3D Printer Fowl Up

barkmannLeave a comment

After years of reliable service, our Tevo Tarantula Pro (TTP) finally bit the dust. Well, better to say I pushed it over the edge. After the disappointment of the formed concrete roadbed, we switched gears and starting printing casting molds for roadbed “bricks”, and they were printing like clockwork… Until the nozzle clogged. That’s not the end of the world, we’ve had clogs before, but this time it was the death knell for the hot end.

Without going into a lot of detail, it boils down to the leads to the heating element frayed over time, to the point where they became intermittent. This caused the temperature of the hot end to randomly fluctuate drop below the melting point of the plastic filament. Try as I may to replace the clogged nozzle, fiddling with it for more than a week, all I end up doing is snapping off the new replacement nozzle in the hot end.

I manage to extract it, but in my attempt to replace it, all I manage to do is break off the heat break in the hot end. The ensuing attempt to extract the threaded part of it still stuck in the hot end reveals the threads have been damaged from one or the other breaking off in there. Not even a thread chaser will repair the damage I’ve done. I managed to find a replacement hot end kit on Amazon and ordered it.

Totally Irreparable Hot End

Long story short, it appears it was my attempt to install it, leaving the connector inline and not just hard wiring it into the harness is the issue now. It allows way too much electronic noise in the temperature sensing feedback circuitry for stability, causing thermal runaway shutdown. At least that’s my best guess as to what’s going on.

If you have no idea what that means, don’t worry, only tech savvy folks familiar with 3D printing and the associated electronics will. The short answer is the replacement isn’t working the way the control electronics expects it to, meaning the 3D printer is still broken.

A New Hope

Totally frustrated by the inability to 3D print anything, and for weeks now, it’s time to buy a new printer. At the very least look at what’s out there now compared to when I bought the TTP. Not sure if fortune was smiling down, but an ad for a Sunlu S9+ popped up, a Creality CCR10 knockoff. I decided to take a look. I compared it with other printers and could not find anything close to the price. It even includes a filament dryer!

I pulled the trigger and bought it! For little more than I originally paid for the TTP printer I get more print volume. Much more. Where the old TTP was barely able to print 8½”x8½”x9″, the new S9+ can print 12″x12″x15″! It doesn’t sound like much, until you can’t print your design as a single part. The design has to account for that, “breaking” it into pieces, to be assembled together later. How do those pieces get assembled? Snap together? Glue together? Doesn’t matter when you can print a single monolithic part!

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Had to wait a few days for it to be shipped, but when it arrived I had to open the box at the very least. Before I can unbox it I have to collect up all the pieces of the old printer and stash them out of the way until I can get back to fiddling with it. Now there’s space for the new one and boy is it well packed! Man is this thing is sweet! It’s practically ready to print right out of the box!

Not Quite Ready To Print

Some Assembly Required

As you can see from the picture, the printer isn’t quite “turn-key”, but all that remains is to attach the Z axis portion (right) to the base (left). The base portion contains the controller, power supply, heated print bed, and touch panel display. The Z axis portion contains the dual stepper drive motors, the X axis “bridge” and stepper drive motor, and the print head with hot end and cooling fans. To connect the two, only three screws per side are required to attach them. Once those zip ties are cut that is.

Z Axis Attached

The Z axis stands nearly as tall as the wooden closet rod that holds my spools of filament, but thankfully just fits beneath it. Once I rotate it so that the sag over time is now pointing upward that is. All that remains is attaching the support rods on either side to keep the Z axis rigid and aligned. A few more screws and everything’s ready to go!

Well, after I figure out how to tell Octoprint how to talk to the new printer and configure the Cura slicer for it everything’s ready to go. Turns out since the S9+ is a CCR10 knockoff, I can just tell everything that’s what it is and it just works! Like I said, this thing is sweet!

Ready To Print!

Finding Out The Hard Way

If I give this deal any dings, it going to be the filament dryer. It’s one of their first generation models and has a “pigtail” harness connection into the side of the printer base. I should have saved myself the extra money and bought one of their next generation dryers like I already have. The paired version must be commanded on via the printer front panel, which sits in the back right corner facing to the right, and it’s difficult to get to.

The shelf is just wide enough for the printer to sit sideways, and must be placed like that because there’s not enough space with the front panel facing out for the bed to travel back and forth without hitting the wall and window frame. I knew this when I bought it. The only thing I didn’t know was the filament sensor and extruder must be fed from the side that’s facing out, not from behind.

If you look closely you’ll see a set of miniature roller bearings, one above and one below the opening for the filament, meant to guide the filament up or down depending on the height of the X axis bridge. It doesn’t do much to guide the filament fed from the side. Coupled with my decision to try out their miniature sample spool of filament, I soon discovered how light and unstable the filament dryer is, ready to throw it across the room after it falling and having to catch it for the umpteenth time! Good thing it’s tethered to the printer!

Printing Roadbed “Brick” Mold Parts

And We’re Printing

All that aside, we’re printing again! That’s all that matters now. We were on our way to casting roadbed “bricks” until the old TTP died. We’re back in business and printing them again. You can see from the picture there are three parts to the brick mold. There is a single “U” shaped channel in the middle that serves as a “well” for the track to sit in, and two sides that are mirror image ballast profiles that “cradle” the track.

These parts need fastened together into a single unit. We have an assembly jig designed and ready to print. In fact, it was the very next print job when the old TTP failed. It was the first print job once the new S9+ was ready to go. The jig is also three parts, identical, and ½” wide with the proper shape to hold the brick mold parts together for gluing on both ends and in the middle.

These brick molds are 8″ in length and roughly 5½” wide, and there are a number of reasons for these dimensions. The 5½” is easy, it’s the width of a 2×6. The 8″ dimension was mainly the limitation of the print volume of the old TTP, but that’s not the only reason. For 1:24 scale, 8″ is a scale 16′, the distance between the trestle bents for our trestles. It’s also a convenient length for making curved sections.

For example, a 10′ diameter curved section of track is approximately 32″ long, or four 8″ segments. Same for a 14′ diameter curved section of track. The only difference is the 10′ diameter track needs only 12 pieces (30° each) to complete a circle where the 14′ diameter track requires 16 (22.5° each). The 20′ diameter curved sections are just shy of 48″ long or six 8″ segments. Overall a very convenient arrangement.

Roadbed “Brick” Casting Molds

Fine Tuning

Believe it or not, this thing is already tuned as close as anything off the shelf could be. Everything is pretty much spot on! About the only thing I need to adjust is the extrusion multiplier. The default of 100.00 needed increased slightly to 102.30. Also needed to fine tune the X and Y home offsets slightly, only off by ¼” at most in the X and a miniscule amount for Y. Other than that, Z offset is spot on. PID temperature control for both the bed and hot end are spot on.

I did end up ordering a couple different flexible PEI print sheets. The “factory default” sheet is about the stickiest I’ve ever encountered. They even provide a metal putty knife to pry the prints off of it! This thing is wicked! If I ever run into a print that absolutely refuses to stick, I’ll use this thing! Otherwise, the textured PEI sheet does nicely. I have yet to print anything that won’t stick to it. And I have yet to have any print fail to release after cooling off. In fact, if the print doesn’t just slide off, I just need to flex the sheet a bit and it pops right off.

