Burning the midnight oil

It's not often we have to work late into the night as I like to push early in a project so the deadlines don't catch us. But every once in a while I under estimate the amount of work needed to be done and it is necessary to break out the work lights. Tomorrow morning at 7:00 am the first load of concrete arrives and along with it the placing crew. They need forms to place the concrete in. At nine tonight we realized there was still a fair amount to do and Peter got the call to come help. As always he was willing to lend a hand.

The form work was (as per usual) in wonderful curves and required a careful eye to get it right.

I'll get up extra early to wet down the gravel and give it a once over with the plate packer for good measure. By tomorrow night there will be lots more sidewalks in place. Then we'll finish the grading of the driveway in preparation for the pavement late this week. Once that is in control we'll form up the back deck and then start in on the final grading of the backyard in preparation for the turf early next week.

Becke has been busy planting flowers in the front and the yard is looking pretty spiffy - just in time for the wedding at the end of the month. There's nothing quite like a deadline to get things done. :)

-grampa dan

Forming ideas

The entry to our property has long been planned. Those plans had to wait for the house to be built. In the last weeks we've adjusted the grades, and begun the welding of the fence and tree feature that will flank the giant gate. We even had to raise the gate to suit the new grades of the drive. The tracks are laid down the length of the driveway. Today we built the forms for the sidewalk and curb that will define the drive entry. The concrete will be poured on Monday.

In the next week things will shape up nicely and our long held dream of a grand entry will become real at last.

-grampa dan

Going around the bend

Building a railroad doesn't look too complicated - until the building begins. Grades need to be extremely gradual. Track needs to be level and imbedded into a sharp gravel. The rails need to be prebent before they are laid if the track is to turn. And since the rails are designed as I-beams they are not bent easily.

Mainline rail is often rated at 90 lb or higher. This means each yard of rail weighs in at 90 lbs. Most theme park trains use fifteen pound rail. Because about half of our railroad is imbedded in the driveway we opted for 30 lb rail. It is overkill to be sure but I like to build things to last.

Rail road rail is bent using a special jig that hooks onto the rail in two places and then a hydraulic jack is used to put pressure in the middle which bends the rail. I custom built a heavy duty rig and then rigged our hydraulic bender to function as the pressure point. It works like a charm and lessens the effort required to form the rails.

Today Sarah & I worked together to form a 70 degree turn over about 80 feet. We first laid the curve out in chaulk on the concrete parking lot in front of the studio. Then it was a matter of working the rail to match the chalk line. It took two passes to form the rail to the curve we desired. The outside rail is formed first and then the inside rail is bent to match at a slightly tighter radius.

Since this portion of the railway is to be imbedded in the driveway I welded on the steel cross pieces rather than spiking it to wooden ties. Once assembled I chained one end of the heavy rail section to our tractor and then called on the crew to carry the other end. It is true that many hands (and a tractor) make light work.

We carried the two pieces to the rail head and then bolted them to the already laid track. By the end of the day we had crossed onto the front yard.

Over the weekend I'll add the necessary gravel ballast and tamp it all into position in readiness for the concrete pour on Monday. Stay tuned for more pictures of the rail progress.

-grampa dan