Willow Creek triangle

 A nice before & after shot. of the Willow Creek triangle track construction & realignment program coming closer to completion.

Before

Digging out what will become the lower lower pond and building up the embankments & ramps to make everything wheelbarrow friendly, also dug the main drainage channel a foot deeper removing all the growth and prevent my initial dig from flooding up

First run around the top loop

First run around the top loop, video quality is not the greatest. I managed to hold the camera with 1 hand while driving with the other.

 

The long straight

The longest straight section on this railway so far, I wasn't happy with the current righthand turnout thus a left handed turnout which will allow for a nice straight section is to be built. The rear curve has now been realigned and shifted to the new center of the now widened embankment. I've also managed to use the solid tree trunks cut over half a year ago and backfill with clay to make nice straight lines. Worth mentioning the 4 wheeler pictured carried all the logs 1 at a time and then rolled off the wagon & into position.

Before

#4 on work detail

More progress on the 3rd turnout.

From below

A turnout for the better

 Today the top triangle edges closer with the first of 2 turnouts a good way into construction, I'm replacing the sleepers with harder treated wood to hold it all together.

Completed first turnout, wagons run through perfectly. The frog I ended up having another go at with a decent cutting disc, now a 4 wheel wagon runs through having all 4 wheels supported. The blades are currently held together temporarily with a piece of wood, friction alone holds it into place until I fabricate something out of steel.

2nd Point finished, wagons once again glide through. Lots of landscaping & earthworks continue.

5" Railway continued.

A quick update with a few shots of the railway in its current form, mainly spending time extracting clay from the pond and sending it to form the roadbed in various places.

Top loop, the upper pond has once again turned into an Open-cast Mine for the extraction of Portland clay.

Showing varying layers of the roadbed, clay forms the base, chalky clay next, then gravel and finally sleepers and track followed by ballast.

"Willow Creek Junction", 15" railway on left meets the 5" on the right.

The roadbed for the triangle is largely there now, going to continue widening the roadbed to at least 1m wide at the top. The upper pond is now twice as big and continues to expand 1 wheel barrow load each time, hard to see in the picture.

Upper pond

Lower pond, It's become apparent the G gauge track needs to run alongside the 5" track and expand the circle to match it.

Looking from below, Roxy checking the height of the roadbed

1:24 Scale NZR P Coal/Rubbish Wagon

I spent some time redrawing the P wagon in 1:24 scale, breaking down the chassis into 6 sections to print everything in the right orientation while not needing any support material. A big factor being time, I printed it in 0.2 resolution instead of 0.15 set to normal speed. The detail inside the hoppers weren't rendered by the printer properly but looks fine from a distance, especially loaded with rubbish material etc. 

I drew up the braking rig so that from a distance it looks about right without functionality or being too carried away with accurate detail no one sees.

My idea is to print maybe 6 or so here in Portland where they were numerous up until just before I was born. I'm a bit unsure on the colour scheme except the wood panels were painted white or a light grey and the framing & chassis black or a dark colour, need to explore this further.

Found this picture of the P wagon stored at Motat in Auckland, need to go visit, looks like it's seen better days.

Printing wagon parts. Very different size, feel & build styles since I last built this wagon frame, an effect some modelers' call "rubber banding".

Top Loop

On Thursday plans for a balloon return loop is finalized once realized & at 8am work commenced, 1 more bridge & lots of clay to shift. Already the lower track section is raised another foot. Retaining walls for the track bed are needed & the cheaper the better.

The track is going to be lowered so its at least a foot below the G gauge.

On the top right sleepers are finally laid on the 15" gauge road bed, already I can see some right of way issues arising.  

*Friday*

Earthworks mostly done for the top loop

*Saturday*

Widening of cutting and laying mix of gravel / crushed clay.

Building up roadbed over the new bridge and down to meet the other track.

Looking down - Top Loop

Looking up - Top Loop

*Sunday* 

Embankment now in place and more than a few barrow loads of clay building the roadbed up.

*Monday* 

7 square meters of gap40 blue/brown for the roadbed, got a decent way around the layout before the rain got too much. 

*Tuesday*

Spent the day connecting the track, spreading & compacting gravel.

*Wednesday*

Finished the top loop, all track connected, ballasted and levelled off. My wagon/tool bench runs derailment free and the roadbed is very firm. The turnout needed a tweek but otherwise worked out well.