As I said before, this thing is SWEET! I couldn’t ask for better. And the price was right!

Lifting The Deck

barkmannLeave a comment

Let’s start with the obvious question, “Why lift the deck?” Good question. Glad you asked.

The main reason has nothing to do with the deck and everything to do with the dogs and the bridges… Well, what used to be the bridges.

Let’s rewind…

When we originally built the approach trestles for the Howe truss bridge, they were built 20″ tall, roughly forty scale feet tall. After we refit the upper loop into the “triple decker” arrangement, we needed a second bridge. We didn’t have a second bridge.

The Howe truss bridge was built over the course of months, with strong attention to detail, which explains why it took months. We don’t have months to build another, let alone time to “refresh” the old one. Not if we want to run trains anyway.

We’d been wanting to try using some metal channels as a stand in for deck plate girder bridge spans. We saved the metal channels from some discarded Levolor® blinds, the tops with the mechanisms removed, conveniently powder coated brown.

Long story short, we quickly cobbled together a couple of crude wooden frames to slide inside the channels and provide a means of securing the two new bridge spans to the set of bridge trestle approaches. Those crude wooden frames were attached to the trestles with screws to keep them in place.

Makeshift Deck Plate Girder Spans

The Problem

The trestles themselves weren’t fastened to the ground in any shape or form, so when the dogs plowed into the bridges, they just repositioned the whole kit and kaboodle! Eventually they managed to rip one of the bridge spans loose, exposing the sharp end of the screw that was torn away from the trestle.

Time to remove them altogether, along with the 10′ span of track that we’ve grown weary of placing back on top of the bridges. We kept telling ourselves if only the bridges were higher, with enough clearance for the dogs to run under them without hitting them, then they may stand a chance of staying where we put them.

Great idea. Only problem is the span that comes off the deck leading up to the bridges is already a 2% grade or better. The bridges would have to be at least 4″ taller, 24″ vs. 20″, but 26″ would be better. If we raised the deck by 4″ as well, it would solve the problem.

The Solution

We’ll stick with “lifting” the deck, since “raising” the deck sounds too much like we’re “razing” the deck. And we’ll have to compromise and go with lifting it 3½”, the thickness of a 4×4, rather than 4″. Regardless of how much we’re lifting it, it must remain level.

As a test, I thought I could lift the deck at one support point at a time while Ann placed a thick shim of wood between it and the deck. I was fooling myself about how heavy the deck is. Even using a chunk of 2×4 as a lever, the most we could place was a chunk of 1×6.

First Attempt To Lift By Hand

We did manage to get one entire side lifted, but it was all we could do to get those chunks of 1×6 in place, and now the deck is tiling a bit off level. That will have to be good enough for now. It’s going to take a hydraulic jack to lift the deck enough to place those 4x4s. And that will have to wait until the weekend.

Before the jack can be used, we’ll need some means to accommodate its placement. It sure would be nice if it fit beneath the lifting points, but it doesn’t. It’s close, but no cigar. A chunk of 2×2 that needs removed anyway should fit the bill. In most cases just attaching the 2×2 to provide enough of a “ledge” for the tip of the jack to gain purchase is all we need. So one by one each support location is raised and the chunk of 1×6 is replaced by a chunk of 4×4.

Deck Lifted 3½”

The Lift

It’s safe to say that where the deck rests directly atop the concrete post base a chunk of 4×4 is called for and where the deck joist rests in the slot in the base a chunk of 2×6 is required. On the side of the deck closer to the fence the ground is higher than the opposite side which is why part of the deck relies on the slots in the base. Thankfully the depth of the slot in the base is roughly 2″ deep.

There’s a hitch when it comes to lifting the side closest to the fence. The part of the deck that’s supposed to emulate an excavated rock face with a tunnel beneath for the lower loop is nowhere near complete. We’re still working on “what-if” scenarios, trying to figure out what works. The idea is to have a gristmill with a waterwheel fed by a waterfall, eventually, but we’ll save that for another post.

The other “feature” of that part of the deck is that it’s slotted to provide a path for the track to loop back under itself, creating the “triple decker”. That slot is framed on either side by a  separate 2×6 joist, each with its own post base. We purposefully made that section of the deck only 6′ wide and angled away from the line of the fence to provide a wedge shape that grows to nearly 2′ wide at the exit of the track slot.

The final shape may not be a wedge exactly since it also needs to provide for a short tunnel for the lower loop to pass through. It’s difficult to find a design that accommodates all the requirements we’re giving it. The point is there are two jacking points, not just the one. That’s where that 2×2 had to be removed since it would be in the way of jacking those points.

Two Support Points Surround The Slot

The Future

That’s about all we can do for now. The next steps will be designing the trestle approach to the bridges and a means of solidly fastening it to the ground. Certainly hope that 24″ tall is enough to keep those bridges taller than the dogs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Concrete Roadbed – Trial Version

barkmannLeave a comment

We finally threw in the towel! Using wood stringers as a roadbed is just not working out. It’s been one thing after another using wood. The first setback was rot. We finally found the answer to that, but the next thing was keeping the track fastened to the stringer – with a couple puppies constantly pounding on it. Even adding screws every 8″ didn’t help! We now have track with much larger holes in the ties where the screw heads pulled through them.

Fast forward. We’ve added yet another puppy to the team, Jasper. Alright, three full sized German Shepherds! None of them are little puppies anymore. We were barely keeping ahead of things with two puppies pounding the track into the ground. But now we’re fighting a losing battle with three, we’ve been removing track, not adding it. And that’s moving in the wrong direction!

Concrete roadbed should certainly hold up to the constant pounding, if sidewalks and driveways are any indication that is… Beyond that, the idea is to shape the concrete with a center depression, a “well” of sorts, that will “cradle” the track. The question now is how deep of a well and how to screed and shape the concrete. A picture is worth a thousand words.

SketchUp Model
Cast in place or cast bricks? How Deep?

Choices

There are two choices that must be made. The first is whether to make the well as deep as the track and the ties are tall or only as deep as the ties. The second is whether to form the roadbed then screed the well into the freshly poured concrete or cast “bricks” that can be placed independently once cured. At the bottom center of the above diagram is the deep well profile “screed tool”, with the “only ties deep” version to the right of it. Above them are the “bricks”, along with some dimensions. That particular set is designed for 20′ diameter curves.

Let’s start with a continuous formed pour with a full depth well. Had we known how much work… Well, the work to “trench” out where either the forms or the bricks will sit is a wash, but the forms themselves take days to “perfect”. Essentially we want the track to be about flush with the terrain. That requires a thickness of at least 1½”, with roughly a ¾” deep well down the middle. It may not be readily apparent, but the profile we’re shooting for has a taper at the top, away from the well, to simulate a prototypical ballast profile.

Getting Started

But before all that, we need to cut out a stripe in the artificial turf roughly 6″ wide that follows the path of the existing wood stringer first. The Dremel saw with a plastic “blade” makes fairly quick work of that task. The before and after shots show the recent relocation of the lower loop track, sitting atop the turf, and the new path awaiting installation of the forms.

