Garden Line, Pt.4 - August-September 2020

 

Following on from Part 3..

20/08/20
"Let the loco and wagon testing commence!"
The Malcolm Moore and navvy gear seemed appropriate for the first "proper" train. Even if the loco's driver is in a box waiting for paint..

 

21/08/20
Something I should've done months ago, was to take some leftover track, and test different blends of ballast material, to see what is durable and looks right. Sticky notes were left above each test piece so I knew what ratios were used. The skewers and tiles were just to keep the notes from being blown away, whilst the ballast dried overnight. Each mix contains cement, and was applied dry, then gently watered in.
On the tramway proper, I'll be following this watering down, with diluted Sikabond outdoor PVA.

Two blends were tested on this section, and as you can see, they came out identically - both in appearance and strength. Of all the blends to follow, these were the strongest, though there was hardly any difference.
This blend would work for a modern or unusually well-maintained light railway. I might use this to model a couple of high-quality spot-repairs in the track, but for general use, it's a bit too "nice" for the overall effect I want. As they're both essentially identical, I'll just describe one blend.

It's comprised of:
1 part coarse sand
1 part cement
2 parts crusher dust
Roughly 2% by volume, of chocolate cement oxide

This one's (I reckon) a good example of old, dirty granite ballast. A good "narrow gauge mainline" blend.

4 parts coarse sand
1 part cement
2 parts crusher dust
2 parts soil
10% chocolate oxide

This one's much more like the work of a sugar mill, looks as much soil as there is ballast. The track was an early test piece to compare rail weathering methods. This end was painted with the earlier-mentioned gloss indian red paint, and coated with iron powder whilst wet, then sprayed with vinegar once dry. The effect is a bit heavy for me, but would work quite well for anything modelled near saltwater..

2 parts coarse sand
2 parts cement
1 part crusher dust
3 parts soil
10% chocolate oxide

This one's my favourite, reminiscent of the local Moreton Mill's cane tramways (until closure in 2003) that were (I'm told) almost entirely ballasted with soil. This blend differed in that I used fine sand, which seems to have helped lend it a particularly dusty appearance. At left, the rails were painted gloss indian red; at center, Tamiya's NATO Brown.

1 part fine sand
1 part cement
1 part crusher dust
1 part soil
7% chocolate oxide


I just wish I'd remembered to make these test pieces months ago, to see how they hold up over time. In truth though, from what I can tell in seeing similar blends used by other modellers, particularly those whom have also glued down their ballast, I expect these test pieces would last 3-5 years before serious repair or replacement..

 

The previous test run revealed the gauge on some sections of three points was too tight for Roundhouse wheelsets, as fitted to the Binnie skips. Most of my points were hand-laid by the previous owner, running G scale Yankee equipment - the wheels of which tend to differ slightly, to those more commonly seen on this forum.
It's also quite possible that I may have caused the issue when re-timbering the points two years ago.
A few hours of adjustment with the dremel had the points sorted. I'll have to touch up the rails' paint..

22/08/20
Back to something more interesting. Testing more locos and wagons before ballasting..
I had such fun running my new Bundaberg Fowler, that I neglected to take photos until the Baguley was "Thunderbird-ing" it back to a siding.
The farm shed dates from my last tramway and has survived surprisingly well for something made of pine and balsa.

I'm not even sure what these two weigh together, but I'm pleased to say the bridge stood fast.

Shame about the gate right there. In time, ballasting the track and detailing that loco should sufficiently divert the eye.

I don't think I've run the passenger rake in years. The new coach (middle distance) fits the existing rake well, and the guard's van is a momentum van, which made running the Bundy even more enjoyable.

The Ruby "Baron", sans cab and LH tank, also had a test run, after it's recently-retrofitted Roundhouse burner's standard No.6 gas jet, was replaced with a smaller No.3. It too, ran very nicely with the momentum van.

28/08/20
Parts for a cattle grid were made up and stored, some months back. Assembled in place with epoxy. The test runs highlighted numerous hollows in the track, which were filled by spreading hand-fulls of crusher dust into those sections, then washing it in with the hose.

