Late August update: Drop girder bridge, dry creek bed

The first of the two drop girder bridge segments is now complete and in place next to the Warren truss bridge. It is 24 inches long (58 scale feet) and a second identical one will be placed on the other side of the truss bridge -- it was delayed as I had not purchased enough supplies to finish both. I think it looks absolutely perfect next to the truss bridge, especially now that they are now painted to match. The bricks, as I mentioned earlier, are just temporary supports and will eventually be replaced by concrete piers.



Here is a close-up showing the end cross section. Normally a drop girder bridge like this would consist of two long girders that were connected by multiple cross braces, not a solid top and bottom which is used here to provide more support for the weight of the train. So this bridge segment only looks realistic from the side view, which is what the viewer will see.


This was my first experience building with styrene which I found to be much more difficult to work with than wood. But in this case the styrene is significantly stronger, should be more durable, and provides far more detail than wood, so it is worth the effort for this bridge. For buildings, however, I'll probably stick to wood. The design and plan for this bridge came from John Morrison's 2012 PSGRS Clinic "Bridges: How to Build a Simple Span Using Styrene" (members can find this in the online PSGRS Library under the 2012 clinics).

Also this week I finished building the dry creek bed down slope to the fence line. Here's a photo of the work in progress as I was stockpiling rocks, some of which had a beautiful coat of moss. I wanted to use only rounded river rocks for this feature and was surprised by how many I was able to find as I was looking around the yard, many of which were overgrown with vegetation and long forgotten. Most of these rounded rocks originally came from the Nisqually River near Elbe.

Once I had boulders in place I created an even slope for the creek bed and then covered it using 7/8" river rock like I had used earlier. Note that I also put some more substantial supports on either side of the temporary bridge so that I could remove the middle PVC support which looked funny coming down right in the middle of the creek bed.


Here is a broader view showing the entire east end. I've decided to place my grain elevator, once I build it, next to the tangent on the right side of the photo.


And here's a picture of Alki checking out the trees in the new landscaping. Somewhere new to pee!


Dead mole. How can this little thing move up to 40 pounds of dirt in one night?

East loop complete

Yesterday I finished the east loop, which means all the track is now connected in a single path and I can run trains again continuously. I had an idea of how this loop would look but was not sure exactly where it would be, so there was some experimentation as I moved the track around to see what would look best and fit best in the constraints of the space.

I started by placing wooden stakes as a temporary support just to hold the track up. This allowed me to check and adjust the alignment and slope until it looked right.


Once I was satisfied with the line placement, I put in a number of two-legged supports using half-inch PVC and 90° angle joints. These are sturdy enough to support trains for now but this is just a temporary solution. My plan is to replace this with a wooden trestle and some type of bridge that will cross over the ravine. In the middle of the photo below, there is half-inch board under the track approximately where the bridge will go.


Here's another perspective of the completed east loop. In the foreground where the bricks are I will build up an embankment and the trestle work will probably start about where the last bricks are on the right.


In other work, the painted Warren truss bridge is back in place, looking great.


And I've ballasted the track in the plate girder bridge.

New siding in place

A new siding is now in place on the flat area between the two bridges. It's not a very long siding -- just room enough for two cars or maybe three if they aren't long. You might notice that a little more landscaping is now in place -- I'm taking plants out of their pots and getting them back in the soil now that I've decided where they should go.


In the upper right of the photo above you can catch a glimpse of the plate girder bridge. It's now painted black, the color typically used by the Northern Pacific on steel bridges on the Palouse. I used a combination of different spray paints to try and give it a weathered metal look. Next I'd like to stencil in PE&A RR on the side, probably in white.


I like the finished look of the plate girder bridge, so I've temporarily pulled out the Warren curved-top-chord through truss bridge and it's in the paint shop now. The weather is hot and dry so it's a good time for painting.


I've also extended the track beyond the 30-degree at-grade crossing. It's still just a stub while I'm figuring out exactly how it will loop around to meet the upper level track.


Finally, here's a short video of a BN consist out on a test run. I was having some problems with track power and finally got it fixed this week, so trains are up and running again.

Sweet victory at last

"The mole is dead," announced a weary looking Lt. Gen. A. Dahlia, commander of the Mole Eradication Joint Forces. “Our eight-week long battle has at last reached its conclusion with the death of the mole yesterday afternoon, August 13, sometime between 3:00 and 5:30 pm Pacific time. From this day forward we will remember August 13 as V-M day when our long fought efforts brought to close this dark period in the history of our garden."