Relocated Lower Loop Before Cutting Turf
Lower Loop Track After Cutting Turf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see a start of staking out the forms using the 2×6 roadbed pieces we used to “elevate” the new middle loop track up off the deck. These are a perfect fit for spacing apart the ¼” thick x 1½” tall slats we’re using, attached to 8″ stakes “strategically” driven into the ground. This is just a test fit of sorts. The track is roughly at the desired height, but the forms need to be installed lower such that the top of the rails is even with the tops of the forms, a difference of ¾”.

After filling a yard cart with the dirt removed along the 10′ stretch we’re pouring concrete into, the real work of installing the forms begins. It’s taken a day’s work to get this far. It takes another day just to get all the stakes driven in the ground and the slats bent into shape. And yet another day to attach the slats to the stakes! It’s all adding up… Three days for every ten feet of roadbed means it’s going to take forever to replace the exiting wooden roadbed.

Finally Ready To Pour Concrete!

Regardless of the time spent getting here, we’re finally ready to pour concrete, starting with mixing. The directions call for 3 quarts of water for the entire 80# bag. Despite using one of the measuring buckets to dispense three quarts exactly, the mix is too dry. Adding another quart results in a mix that’s still too dry. Not quite another quart and now the mix seems too wet. At this point, I’m winded from all the mixing by hand using the shovel. It doesn’t help that I’m using the small mixing tub, which is obviously meant for 60# and not 80#.

After shoveling about three feet or so into the forms, I try to screed the profile using the 3D printed tools, but they’re just not working. It seems the tools would have been better designed like trowels to better float the profile into the pour. The tools are crudely scraping the profile more than smoothly forming it. Even working the tool back and forth like a simple screed board doesn’t seem to do much better.

So far this seems like a losing battle. By the time the entire ten foot length is poured, the only thing that worked as planned was the amount of concrete needed. I’m more than a bit discouraged by the outcome, but way to exhausted to do anything more than cover the fresh concrete to keep the pups out of it. We’ll see how it turns out tomorrow when we can remove the forms.

Ready To Remove The Forms

The picture tells the story. It’s obvious that the profile we were looking for did not materialize. It’s a crude approximation at best. Thankfully the track does fit in the well, but not very well. The sides that are supposed to protect the track and hold it in position are crumbling at the slightest touch. Removing the forms breaks large chunks of the sides loose. Not a good first impression to say the least. By now the meaning of trial version is apparent…

Stay tuned for more updates. A change in plans is definitely called for though.

Merry Christmas 2023!

barkmannLeave a comment

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

From All Of Us At The Barkyard Railroad…

We wish you all Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

While it may not show all that well, we’ve been busy here, working on the railroad! And while it may not be working on the railroad all the live long day, we’ve been busy planning and doing, just not reporting and updating. If we make just one New Year’s resolution, it’s to report and update more often! So with that in mind, here’s what we’ve been up to this last year, 2023.

 

Our Deck Has Decking!

(Feb/Mar 2023)

And railings! And steps! And that’s about it for now. The deck project is at that “add a little bit here, add a little bit there” phase. The next big push will be adding utilities and the tunnel(s). Trenching in the utilities doesn’t require much planning. The rest will take more “Imagineering” as the mouse down the road would say.

The reason the deck exists is to provide easily attainable elevation change. Them’s some big words there! What did he say? Mainly we didn’t want to have to move and maintain all the dirt it would take to build believable mountains and tunnels. So now the “imagine” part is how to make that last corner of the deck look like a believable sheer wall and somehow wedge a grist mill’s water wheel into a water feature as part of all that.

The second tunnel would be arranged around the hand rail of the steps, basically to hide the stairs from view altogether everywhere but standing in front of them. It needs to provide a believable reason for the lower loop and deck loop to exit tunnels by the terraced planters. We have electronic (CAD) drawings, but they don’t provide the “hands on” experience that fitting various pieces together with a creative eye. More to come.

 

Adding A Split Unit Air Conditioner

(Mar 2023)

The office was always on the warm side, always much warmer than the rest of the house anyway. Not anymore! Finally pulled the trigger on a split unit air conditioner / heat pump to better regulate the temperature year round. Much thanks to our son, Nick, for the unit selection and help with installation. We couldn’t have done it without him!

The Barkyard workshop had one installed a year or two back when the window unit air conditioner finally died. Nick gave us his old unit when he installed a new, more capable one in his workshop. All we had to do is buy more refrigerant to recharge it. While the window unit ran all the time and still couldn’t keep up in the summer, this split unit not only keeps the shop cool in the Summer, but also keeps it warm in the Winter.

That window unit is still sitting in the window! Eventually it will get replaced with a new window, but for now, there are far more pressing issues. For now, the office has all the comforts the workshop affords. The only thing missing is the smartphone app to remote control it. Not sure what happened to the little QR code thing to scan and install it, but it appears to be impossible without it. Again, more pressing issues…

 

Trenching In Utilities To The Deck

(Apr 2023)

The next step for the deck is adding utilities, namely power and water. Power for all those gadgets we’ll soon have installed. Water for irrigation and future water features. Nick lent us the “banana” shovel to make the job a little easier than using a standard garden spade. Even so, it still took moving ten yard cart loads of dirt just to reach the middle of the deck!

Well, that and moving a few pieces of artificial turf out of the way first, removing the rusty old “staples” and all. The first day got us half the way there to the near corner of the deck, roughly ten feet, or one stick of pipe / conduit. But we can’t just leave an open, narrow, two foot deep trench for the dog to fall in to and injure themselves. So we back filled the path and covered it with the turf just to be safe.

The second day we trenched the last ten feet to the middle of the deck. Gluing the next ten foot legs of all those pipes and conduits down in the trench was no fun, and not all at once either. First the conduit was finished and buried at the foot and a half mark specified by code, backfilled to half a foot deep to finish the irrigation lines. Once those were completed, the entire trench was then backfilled and compacted.

Two of the irrigation lines remain to be extended to the far end of the deck. but that’s another ten feet to trench, albeit only six inches deep. It’s a project for another time, twenty feet is good enough for now.

 

Welcome Jasper!

(May 2023)

Meet our latest addition to the crew, Jasper! He’s our focus now. Getting him crate and potty trained didn’t take long. And just like with toddlers, all the things that aren’t good for him to get in to have to be hidden and locked away. And he gets in to everything! After all, he is a puppy!

He’s getting used to his brother, Rocket, and sister, Kai, and new yard, the Barkyard. Kai took to him almost immediately. She’s already playing quite rough with him, getting him just mad enough to bark at her and jump up to fight back. It’s heart warming and comical to watch all at the same time.

 

Deck Railing Updates

(May 2023)

The railings on both sides of the main deck have been attached for months now, but attached with a minimum of balusters. While the deck isn’t tall enough to require railings at all, we still want them, but mainly for a place to set down a drink or plate of food or whatever. Without more balusters to provide adequate support, they don’t even provide safety.

The balusters themselves were provided by Nick, and used to support the railings around the deck for his above ground pool, now long gone. I’ve moved them here and there and everywhere out of the way while waiting to use them. They sat outside long enough to warrant an anti rot treatment, and then needed cut to length for sitting height and not standing height railings.