The handlaid track was ballasted leaving the sleeper tops exposed, to give the cedar a chance at lasting. The flex track's plastic sleepers however, allow more of that "narrow gauge effect". Just as last time round, moss was scraped up and torn into small pieces, then mixed with the ballast, prior to application.

A converted Echo Toys open wagon is ideal for this job. Unlike all my other stock, this wagon can get filthy, as I can simply hose it clean after use. And it's Binnie wheels have been temporarily replaced with the original "pizza-cutters" - which ensured any ballast wasn't fouling the pathways of sensibly-sized flanges. The excess ballast was spread away with a 3" brush.

Once content, the ballast was gently but thoroughly soaked. I know this is a bit long-winded, but it's for my own future reference - by the time I get to ballasting Stage Two, I'll have forgotten the exact methods.. 

A 50/50 mix of water and Sika outdoor PVA (with the usual dishwashing liquid) was then sprayed. I left it a couple minutes to soak in a bit, then sprayed again, a little more lightly this time.

(EDIT 11/10/2020: Spraying glue a second time will effectively be too heavy an application, and will result in white patches of trapped moisture in the ballast/glue, that after six weeks of increasingly hot weather has become only more noticeable. If you're going to use this method, just spray the glue once and let it soak in. When dry, the ballast won't be any weaker for it, and you shouldn't have the white patches issue.)

After another few minutes, a sprayer with only water in it, washed the glue from the sleeper tops before it completely dried.

29/08/20
Whilst I'm pleased with the effect, I should've used a mix with less crusher dust and more sand/dirt for this "tramway style" section. Might lightly sift some sand, cement and dye over this bit to give it a "soil-ier" appearance..
I also forgot to wipe the glue from the railheads, so will have to go around scraping away the dried glue, with a wood chisel..

Two points and a couple of random sleepers received the "new ballast" mix, to look as though they've been recently re-timbered.

31/08/20
Over half the ballast has turned white, in spite of no rain. Thankfully, there's an excellent forum you may have heard of, that has discussed this issue in the past. I expect this trapped moisture to clear up in the coming weeks. If not, surely our rapidy-approaching Summer will boil it out..

05/09/20
With The track of Stage One nearly complete, thoughts turned to getting Stage Two built before the weather gets too hot.
Was surprised to get this knocked up in a day.
This will be an elevated mill yard, loco shed/servicing, and navvy siding. Maybe a "dead row" if I can squeeze it in, we'll see once the points arrive..
The timber frame is only untreated pine held together with chipboard screws, as it needs only last a few years before we buy a place. A cat-run we built from the same cheap timber, lasted eight years in the constant humidity of our last yard. Cautiously-optimistic about this..

On a railway-related tangent here - Depending on the humidity of a given day, the house air conditioner's moisture drain expels 5-15 liters of clean water with every day of use. The drain can be seen at top right, and runs into the downpipe. For reasons I suspect relating to the cheap construction of this house, the drain line's gradient was almost non-existent, resulting in the line backing up, and water dripping from the air vent inside, onto the television unit. The pipe has since been disconnected from it's hole cut into the downpipe, and the water now drains without issue. But that's a lot of "free" water I could use in the garden. To that end, some 20mm PVC pipe, fittings and a 300L tank have been bought. Need another pair of Besser blocks (cinder blocks) upon which to mount the tank, before I can connect it. This lot should pay for itself within a year.

06/09/20
I bought a few rolls of "miniature" corrugated iron in strips, intended for use as garden edging. (Wasn't enthused with the idea of cutting up full-size roofing sheets with tinsnips or a grinder)
The trial-and-error job of cutting the sheets to the ground's contour was less of a pain than I expected.

Some extra support timbers (mostly from offcuts) were needed before fitting the iron. The black hose is from the caravan sink, running into a convenient stormwater drain. Aye, it's legal, one can run greywater (sinks, washing machines) into a storm drain in Queensland.

Part 4 Here.