The mole first appeared the third week of June. And while most moles are commonly dispatched within 72 hours, early efforts to eradicate this mole proved fruitless. By early July the extent of damage it was creating on a nightly basis had brought construction on the Palouse, Elberton and Ainsworth Railroad to a halt, and it was not long before comparisons to the mole of 2004 could be heard. According to one local man, "Back in aught-four we really did refer to molehills as mountains as that’s how big they were. I never thought I'd live to see another mole as bad as that one."

Director of Garden Planning H. A. Perovskia was circumspect. "Moles come and go, but we hadn’t seen this level of destruction in many years. It's hard to put into words how frustrating and demoralizing this experience has been. There are times that I felt that further work in the garden was pointless – why put in effort only to see your work ripped out that night?

"The destruction of the new iris bed was especially hard," he continued. "We had to rescue the damaged rhizomes and essentially start over from scratch, knowing that the mole could tear through the iris bed again at any moment. And the path by the bird feeders was especially hard hit and will require a major rebuild – I don’t know how long that will take."

One of many recently patched spots visible on the lawn at mid-day today.
This patch is at the site where the mole was finally trapped.

Hard effort pays off

The MEJF commander provided some additional detail when asked about how the victory was won.

"Over the past two weeks mole activity had shifted away from the eastern front and appeared to be centered under the new patio,” explained Lt. Gen. Dahlia. “We focused our forces on the perimeter, installing and shifting traps around the patio two or three times a day. Last night, the diligent efforts of our fighting men and women finally paid off."

Time for healing

Now that the battle has been won, efforts have shifted to recovery and repair. "After a battle like this the wounds can run quite deep – eight to 12 inches, in fact," said Director Perovskia. "Other wounds are more superficial and can be fixed more quickly. Fortunately its still early enough in the season that we can get new grass started. We were out just this morning working on lawn patching,"

MEJF crews began demobilization of the mole traps this morning and they were followed by garden repair crews to start work on some of the more visible damage. By mid-day newly seeded and watered lawn patches could be seen across the garden.

"It’s amazing to see how quickly we have shifted our efforts to recovery, now that we know the enemy is dead," said Director Perovskia. "Of course, the return of the fall rains will likely bring to light additional damage, as weakened tunnels cave in and require fixing." Repairing all the damage is expected to continue into next spring.

New tractor and livestock

The latest package to arrive included some livestock and a tractor! Here is a picture of 1:29 Daric standing in front of his 1965 Massey Ferguson 825.


And here is 1:29 Daric out by the livestock stable with the horses.


Alki is nonplussed by the new additions and continues to block the right-of-way.

Early August update on progress

I haven't had a post recently but that doesn't mean progress has stopped. The mole(s) are still present but the activity has dropped considerably. I've continued to pursue it (or them) relentlessly and will not rest until I've achieved victory. In the meantime, as there is little mole activity in the immediate train area, I'm moving forward.

I realize I won't be able to complete everything this summer as much as I want to. So I've decided that in some places I will be installing temporary track support that will be replaced over time. My short-term goal is to get all the track in place and be able to run trains.

For example, I haven't built piers for my bridge and I'm still using a pile of bricks instead. The approach on each side of the bridge is nothing more than two-foot long 2x4. I will eventually replace these approaches with drop-girder bridges which I'm planning to build myself out of styrene. Once those are ready, I'll then create custom piers, likely out of poured concrete. I'll probably need to build some cribbing as well.


I have rerouted the track through the tunnel


Here's another picture of the same area from a different angle, showing the grade separation between the two tracks and the temporary support structure I have in place for the upper track that will eventually be replaced. The bricks are temporary as well.


The track is in place on the loop around the tree.


This through-girder bridge just arrived yesterday from SplitJaw Products. I'll eventually need to build a support pier on the east end; on the west end I plan on building a support anchored on the concrete blocks. I don't have track over the bridge yet but I will after it arrives later this week. I will also get this bridge painted before then, and will paint my other bridges in a similar style so they match.


I also built a little shack with a front porch and an out building for 1:29 Daric. These structures are actually about 1:24 scale, so they should feel quite roomy. These were built using lumber and plans from Smith Pond Junction Railroad Products.


Alki taking a timeout and enjoying the the sun on the moss carpet. Good thing there aren't any trains running as his paws are blocking the tracks!