They’ve been stacked at the corner of the deck, awaiting installation, until now. If required by code, they need spaced no more than four inches apart. Since they’re not required, we attached one per plank at the joint between planks, not quite five inches apart. Close enough.

The railing itself is a deck plank, but the final touch is to attach another one to form an “L”, which provides that shelf to set things down on for both railings now.

 

More Stringer Repairs?

(May 2023)

Yeah, I know, don’t say it. Wood is NOT the correct choice for stringers in Florida. After yet another round of stringer replacement, we turned to using the “plastic wood” 2x4s waiting in the workshop for just such an occasion. While they may last longer outside in the elements, they certainly take longer to cut! The feed rate is about half that of a wood 2×4.

Add to that the plastic “shavings” are statically charged and constantly clog the vacuum hose to the shop vac. Having to stop after each and every ¼” thick slat to unclog the vacuum hose means it’s taking twice as long to cut each one, and these are only six foot long to boot!

Considering what a major pain it was to cut just these three 2x4s, this is probably the one and only time we’ll consider using them. But at least we tried. Live and learn. Moving forward, ground contact stringers should be concrete and above ground stringers will eventually be replaced with trestles.

 

New Equipment Added To The Roster!

(Jun 2023)

 

The Barkyard Railroad has recently acquired three six axle EMD SD40-2s in the PRR Brunswick green livery. All three units were put to the test on the pike! A dedicated run in stand was constructed to test them out prior to mainline operation. And by constructed, we mean 3D printed and assembled using only the least expensive roller skate bearings available. This latest set of twelve rollers pretty much used up what was left of our stash. Even the M2.5 screws and nuts are getting scarce! So we ordered another 100 bearings and 200 SS M2.5 screws and nuts.

   

   

In addition, we added a New York Central S4 switcher, several 40′ boxcars, a couple of 50′ boxcars, and a New York Central Caboose to the roster as well. The S4 switcher set included a new 4 amp power pack, with enough juice to run those bigger engines and the switcher all together at the same time!

 

But we didn’t stop there! We needed cabeese! Alright, cabooses. We added three center cupola wood sided units, two in PRR livery and one in Rio Grande. We didn’t have a single PRR caboose to go with the new SD40s, and needed something to go with them. Thinking of “kitbashing” one of the two PRR units into an N5C “porthole” unit. Maybe even both if it turns out well!

 

Irrigation Lines Extended

(Jun 2023)

When the utilities were trenched in to the deck, they stopped at the halfway point, mainly because extending them any further meant removing some of the decking planks to gain access beneath it. Because of the angle change it makes at the midpoint, the far end and corner would overhang an extension of the straight line path the trench follows.

But until those irrigation lines are extended, any further work on the deck is on hold to avoid having to “back track”. So two of the three lines were trenched just past the far corner of the deck. They will provide for any water features and, eventually, irrigation for the raised beds along the fence. One of those two is meant to terminate there at the corner of the deck and has a permanently installed riser. The other was not glued together, but has a temporary riser in place until the raised irrigation line is trenched in some time in the future.

The third line was terminated near the middle of the deck with a permanently attached riser. This line is dedicated to irrigation for the terraced planters.

 

Surveillance Camera “Upgrade”

The original camera that essentially looks out from the beneath the office window worked for a limited time then failed. The camera was fine, but the Power Over Ethernet (POE) cable connection wasn’t, a number of the contacts badly corroded despite the weathertight sealing components. It sat, waiting to be rescued and revived.

That POE cable used to run in through the office window, preventing the sliding parts from closing completely. Everything about that camera was an afterthought, temporary by nature to begin with. It served its purpose, albeit for a short time only.

With the new split unit, a dedicated pass through was installed dedicated to its power and plumbing. That pass through can now be shared for a more permanent installation of new cables. That’s right, plural, cables. Because we added a new camera to keep an eye on the new split unit, watching what used to be a blind spot between our house and the neighbor’s.

We also replaced that camera outside the office window with a new one because it looks like when it was opened previously to inspect for damage, the weathertight seal was lost and it corroded parts of the circuit board. It still works, but it’s sitting in a drawer, waiting to be pressed into service for any interior use for which it may prove useful.

 

Running Trains For the Fourth Of July!

(Jul 2023)

We ran the new S4 switcher together with some of the new boxcars and the new Pacemaker Caboose. Jasper had a blast barking at it and chasing it around and around! He’s so much like his brother he never met, Brigel. It was enjoyable sitting in the rocking chair on the new deck, watching the train run around the layout with the puppy in tow. We switched out the switcher for one of the SD40s. Then two of them together.

The track has been ready to run for awhile now, the only thing missing a more permanent solution for a “step over” to remove the tripping hazard created by the track right near the edge when stepping on and off the deck. It’s only a few inches tall, but enough of a tripping hazard without something more substantial in place for safety. The idea is create something like a threshold, like in a doorway, substantial enough to be stepped on.

Eventually we’ll make it like another step at the top of the steps, but for now the “slotted” 2×6 segments will work just fine. Adding a hand rail for the steps will provide more safety as well as provide an anchor point for the “mountainside” to hide the fact the track is a simple loop. But more on that later. It’s a 2024 thing now.

 

Sidetracked By Leaking Air Conditioner / Kitchen Teardown / Rebuild

(Jul 2023)

Sour grapes. So much for paying “professionals” to do their job correctly, let alone finish the job! Imagine discarded gloves floating in a bucket of trash left in the attic. A bucket left in the attic to contain the leak they obviously knew about and just left that way instead of doing it right. Left there since they installed it Last December (2022) and left before they were finished. Well, that bucket finally overflowed and totally saturated the plaster and lathe of the kitchen wall below. Pictures are worth a thousand words. Pictures yet to be posted. Enough said.

 

Realigned Track For Water Feature

(Aug 2023)

In anticipation of adding a water feature in the future, we had to realigned the track that follows the lower loop around the deck. More like the exit of the loop toward the wye and downtown. The path it took, not quite two feet away from the trees was entirely too close to allow for an adequate creek channel, let alone river.

With a yardstick in hand, a radius is swept from the nearest object is a curve from beneath the bridge toward the fence, describing a tight river bend for the track to follow. The idea is to have the track follow the bank of the river / creek / stream to give the track a reason to curve in the fashion it does.

We were dreading this because of how difficult it is to cut the turf, and put it off again and again, until one day we though about using the dremel saw in place of the awkward razor knife we’d used in the past. Talk about a world of difference! Not only does the dremel saw slice through the turf like butter, it melts the edges together, eliminating those inevitable “carpet strings” when using a knife.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the rotted stringers beneath the track need removed and replaced anyway.

 

Decking Trimmed and Another Railing Added

(Oct 2023)

With the utilities trenched in for months now, we need a place to attach an outdoor in use electrical box to allow easy access to power. The problem is there isn’t a convenient post to mount it to, or anything else for that matter. The thought is to add a post where the two parts of the deck meet at an angle, but the decking overhangs the framing, making it impossible to mount anything to the framing.

The railing is missing from that part as well, and for the same reason, it’s impossible to mount the balusters to the frame. Time to do something about that. A quick trim with the circular saw and problem solved. There are just enough screws to attach the balusters and railing, but not enough to add the top cap. We’ll need to get some big lag screws to attach a 2×4 or 4×4 to the intersection between the two parts of the deck for that electrical box mount though. It’s a 2024 thing as well.

