[John J]

To day I laid concrete road bed on my 20 ft diamater curve to correct for a grade prob lem

Here is what it look like about 6 years ago.

What is looks like today

The new batch plant makes it easier than lifing the bags to tne mixer.

This little tool is for when I level under the road bed. I use it to tamp the dirt amd make it solid It is a 5 lb mall with a piece of steel welded to it

I have one of these for the different curves I have. I lay it where I want to put the curve. I drive a stake at each end. I mark the edge of the trench and then excavatel. I can put this back in place to make sure I am on track.

This I slide along the forms and check my grade. Works quite well

Here I started pouring concrete.

This is a form of ladder road bed. You can see the rebar attached to the plactic spacers. The steel formes are held to the plactic spacers by a 3/8 x 4.5 bold.

The sides will come off once the concrete dries. And can be used again. The placic stays in the concrete.

The New Bridge. I couldnt sleep one night so about 1 am I got up and went out and build this bridge. Had it done by 5 am.

Another shot of the constructions

This is the highest part of the grade. You can see some of the orginal roadbed and track and part of the portal to one of the tunnels

More road bed.

Bridge approach. West end of bridge

 

[pimanjc]

wOW! JJ !
You have been busy and have made great progress.
Jimc.

 

[blueregal]

lookin good JJ, keep up the good work, and the pictures a comin!! The Regal from the western edge of the corn cob state. hee hee

 

[Ray Dunakin]

Looking good, John! And those boulders!!! Be still, my heart!

That's some beautiful desert scenery in the background too. What part of AZ is New River?

 

[Ron Senek]

You better hide the scenery or you will have people wanting to move down there by you. Looks like it is coming together soon be running trains.

 

[John J]

Posted By Ray Dunakin on 01/11/2009 10:21 PM
Looking good, John! And those boulders!!! Be still, my heart!

That's some beautiful desert scenery in the background too. What part of AZ is New River?

We are about 40 miles from Down Town Phoenix to the north and west on the way to Flag Staff. I am about 500 Feet off of I 17

 

[wigginsn]

Nice work JJ. I like your batch plant set up. Wonder if the missus would mind if I set up one of those down the back of our section..

I've been thinking about the best way (read easy/lazy) to set up some concrete roadbed for a while and you've given me some ideas - thanks. Do you prebend the forms and have a bunch of different sizes, or set them up for each pour (you use steel right?). Trying to figure out how you would re use them for different radiuses with holes drilled at fixed spots.
Cheers
Neil

 

[John J]

Neil
I have two benders They allow me to bed ths curve I want and also flaten it back out by turning the metal over and runing it through the bender again.

I have a jig I use to check the bend.

One bender looks like this. This will do up to 1 inch wide also round metal rod.

 

[Engineercub]

Thanks for sharing JJ ^^ This is the kind of info I am in need of and I really appreciate your pics! Looks good!

-Will

 

[Jerry Barnes]

JJ,
You must have worked off some pounds doing that work! Looks darned good and solid! Better hurry, hot weather will be there soon.

 

[John J]

This is the jig I use to bend the form sides. I took 3 sections of 20 ft curve and drilled holes in the concrete one foot apart and inserting rebar as pegs.

That is how I get the right curve

.

Then I bend the steell with this.

 

[GarryNCGRR]

Wow...looking real good....wish I could be working on mine right now. Like your system for moving along as you pour the concrete, well thought out. Have one question in regards to the laying of your track on the concrete. Are you fastening the track down or just free floating it? I am using concrete as a base too and have been thinking and thinking of how I will fasten it down. My latest idea seems to have come to using liquid nails in two thin beads to hold the ties in place, except at my tunnel, where I will use screws into the concrete at each end, just in case I have to remove it at any time. Any other ideas would be welcome at this time

Anyway your layout is coming along very nicely...and like was mentioned....keep the pictures coming !

Garry NCGRR

 

[John J]

The qestion of anchoring the track came up


This is what I do

I use plactic anchors like you see below. They come in a box that also has the screws. It comes with a drill bit.

I use a 1/4 inch drill bit but I also use a ROTO HAMMER DRILL and a better bit.

The piece of rusty wire you see is the kind of wire you use to tie REBAR together.

It is easy to work with

A drill the holes about 2 FT apart.

After I drill the hole and insert the anchor I cut a piced of wire and twist it around the screw as showen.

Some times I make it twice as long with the srew in the middl to form a butterfly

I inster the srew in the anchor and bend the wire over the tie. See Picture # 2

This is a single wire The longer one wold bre bent over two ties.

While this holds the Track frimly in place it still alows for some flex.

 

[Duncan]

JJ,
Will you ballast over the ties once it's all in place??

 

[wigginsn]

Gotcha, now I understand..

Cheers
Neil

 

[John J]

Posted By Duncan on 01/13/2009 9:02 PM
JJ,
Will you ballast over the ties once it's all in place??

Yes I will ballast the ties.

I fill a 5 gallon bucket with ballast then dump it in my cememnt mixer. I will add about 4 or 5 grainscoops of dry portland cement. I will mix this dry with a little color added.

Then I will take this mixture and use it to ballast the track. After the ballast is in place I will wet it with the garden hose using a gental spray.

After it dries the ballast pretty much stays in place through rain and wind.

 

[John J]

Here is a little picture of some of my progress.

Does this look like a high mountian canyon to you?

 

[Greg Elmassian]

Great stuff JJ... was hoping for new pictures since you "Teased" us with the 20' S curve!

Regards, Greg