Installation of new retaining wall

This week I finished up the new retaining wall that I mentioned in the post last week. The ballast washes out here every winter so this should help keep it in place. I built this in a similar way to the retaining walls I built last year, using a cut stone tile on a wood structure.

Mixed freight train out for a run to test out the new track.

Prior to starting I dug out a trench where the wall would be placed so I could visualize about how high it would need to be.

To accommodate the curve in the track, I used a three-foot and a one-foot section of wall. In order to provide some stability I attached it to some wood stakes that I could drive into the ground.

The next step was to cut the stone tile sheet into strips and attach it to the wood using a tile adhesive. I did this on just the top and the side facing the viewer.

After curing for three days, I applied a wood sealant on the exposed wood, and a stone tile sealant on the stone surfaces. Then after another day to allow those to dry, I lined up the two walls to determine exactly where I wanted them placed.

Things did not go exactly as planned. One of the stakes actually split as I was driving the wall into the ground. But the other four stakes held in place.

I put the longer wall in first and made sure it was at the proper elevation and completely level. Then came the hard part, driving n the second wall at an angle and then nudging it into place. I had interlocking stones that needed to line up so the two walls had to be completely aligned.

Here's a close up showing the joint where the two walls come together. It looks pretty good.

The next step was to back fill the wall, put down new ballast on top, and then clean up the area in front of the wall.

And finally the PE&A is ready to run trains again.

Here the train is passing along the fence where the track was repaired in the last post.

The train is passing over the dry creek bed.

All the allium opened this week.