 

Preparing To Cast Concrete Roadbed

(Nov 2023)

All preparations are made for installing the forms to cast concrete roadbed beneath the stretch of track we realigned back in August. We 3D printed screed tools with the edges sloped away from the center depression meant to cradle the track, one just tie depth and the other the entire track height deep. We’ll see which works best, if at all. I took the week of Thanksgiving off with the idea I would be working on the roadbed. Plans change…

Some distraction away from making progress toward our goals always crops up, like the kitchen disaster. At least this time it’s not a disaster. The kids have been dealing with the lack of a water supply line to their refrigerator’s ice maker for some time now, basically ever since the the plastic water line in the attic failed and nearly destroyed the kitchen there. It’s been useless ever since. Literally years now.

As a Christmas present, we tore the outside wall off the back of the garage and ran a new pex line off the old copper hose bib feed. Too many trips to get parts later and it’s installed and operational. Can’t say that much about getting the garage wall siding back in place and painted though. We did manage to hang new ½” plywood sheathing to protect it from the elements, but like everything else these days, the one specific kind of siding we need is no longer available? Yet another 2024 thing.

 

New Equipment Added To The Roster!

(Nov 2023)

The Barkyard Railroad has recently acquired an LGB 20882 Uintah Mallet Steam Locomotive. The invoice says “Collector’s Item”. It’s priced like one, that’s for sure! Even the few Bachmann versions I found are fetching a high price! Back when we were first looking to start a garden railway at the other house, the Bachmann versions were plentiful on eBay, and for a third the price being asked these days.

I had always wanted one, but figured they would remain just as available as they were back then. Wrong! They were no longer available for any price. Every so often I would search again but still found nothing. As luck would have it, I received an email from Only Trains (not sponsored) which included some used items for sale, including this recent addition to our roster.

Every email from every other online hobby stores that include used items for sale are already sold by the time I look. I didn’t get my hopes up, but looked anyway. Much to my surprise they still had it! A quick search on eBay turned up a few Bachmann versions, and all around the same price! Considering none of those had sound already installed like this LGB unit did, I jumped on it right then and there.

Of course, it requires its own run in stand. Four 3D prints and a bunch of screws and bearings and assembly later, I have the 16 roller stands I need. It’s also the first and only time I needed to run power through the roller bearings themselves. I chose to only run power through a pair of them since it’s not the best thing for them.

 

Lithophanes

(Dec 2023)

Buying and exchanging gifts with loved ones is a Christmas tradition. But there’s something to be said for making the present for a loved one oneself. Something that isn’t really commercially available. Something that comes from the heart. Something that is close to your loved one’s heart. In this case, two such close to the heart items.

So by now you’re probably screaming, “What’s a lithophane already?!?!?” It’s hard to describe, another picture worth a thousand words type thing, but let’s try anyway. Imagine a 3D printed black and white picture, using a somewhat transparent filament. More like translucent, but the idea is the thicker the print, the less light makes it through it. More light makes it through the thinner portions. So necessarily a strong, diffuse backlight is required to illuminate the print.

I liken them to one of those illuminated photo cubes of the past vs. those new fangled digital display cubes that cycle through a set number of stored images, except using a more three dimensional rendition of the image. The backlighting comes from an array of LEDs, but they appear as point sources and are too harsh without a diffuser, in this case a thin 3D printed piece using white filament.

The only thing missing is the picture frame to “stuff” everything inside. I started with a site set up to generate the actual STL of an uploaded image file. It also had STL files for the frame and diffuser, except I didn’t read the instructions and uploaded non standard sized photos which resulted in something that was not exactly 4×6 and didn’t fit their 3D printed frame. So that was a bummer. It also meant I had to do more work and design different sized frames for the two pictures I used. The end results are well worth it though.

 

New Equipment Added To The Roster!

(Dec 2023)

The Barkyard Railroad has recently acquired an A-B-B-A set of F7s in the PRR Tuscan livery as well as ten heavyweight passenger cars in the same Tuscan livery. Basically one of each of the available cars. These cars are each nearly three feet long! They include figures and flicker free lighting already installed from the factory. They are truly impressive. And they better be for as expensive as they are!

Of course, the F7s requires their own dedicated run in stand. Three 3D prints and a bunch of screws and bearings and assembly later, I have the 12 roller stands I need. So now the office and the bedroom are full of USA Trains boxes full of equipment we won’t be able to run until 2024. Thankfully, that’s tomorrow. Happy New Year!

 

Spring 2023 Infrastructure Improvements

barkmannLeave a comment
Big Enhancement To New Upper Loop

The Battle Continues

It goes without saying there are even more stringers in need of replacement! It’s been difficult to keep up with only weekends to effect repairs. This says nothing about new additions or improvements so far. More stringers. Ugh. It should be obvious from that statement we have yet to get to any casting whatsoever. In fact, we’re actually moving in reverse, removing track the dogs have knocked loose from the stringers, just hanging off the sides.

We had to put up “blockades” on either side of the shed to keep Kai from bounding on, and potentially breaking through, the fence. Unfortunately, she’s pounded those 10′ diameter curved stringers to pieces, literally. It’s the only place I’ve yet to remove the track where it’s hanging. In fact, there are at least two more stringers that need replaced to make that deadline and another section in need of repair as well.

I’ve had a set of “plastic” 2x4s standing in the garage for years now, with the intention of using this material to construct stringers to (hopefully) last longer than any made from wood. I call them plastic, but they’re actually a composite of wood and plastic. I ripped the three I had into slats last weekend and got the 10′ diameter curved stringer template out of mothballs in the shed.

What’s Left Of The Curved Stringers
New 10′ Diameter Curved Stringers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have to say I certainly hope they last longer than wood because they are especially more difficult to rip into slats than their wood counterparts! They don’t really make much “sawdust”. Rather, they create many small shavings that want to clump together, clogging the vacuum in the process. Not sure what make them want to cling to each other, but what a mess! Don’t think we’ll be using this stuff again. The PVC siding I used to replace the bottom course of shiplap didn’t make this kind of mess, so I was surprised.

Our New Deck

Like last year at this time, we’re shooting for running trains Memorial Day weekend. There’s still quite a bit to do, and the stringers aren’t the only repairs that are need. The constant pounding by the pups has once again destroyed the two curved legs of the wye. One rail will need bent back to the proper radius and made flat with the rest of the track. While I’m reluctant to just put them back in place, for now it’s the only way we’ll be running trains by the weekend, even with Friday and Monday off work.

It’s a bit disheartening seeing a stack of track sitting on a rocking chair on the patio and all those stringers we replaced with no track attached. It’s been months since we’ve been able to run trains. But all this doom and gloom is balanced by our deck project. The deck is coming along nicely and nearing completion. The deck is actually part of the road bed for the new upper loop! It’s a cozy place to be, surrounded by trains as they pass. At least that much is nearly complete.

