More progress on the upper loop

Today I finished up work on the second trestle segment and decided on part of the track alignment for the upper loop. I'm just about ready to start work on the next trestle segment but need to give a little more thought first to exactly where it will go.

The trestle segment I had built earlier in the week was finished except for the last trestle bent which I could not place until I had rebuilt the rock retaining. I secured the track on top of the completed trestle so I could determine exactly where the track would be headed.

With track alignment decided, I built the rock wall up higher than it had been, and I then needed to move some dirt here to build the land up higher.

I then put the last trestle bent in place and let that sit overnight.

Today I laid out the track on the raised bed and then secured it with ballast once I was happy with where it was.

I thought that I had enough track in place on the upper loop to merit a a test run. I shortened the train and then shoved it up the hill very slowly past the switch.

The test train then headed out across the trestle and bridge.

And here the train is nearing the end of the line as it loops around the tree.

This will be my next area of focus. I need to decide on how this loop will line up with the next trestle and decide on the final placement of the second bridge.

Today's flower pictures all come from my yard. This is Lewis flax (Linum lewisii).

This is Microseris nutans which only blooms in the morning. I've seen a lot of this locally when hiking this week.

Shrubby penstemon (Penstemon fruticosus)

This is the species of little sunflower we have in eastern Washington, Helianthella uniflora. 

Update on upper loop trestle work

This week I continued working on the upper loop which connects two areas of raised land with trestles and bridges. Yesterday I finished up work on the first of the trestle segments and today I built most of the second segment. I'm happy with how good it is looking.

This was the state of the first trestle segment after my earlier work.

Putting the final bent in place next to the bridge pier, securing the stringers on top and adding the remaining braces to connect the bents. Just need to let everything sit over night so the glue can dry.

The next day I removed all my clamps and the first trestle segment was complete! I then put the track in place so I could make sure everything was aligned as expected. I also wanted to connect the track on this side of the bridge before moving to the other side of the bridge. 

Here's another view of the completed trestle segment with the track in alignment. Doesn't it look great? Right in the middle of the picture you can see one issue—there's a gap between the track and the stringers, so I must have miscalculated that bent height by about a 1/4 inch. I'll fill in the gap with shims so the track is supported.

With the track aligned on the trestle, I worked back to the switch that allows trains to move from the upper loop to the lower main loop. Once I had that aligned I anchored everything in place with ballast.

A reverse view of the completed area. I'm so happy with how this is looking.

With the first trestle segment complete, it was time to move on to the second segment on the other side of the bridge. First I finalized alignment of the bridge pier, then laid out the plan for where each bent would be placed.

I then scraped out dirt and placed a gravel foundation for each bent. On the left is a double bent that I'll use next to the bridge pier.

This is my field work bench for finishing up the bents. I prep the bents ahead of time so they dry, and then cut them to the correct height and add the mud sill as I'm constructing the trestle.

This is as far as I made it today. I went ahead and added all the braces as I'm realizing it's better to do this all at once rather than in two phases like I did earlier.

I haven't connected the last bent yet, as I need to move some rocks around and build up the rock wall that supports the raised bed a little bit higher. 

Oh no! My first serious train accident. I clearly wasn't paying attention while I was working on the trestle, and the last three cars of the train disconnected. When the train came around the loop it collided with the orphan cars. If I was a train engineer I would have been fired for letting this happen.

Although the train wasn't going fast, the locomotive hit the back coupler of the caboose in just the right spot to cause damage and the truck broke off. This caboose is out of service until it can be fixed in the PE&A shop.

Starting work on the upper loop trestle

The upper loop will run between two raised areas of land using trestles and two bridges over the lower track. I've already positioned a connecting track between the lower level track and the upper loop, and now I'm starting work on building the first trestle and bridge.

The first issue I ran into is that I realized the track would be going right over a rock retaining wall. This wasn't going to work well for building a trestle so I decided to move the rocks back.

I pulled out all the rocks and dug back into the slope.

Rocks back in place to hold up the slope, the upper loop track now heads out into a clear area where I will build a trestle.

Next I needed to decide on the alignment of the curve.

Once I had the track aligned I could then finalize placement of the bridge, and replace the temporary PVC pipe supports with a brick pier on a gravel foundation. Likely I'll eventually cover these bricks with a more decorative siding, but for now they work fine and will keep the bridge in place.

I'm building this trestle like the last one I did, using the track as a guide and essentially building down from it to the ground. I decided on the position for each trestle bent, then measured and created a bent the right height for each position.

Here are the first six bents in position and stringers on top being weighted down until the glue sets. A few more to go to get to the bridge, but this is where I'm leaving it for today as the remaining bents were just built and I'm waiting for them to completely dry before being put in place.

A few pictures from a recent hike, starting with this wonderful patch of heartleaf arnica (Arnica cordifolia).

I was so excited to see a couple of bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva) blooms just opening up.

Western groundsel (Senecio integerrimus) is now at peak bloom.

A few robin eggs in a nest that was not very well hidden away.

New retaining wall and some more trestle repairs

My test runs pointed out a couple issues that needed fixing including a low spot on the mainline where I have a switch. I need to raise this as it's too low and results in a steep grade on the reversing loop.

A view of the problem area. I tried raising it up by piling up a lot of gravel which helped but I decided it wasn't enough.

Another view of the same area showing the low spot. The plant on the right is a native roundleaf alumroot (Heuchera cylindrica) which I added last year and it should be in bloom soon.  

To raise the track further, I decided to build a retaining wall here because of the slope. I dug out a trench along the track where it will be placed.

This new retaining wall matches the one I made earlier along a spur track, using three stakes to hold it in place. I just need to very gently and evenly pound the stakes into the ground.

Oh no! I wasn't careful enough and it got unbalanced and one section split apart.

No worries, once I leveled out the wall I glued the two pieces that had popped out back into place. Just need to let this set for 24 hours before I backfill the wall.

The partially finished wall in place. The top of the wall is higher than track level now but will be about even once I add backfill behind the wall and raise the track.

I also needed to do a little more trestle repair. I did most of the trestle repairs a few weeks ago, but a couple beams popped out of place this week after being hit by an errant Chuckit ball. 

Another quick and easy bridge repair. Chuckit ball to blame here as well.

The next day I backfilled the retaining wall, aligned the track and set it in place with ballast.

I then finished work on the spur that serves as a reverse loop for the mainline.

This is the area I'm working on next. I'm happy with the positioning of the connecting track between the mainline and the upper loop.

This switch is the connection between the upper loop and the connecting track.

One side of the upper loop will head out over a trestle here. These rocks are in the way. I'm not sure why I built this ramp so wide, so I think I'll cut back into the dirt and push the rocks back closer to the connecting track.

The upper loop will have two bridges over the lower track and I think this will be the approximate location for each bridge.

I put the bridges up on temporary supports to help me visualize where the upper loop will be heading.

The lilacs come out around the first week of May here in Spokane. I planted this one a couple years ago and this is its first year blooming.

The native serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) is also in full bloom right now.