOES do well is keep the seams between the sections of turf from “puckering”, for lack of a better term.
Puckering describes the way the dirt washes away at the seam and builds up under either side, like lips puckering. At this point, it’s no longer necessary with the bricks in place. The work progresses a brick or two at a time while cutting away the turf and fabric and fitting them in place.
By the time I’m finishing up, the shade has disappeared. The new umbrella Ann got me is working fine to block the sun though. It wouldn’t have taken so long if it weren’t for the post and remnants of the stringer that were in the way and had to be removed.
Unfortunately that left a patch of dirt exposed leading up to the switch. Thankfully a chunk of turf previously cut out of the way covers it and fits the bill quite nicely. It will be good enough until the next batch of bricks is ready to finish that stretch.
But Wait, There’s More
But it’s not done yet. There are three more bricks on the other end of the “cast in place” failure. Alright, it wasn’t a total failure, but it ain’t very pretty and that’s for sure. These three fit between the other end of the “cast in place” section and the end of the previous batch of bricks.
It’s a bit harder to get the turf cut this time because of the surroundings. On one end is the the previous batch of bricks and the other is cast in place concrete. But the most difficult part is the tight squeeze getting everything to fir in that space!
That end brick from the last batch actually had the corner crack off, but it doesn’t want to go back in place without a fight, or leaving a gap. After more finagling, and even more stomping, they finally fit. Probably best not to disturb the bricks already placed last time around.
Levelling Up
Next up is levelling that 4×4 that sits proud of the first batch of bricks. All those 4x4s along the lower loop started out level when first installed. Over time they settled, heaving or slumping in the process. Every one of them sit on dirt with the exception of the one sitting proud.
That 4×4 sits proud because it’s resting on a wedge of turf. A wedge of turf that should have been cut out of the way when it was first installed a few years back. The time has come. But first the 10′ section of flex track that sits on top of it has to be removed.
This allows access for refitting the 4×4 to sit lower and level with its neighbor and the first round of bricks. Turns out not only is there one wedge, there’s two! A convergence, where two different sections of turf meet. This discovery forces removing the first batch bricks, disturbing the pile of rubble they sat on.
After struggling with getting the high spot out of the middle and trying to eliminate the rocking motion, the 4×4 finally sits flat and at the proper level. Getting that rubble and the bricks to sit flat and level is even more of a struggle, but eventually everything lines up.
More Levelling
Unfortunately that 4×4 wasn’t the only one that needed attention. Ann had been working in the front yard, adding pavers and removing dirt to do so. She nearly filled the dump cart and I dumped that dirt where the track leaves the deck. The idea is to build up the terrain there.
After removing the section of track, I backed the heavy dump cart over the 4×4 and released the latch to dump the dirt. Why does this matter? Those aren’t the 4x4s that need levelled! It’s the ones in front of the deck step. Yet another 10′ section of flex track needs moved.
Thankfully this time the turf didn’t need trimmed, but it did need pulled out of the way while adjusting the 4x4s. While I still have the track out of the way, it’s time to trim the turf along the 4×4 that staircases the terrain where the dirt was dumped.
The cutoff piece of turf isn’t quite big enough cover all the dirt, there’s still an exposed patch, but it’s mostly covered. Time to put the track back together. Of course, the Split Jaw™ couplers needed new socket head bolts to replace the bent, mangled originals.
Thankfully the track just falls into place, having retained their shape from using the rail bender when they were first installed. The hold down screws are left out for now with the idea that some 1×2 blocking will be fabricated to hold the rail in place.
For now, even the end that was uneven drops right into place. It doesn’t even take concrete blocks like it did months ago. It probably would have waited, except the Bozos that installed the new copper A/C line set grabbed them and used them for seats and step stools.
Sour Grapes
Definitely some sour grapes there. First of all, who told them they could use those blocks? And they didn’t even put them back where they got them! I had to download the security camera videos just to know whether they took them with them when they left.
Second, but more importantly, who misdiagnosed the leak was in the line set to begin with? Nothing like having to pay $1500 for a non repair! Still leaking and no A/C a day later, in Florida, in the middle of August no less! Ends up needing a brand new condensing coil and we get to pay to have that installed too!
Guess I should be happy we finally got someone that knew what they were doing. So frustrating paying supposed “professionals” to have it done right and I end up knowing more than they do! I’m paying you to fix it so I don’t have to!
But enough whining. I don’t need them to hold the track down anymore, and that was the goal. To keep the puppies from poking their eyes out, I removed the sagging 3′ straight track section and the broken stringer that was no longer holding it up.
I left the plastic pipe to mark where the track goes in preparation for the upcoming trestle work. You can see from the pictures how much more track work remains. Next step is to add back more of the 10′ flex track sections into the roadbed bricks.
Still struggling with the decision to use wooden or metal for the trestle and bridges. It may end up being 3D printed PETG that looks like metal, but still have to experiment with PETG and its durability when exposed to the elements. Time will tell.
“Then Cast More”
I promised to say more about the “then cast more” part of the discussion. One of the things accomplished when making the casting bench operational was to cut the 8′ long pieces of the roadbed brick casting forms into two sets 4′ long.
They’re sitting on the casting bench waiting to be reassembled. I’m still looking for another chunk of 2×6 that’s 4′ long to create a third 4′ long form. I’ve also 3D printed at least three more ballast profile molds for that section, but will probably need more
More to come, so stay tuned!
Looking good.