Our Deck Is Coming Along Nicely

We still need to work out how to craft the short tunnel section where the lower loop passes under the middle section and meets the deck. For now it’s just makeshift stacks of concrete blocks and decking “cut offs”. We decided not to extend the deck all the way to the planters along the fence to leave ample room for the dogs to run and chase each other. Kai can really fly when she’s chasing those pesky squirrels!

Along those lines, we’ll need to figure out some other means to blockade Kai from behind the shed and accommodate running trains. We’re thinking some sort of tunnel entrance on one end and perhaps a giant industrial building facade with through passage beneath. I don’t recall what prototypical building this represents, but I do remember seeing one like this somewhere. At this point, anything will looks better than the chunk of plywood and section of fence we’re currently using, neither of which will allow trains to pass.

Other Improvements

As part of the deck improvement, we’ve added an underground power feed and a number of irrigation lines out to the deck. It’s a start anyway. The idea is to get the trenching done and out of the way before we continue to add more dirt to the planters that back up against the deck, to avoid having to move it more than once. It took several weekends to accomplish, starting with the first ten feet from the house to the edge of the lower loop.

Actually, it passes just beyond the lower loop, but that first ten feet is where the dogs like to chase each other around. We want to make sure it’s backfilled so when the pups play they won’t get hurt. The first four feet is basically just pavers out from the house, so the most difficult part was moving the dirt elsewhere rather than piling it on top of the pavers. From there, the next five feet is covered by artificial turf that we pulled back out of the way, and now a tripping hazard.

Banana Shovel Nearing The 10′ Mark

Even using the “banana” shovel, a long and narrow shovel meant for trenching, it takes into the afternoon to get down to 18″ deep for the conduit. Once the conduit and elbows are glued up and placed into the trench, it’s backfilled and compacted to about 6″ deep for the irrigation lines. Three of them, to be exact, basically ¾” PVC to support multiple irrigation zones. Those are backfilled as well to where the turf can be laid back down to cover the path.

Not sure what happened with the stretch of conduit at the house up to the outdoor in use box. It measured 44″, then fell short by 4″! You’ve heard “Measure twice, cut once”? Try “Measure thrice, cut twice”… It’s not that big an issue, just means it will need a splice before landing it in the box is all. For the irrigation lines, they stop short of going under the deck, mainly because some of the decking will need removed to gain access beneath in order to finish trenching.

Future Enhancements

Obviously we need to finish up the “utilities” to and around the deck. The conduit and irrigation lines now extend to roughly 20′ from the house, but remain unterminated. Unfinished. Most of those improvements will be covered in the deck series and not here. Eventually the conduit will feed power for lighting and other features on the deck. The irrigation will split out in “T” fashion, one leg heading to the planters along the fence, another toward the other planters along the other fence by the garage, and the third will feed the deck area and terraced planters themselves.

The pond was definitely an enjoyable feature, even with its drawbacks. The problem was no planning or thought was given to an overall sustainable system, not even basic filtration, and that became its undoing. Having to constantly drain, clean, and fill the pond on top of constantly toweling off the dogs was just too much like work.

At some point the idea is to add a waterfall at the end of the deck, and perhaps more of a “water feature” to go along with it. Another idea is to place a water wheel powered grist mill near the waterfall, fed by the higher head upstream, complete with rail siding to serve it. These features would take the place of a railing, providing a “natural” transition back to the railroad near the bridges. We’ll need to get closer to completion on the deck before that.

Our Howe Truss Bridge Showing Its Age

Speaking of bridges, plural, we’ll need to rework the existing scratch built Howe truss bridge into two. It may be easier to just scratch build two new bridges and save the old one for later. Still back and forth with whether to make the new bridges more modern steel versions or stick with the old timber style. We’ll need at least one more bridge for the section of triple decker that passes over the ground level lower loop track.

Before all that, castings. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again, castings are on the way. Once the 3D printer is tuned up and back online, we can print the molds we’ll need to cast the cut stone arches, and hopefully “restore” the downtown marketplace. And by restore, we mean rebuild. There’s more design work to be done around downtown before we can get to that, like how to route “utilities” under the streets, and how to pour the concrete for the streets and building foundations.

For now we’ve just removed what was left of the crumbling backer board that once provided a convincing illusion of main street and covered it with artificial turf. Jasper, a 12 week old puppy and the latest addition to our team, has a way of finding anything and everything we don’t want him getting into. It’s a full time job!

Once we collected up the pieces of backer board to keep him from chewing on them, he found the little stones in the gravel beneath that provided the road base and proceeded to chew on them! After covering the gravel with the turf, you guessed it, he started chewing on the turf and dragging it up by the corners!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve Never Been Good At Goodbyes…

barkmannLeave a comment

Bye Bye Big Guy

It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that our beloved Brigel crossed the rainbow bridge today. We knew he was leaving us before his time, but I never thought it would be on us as suddenly as it came. He’d been slowing down for a long time. Back in March is when we knew he wouldn’t be around much longer. By then, his heart had already been working too hard for too long, and we could tell he was getting tired.

But we didn’t want to keep him from playing, or do anything any differently than we always had. Would keeping him from playing and the things he loved to do help him live any longer? Days or weeks perhaps, but we knew he wouldn’t understand, and we wanted his last days with us to be as joyful as they had always been. We wanted him to have as much fun as he could possibly have in the time he had left.

He wanted to play right up until the end, bringing us his “stick”, fetching it back to us for another turn, right beside his little brother, Rocket. He had just enough strength for two turns before he took his break, this last time he would ever have a chance to play. Ever.

The Beginning Of The End

He was once nearly a hundred pounds, but his digestion degraded to the point we started preparing fresh turkey and rice since the New Year. Over the last several months he soon grew tired of that, refusing to eat his food to such a degree that we were out of options. The occasional substitution of chicken or beef might persuade him to eat a meal rather than turn his nose up at it, but it wasn’t long before his appetite was gone. He was gaunt and had lost enough weight that it wasn’t worth using up his strength just to weigh him anymore.

I kept trying to “fix it”. Maybe if we…? What if we…? Ann with her knowledge of medicine knew what I didn’t, there is no cure for Cardio Myopathy. She finally told me he had maybe another week. She dispelled the misconceptions and myths I had. His arrhythmia hadn’t caused the swelling of his heart, the swelling of his heart is what caused his heart to race. I had it backward.

These last few weeks, our once “Big Guy” went from gaunt to emaciated. Nothing but skin and bone. By now, his digestion is non existent. It seems like anything he eats just goes right through him, like the food itself is exacerbating his condition. We know there’s nothing more we can do for him… Nothing except ease his struggle. We’re heartbroken.

 

Saying Goodbye

We both know Brigel is struggling with congestive heart failure. He’s been on Lasix to help stave it off for months now. He’s unable to find a comfortable spot, getting up and wandering around more and more often. This last week he’s hardly slept, wandering around in the middle of the night. Nothing can calm him down or ease his struggle to breathe. He’s drowning in the fluid slowly accumulating in his lungs that his heart can no longer pump out.

Ann calls an impromptu family meeting near the middle of the week to tell us it’s time to talk to the mobile vet. I’m still in denial about it. Still trying to fix it. But I can’t and I know it. It’s hard for me to say it’s time while he’s still playing. While he’s still breathing. But Ann knows his discomfort is just going to get worse, and quickly. We all agree it’s time. We have only days left to spend with him.

