O SCALE TRAINS BY RON
Building a Railroad
Building a Railroad
Location
Location, location, location where shall I put the layout?
The answer is easy, anywhere you choose...In my opinion the worst terrain you think of is the best place for an outdoor layout. Hills, uneven landscape, a planter, you find the spot, you can build a railroad… My location is a dirt area behind our pool, and area about 25 feet by 25 feet adjacent to the pool pump equipment. The area is flat, a boring layout area really. I needed to add something to make that wow factor to the layout. I decided to build a pondless waterfall feature with a small stream. Back to internet research on how to build a pondless water feature. Episode 2 in my series, I show the construction of the water feature. I am not a expert in waterfalls, but I took the challenge to building the main focal point of the Baldy & Palms Railroad. Visions are endless with water features, I choose to build a pondless water feature, for the reason that I wanted something easy to maintain and virtually maintenance free.
Infrastructure
Consider in the location phase what kind of infrastructure will be needed. Electrical, water, sprinkler/drip system and drainage will need to be determined at this time. How will I power my layout, water feature, and accent lighting? In episode 3, I show the installation of the 110 volt electrical to the water feature. In episode 8, I show the sprinkler/drip system installed. Which I installed a dedicated water line to the drip system. The ground at my home is very hard to dig, so I opted to install the railroad electrical system in conduit just under the ladder line. Like with most construction projects, you want to start from the ground up, or below the ground.
House Voltage
Water/DRIP Line