The mobile vet showed up before lunch today. We’ve yet to learn the secret to put a stop to Rocket’s aggressive barking at any and all strangers, so I have to be outside with the little guy when she gets here. We’d like this to be a peaceful transition. Ann finally comes to spell me so I can say my goodbyes. He’s already been sedated. He looks comfortable now, more relaxed than I’ve seen him in a long time.

Ann comes back in, knowing that Rocket will be more at ease with being left outside by her. The final injection takes a few minutes, but now he can rest. Now he’s finally at peace. Nick takes it the hardest. He was always able to use Brigel as a pillow, the only dog we’ve ever had that would let him do so. He lays his head down on him one last time, knowing his beloved pillow is no more.

 

The Hard Part

This has been hard on all of us. For me, the hardest part is helping the vet carry his now lifeless body to the back of her van and lifting him in. I thanked her for her kindness and said goodbye Big Guy. Rest now. Say hello to your sister, Maya, for us.

For those of you that know us, those of you that have followed us from the beginning, I want to thank you for your kindness, your patience, and your understanding. I haven’t updated our online presence in over a month. I’ve only recently been able to sit down and write about this. The Barkyard won’t be the same without him. We miss him dearly.

We thought the tears were over… Until Ann picked up Brigel’s ashes. They had hand written a very nice condolence and card. We are grateful. When we found they also cast his paw print, we both lost our composure. It’s a beautiful gesture, and a remembrance we will have the rest of our days.

In the coming days I will put together a memorial photo album on our Barkyard Facebook page, and a YouTube video with clips of our Big Guy in action. Maybe even a slide show, starting with when he was no more than a 5 pound bundle of fluff in our two hands.

Until we meet again Big Guy…

 

Back To Work!

barkmannLeave a comment

My First Day Back To Work!

After an extended time off, I’m finally back to work. And it’s good to be back! Now the money for new trains and other Barkyard related items will come pouring in! Just in time for USA Trains to start producing their F7A-B units again! And I threw a couple of GP38s in the order for good measure… Pent up demand I suppose.

It’s nice to not have to worry about spending the money again. I was laid off back in May of 2021, so the “reserves” were running low, so to speak. This opportunity just fell in my lap! And the timing was right. Providence and all that I suppose.

I was hoping to have the Barkyard self sufficient and operational by now. Life’s what happens while you’re busy making other plans I suppose.

Just when we got comfortable with Rocket and his special needs, just when we thought it was safe, Brigel is diagnosed with a heart arrhythmia. His right atrium is three times normal size, and his heart will eventually fail. And to top that off, his digestion is hit and miss as well lately. Some days he has no appetite. Other days he’s fine. Could be worse I suppose.

Thankfully this is a one hundred percent remote position, although I did have to travel to Lakeland PD for a Go Live after my short one day stint on Jury Duty here in Lake County the day before. Everyday is a winding road… And I took them home from Lakeland. All two lane and back roads. It didn’t take much longer than taking the super slabs and toll roads would have either. Less stress I suppose.

They sent a docking station and a 24″ monitor along with the laptop. I had another 24″ monitor dedicated to the surveillance system, but decided to double it up with the one they sent. I’ve been using my son’s spare 27″ monitor as a third with the server, but reallocated it to the security cameras. I ordered a new tactile keyboard and trackball dedicated to the work system. The only drawback is sharing my project bench space. It’s not so much shared as reallocated since I have to stash the projects out of the way. But it keeps me focused on work I suppose.

Data Central

I’ve renamed my office “Data Central”. What else would you call six computer screens staring at you 24/7? I exaggerate of course. Come close of business Friday, the work laptop gets stashed until start of business Monday morning, freeing up the project workbench for the weekend. I’ve already splashed the liquid cement I use to bond the 3D printed PLA pieces on the track ball, leaving discolorations on the right button. Now I stash it too. Learned my lesson I suppose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring 2022 Infrastructure Improvements

barkmannLeave a comment

We Had To Start Somewhere

So… Where do I start? It’s been a couple months now since yet another wooden stringer has rotted to the point where the pups have totally destroyed it. Not one. Not two. Not three. Five! Had we known then… This is the third go round to repair and replace the rotted wooden stringers we use for roadbed. Here are some shots of before and after repair, trying to avoid the inevitable state we’re in now.

Broken
Patched

 

 

Although we started treating all the slats on the new stringers with a rot preventative, it’s too late for all those original stringers, only three to four years old now. It’s been a LOT of work just to splice new sections in place of the bad and broken ones, let alone digging up and replacing entire stringers the first few go rounds.

When we researched our roadbed choices before we laid the first piece of track, our choices fell into two “camps”: Wood and Concrete. The biggest advantage to using concrete is its resistance to frost heave, something we don’t have to worry about here in central Florida, so we pressed ahead using wood. No mention of rot or annual maintenance and replacement to be found. We had to start somewhere, but had we known then…

While our situation doesn’t seem unique, we’ve not found any mention of “puppy proofing” against large scale bombardment by dogs.

Other Issues

Another place where the stringers have rotted away is the station platform along the edge of the patio. When we first put in the station siding along the planters, the top of the track sat about 4″ or so above the ground, but that’s the low spot. The patio slopes away from the garage for proper drainage, leaving a bit of a swale between it and the raised bed planters. We filled it with gravel, but we were constantly having to sweep the gravel off the patio and back into the swale.

We were already thinking brick arches along the edge, so a row of fired clay bricks with the three hollows were stacked along the edge of the patio to “simulate” brick arches, and rather poorly at that, but it solved our gravel problem. So the idea was always to have some sort of arched structures, culverts, or the like. After a number of failed attempts at keeping plants growing, a station, and platform roof structure, we eventually removed the planters.

That left us with just the station siding, station platform (4x8x16 concrete blocks), and those silly looking bricks.

Silly Looking Bricks

 

Concrete Roadbed

We’ve re-evaluated our choice of wooden stringers as roadbed… Understatement? Probably. Short of another journey into decades old forum posts, concrete roadbed is the only other choice we’ve found. Now the challenge is how to make that work without loads and loads of dirt beneath to hold up the tracks on the grades. And how to incorporate dual mainlines. And how to handle curves. And a few other issues that remain undiscovered.

The short version is there are just as many unknowns with the concrete approach as we faced when we first started with wood. That initial arched culvert back in January didn’t address the idea of roadbed. In fact, it didn’t even address the idea of a casting molds. The main focus was a modular design that fit the build volume of the 3D printer. Modules would be assembled by fitting arch sections together with joiner sections using the liquid cement technique that works well for PLA.

But I tried to do too much, like adding detail inside the underside of the arch, where it will be at most 2″ off the ground and no one will see it. Working out the dimensions using a piece of 3″ PVC pipe to guide the dimensions meant going back to the drawing board to fit the design to real world constraints and deviating from the rivet counting details based on the Pennsylvania Railroad standards. That got pushed on the back burner to get other things accomplished.

Cut Stone Arches

When I was finally able to devote my attention to this again in March, I picked up where I left off with fitting those modular arches to the curved track sections, this time fitting all three types of sectional track we use and not just the 10′ diameter curves. And this time I added using PVC pipe as part of the mold for casting the arch section. The original PRR plans called out an 8′ diameter vaulted section, but I’m using “artistic license” to use a circular arch to adjust to the outside diameter of a 3″ PVC pipe, namely 3½” or 7′ at 1:24 scale.

Also new this go round is the roadbed section. In fact, I started by thinking about how to cast the roadbed in sections, and upside down, to get the profile I’m looking for… A “standard roadway” as it was called by the PRR. At first it was a 1×6 wide, but it looks like a 1×8 will more closely match the roadbed profile. The thought is to cast standard length sections that fit together in a keyed fashion for a majority of the tangent sections, custom fitting transition segments for making up the curves.

But then the problem becomes how to join these 1½” – 2″ thick sections together with a 6″ tall casting without having to mortar everything together. Or perhaps it does mean a mortar joint. Another problem is how to cast 16′ of arches all at once, or rather, how not to cast it all at once but in more manageable sections, like 4′. Maybe I can float the roadbed profile into the arch casting with a profile tool if the slump isn’t excessive.

Better Than Bricks?

Obviously a few “kinks” left to work out… But that’s another story for another time.

The Battle Continues

After repairing or outright replacing those five stringers, even more need replaced! It’s difficult to keep up now that I’m back to work and have only weekends to effect repairs. This says nothing about new additions or improvements so far. A phrase from the movie “Blade Runner” comes to mind, Accelerated Decrepitude. There is something in the soil that seems to promote and accelerate decay.

The soil is basically sand. Fine sand, with bits of dirt or organic matter that clings to anything that disturbs it. It’s everywhere. It was the motivating factor in building a plywood floor over it in the garage. Every time, and I mean EVERY time I worked on a project in the garage, I had to plan on showering before bed because my legs were filthy, covered in that fine dirt. It’s more like silt it’s so fine. I’m beginning to wonder if they dredged Lake Dora for fill in the historic district!

To battle the constant onslaught of rot and decay, we now treat EVERYTHING made of wood with copper naphthenate, a rot preventative. This treatment is required to be applied to cuts in pressure treated lumber by many local building codes. I learned too late that just because lumber says it’s pressure treated, it does not guarantee it won’t rot, especially if it’s been cut. It’s only a surface treatment, but as far as I can tell, it’s just “tinted” lumber, not “treated”. Long story short, we need to find a different material to construct our stringers.

More Stringers

So not only did it take another three stringers to finally replace all the rotted ones, the “triple decker” took yet another set of three stringers. What’s a triple decker? That’s what we call the new upper loop arrangement that passes over the lower loop and under the old upper loop at the bridge, making a third level between the ground and the bridge. Hence the name “triple decker”. The idea is to break up the monotony of trains always travelling the same direction.

A little background is in order. Ann asked if we could run the trains the opposite direction. Sure we can, but why? It’s boring. Another key factor is the pups always having to jump over or crawl under the old upper loop. With this new arrangement, the entire upper loop does not remain nearly two feet off the ground, it slowly descends toward a mid point not quit a foot off the ground. Plenty of opportunities for bridges and meets and future sidings.

We wanted something different… We got it. And we got more work to go along with it! And well worth it too. Those last three stringers make up a new connection between what used to be the downgrade stretch of the old upper loop and the opposite end of the old upper loop, what used to be the upgrade end, now the downgrade end. The old downgrade end of the old upper loop is now the upgrade end. That’s a lot of words. And a lot of handwaving. And a picture is worth a thousand of them…

Triple Decker Under Construction sans Bridge
New Upper Loop “Triple Decker” Arrangement

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To put it another way, the traffic on the loop now runs in the opposite direction than it used to. And now that we have a new arrangement, it’s apparent the old terraced planter arrangement no longer fits. We need something new to take its place. A new arrangement perhaps? The idea is to have a long tunnel for the lower loop along the fence planters and the new upgrade portion of the new upper loop emerge from a cut though the reason for the tunnel. A mountain. A foothill. Some reason for the arrangement to exist. Some natural arrangement.

Naturally that means dirt, and a LOT of it. Truckloads of dirt. We’ve talked about this many times, but never acted on it. Moved a lot of dirt from here to there, and back again, like when we removed the pond. But that backfill took away most of what was left of the dirt. A small mound compared to the “mountains” of dirt we’ll need to provide the illusion of terrain. The key point here is illusion of terrain. We’ll come back to that…

“Mega Stringers”

With all that rework on the upper loop pretty much finished, we turned our attention to the long neglected lower loop. You’ll never guess what needed replaced… That’s right, more rotted stringers! So what’s new? Well, this time the elevation changes are part of what we need to address this time around. Part of what I’ve been planning for casting the cut stone arches is how to “turn the corners”, so to speak. The common theme is using a number of short, straight segments that fit the curve. For the casting, the length is 8″. What length 4×4 will work for the 20′ diameter curve of the lower loop?

Turns out the answer is it depends. If it’s just a single 4×4, then the answer is segment about a foot long, not much more than the 8″ for the castings. But, if it’s two 4x4s wide, side by side, then four feet works well. Well enough to cut an 8′ long 4×4 in half for the two pieces needed anyway. We’ve had the 4x4s just laying around since we dismantled the planters along the station siding by the patio. It will be nice to put them to use again.

Using 4x4s also addresses the issue of elevation change using a simple “cut and fill” method. That is to say, we dig out (cut) where the 4×4 will be too tall, then use what we dug out to build up (fill) where the 4×4 is not tall enough. We cut away the turf along the path of the lower loop where the 4x4s sit. To keep the 4x4s in place, we drilled holes from top to bottom, then “pinned” them using short lengths of rebar through those holes and driven into the ground, flush with the top of the 4×4. It works okay, but we’ll need to revisit the grade periodically.

Oh, and guess what else? We needed to replace yet another stringer! Surprise, surprise. That stringer sets the grade for one end of the 4×4 Mega Stringers. On the plus side, that work allowed us to pull the lower loop in closer to the upper loop so the big guy doesn’t keep tripping over it.

Ideas For The Future

Regardless of how the illusion of terrain is accomplished, the purpose is to provide a view block, mainly to disguise the fact the trains are running along two giant loops. The more we look at it, the more we realize how much more dirt it will take to make a believable scene. Following the lines of the new mega stringers, we imagine laying out a staircase of planters to achieve the objective, each a step higher from the last. Maybe a tunnel over the lower loop? No. That will encroach the already limited space between the lower loop and the side of the house.

Struggling with how to cap the long tunnel and still provide “quick” access to derailments and accidents, we try various arrangements of concrete blocks and caps, but worry about the strength of the caps and their ability to support foot traffic without cracking and breaking. The plan is to extend all the way to planters along the fence and use a series of “step ups” to achieve the elevation necessary.

Once again, we’re back to the idea of steps. Steps. Hmmm… Steps to a deck perhaps? What if we built a deck to take the place of all that dirt? A deck solves a number of problems plus it provides a larger space to relax and watch the trains. If we make the deck the height of the middle section of the triple decker, we’ll actually be surrounded by them! All that remains is to make it happen.

That’s another subject for another time. We’ll make another post, most likely posts, to track our progress. Enjoy!