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Post by drjohn on Nov 4, 2009 8:11:20 GMT
Building my track for Simplex in my back garden in the Philippines - a sequence of pictures from the poultry end round to where it's now at.  Looking up towards Magnolia Avenue.  Looking up to Washing Area Wiggle - a steep climb on the curve which will make the loco grunt a bit.  Down past Dirty Kitchen Depot, the pick-up point.  And the long straight down to the poultry curve which is where construction has got to now. That's the house of the monitor lizard under the nipa on the right.  And of course, mustn't forget my 2 Philippine horse power cement mixer! It's 36°C in the shade out there!  Now starting to put the track bed on top of the piers while the cement is drying in the next 10 piers. The joys of a big garden again compared to my Malaysian postage stamp, and cheap labour! ;D ;D And to burn off the excess energy ?? they play volleyball in the front garden till it's dark!  DJ |
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Post by welshy on Nov 4, 2009 20:11:51 GMT
I have to hand it to you dj that project is a major undertaking in itself, look foward to seeing the progress and seeing your loco running around it.
Mike
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Post by drjohn on Nov 4, 2009 23:02:28 GMT
Hi Mike
I was inintially going to do a 50 metre up-down track, but decided to go for it.
I'm just embarking on cutting out and grooving 1,600 hardwood sleepers from my own trees! ;D
DJ
On the basis that it took my guys about 9 weeks to build almost a kilometer of boundary wall with broken glass on the top, I reckon I should be on track (so to speak) with my 240 metre track before Xmas.
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Post by drjohn on Nov 5, 2009 9:25:17 GMT
Some of my girls breaking rocks for the reinforced concrete ;D ;D  DJ |
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Post by Tel on Nov 5, 2009 10:53:32 GMT
Well DJ, you certainly don't let the grass grow under your feet, as they say in Antarctica.
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Post by drjohn on Nov 5, 2009 23:23:16 GMT
Gotta get on and keep the fingernails dirty, Tel. Never know when my debauched lifestyle is gonna take more tolls than it already has!!   DJ |
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Post by drjohn on Nov 7, 2009 5:32:04 GMT
Bore you with small progress  As you can see the track should be fairly strong. The piers are spaced 6 feet apart and the track bed is 6" wide and 4" thick reinforced concrete.  The piers are now as far as the eye can see and curving round beyond the poultry. Weather permitting, it should join in to the start point in about 4 days. Just to show you the local climatic problems, this was taken from my digital clock at lunch time - albeit the sun had been shining through the windows! Lol  DJ |
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redmog
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Posts: 461 
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Post by redmog on Nov 7, 2009 8:56:55 GMT
Casting Piers.
Can we have a photo of the columns being cast please?
Chris
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Post by drjohn on Nov 7, 2009 10:44:44 GMT
Sure - I'll do one tomorrow or Monday - I presume you mean the sort of triangular things with the hole in the middle that the track is going to sit on?
DJ
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redmog
Part of the e-furniture
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Post by redmog on Nov 7, 2009 10:50:40 GMT
Sure - I'll do one tomorrow or Monday - I presume you mean the sort of triangular things with the hole in the middle that the track is going to sit on? DJ That's the one. I was trying to work out if they are cast in position, or cast flat and concreted into the ground. Chris. |
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Post by drjohn on Nov 7, 2009 11:02:05 GMT
They're cast in position in a plywood former with a sort of double "A" re-bar bit inside and a hole in the ground almost a foot deep below the former. I doubt they're gonna move even with the typhoons etc.
The 4th pic down in my first post on this thread, you can see the plywood formers just past the guy in the red shirt.
As I said, I'll do you some pics.
DJ
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Post by Tel on Nov 7, 2009 22:18:39 GMT
Doubly impressive then, I had assumed, for some reason, that they were being cast flat and stood up in 'oles.
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Post by drjohn on Nov 8, 2009 0:27:57 GMT
The plywood formers being removed  The formers being cleaned up for the next batch - the orange plastic tube goes through the hole in the middle - it has a split in it to make it easier to remove. Purely for decoration, but also saves a wee bit of cement! When the concrete mix is poured in, I don't have any vibrating tool, so it's settled by lots of tapping with hammers on the outside of the box.  The re-bar shape that sticks in the ground - pre-welded from 9mm bar. The holes, as I said are either 1 foot deep or down to bed-rock whichever comes first.  My Philippine JCB digging the holes and my "professor" on the left getting the radius of the curve correct with a bit of string.  And of course the finishing touch to make the posts look nice and make them weather-proof!  DJ P.S. In case anyone wonders about my references to "the poultry" as part of our self sufficiency kick, we run a few broilers for home consumption - some of the latest batch of baby chicks!  |
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Post by modeng2000 on Nov 8, 2009 7:33:06 GMT
Is there any need for expansion gaps in the track bed?
The construction looks so strong that nothing short of an earthquake will move it!
John
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Post by drjohn on Nov 8, 2009 8:18:37 GMT
Interesting question John. When I maintained the track at Bedford MES in yesteryear, there was a problem between summer and winter where the track on the long straight would bend up with expansion. Here, the diurnal variation in temperature is quite small (it's just bloody hot all the time!  ), and what I plan is to weld the track solid, but make the tie-down steel sleepers with oversize holes so the whole corners can slide to take up the expansion - as per british rail. I'll let you know what happens. DJ P.S. As an addendum - I am sure a lot of the more expert members think I'm a silly old acerbic fart who knows naff all about engineering, and they're right, but tomorrow or the next day, I will prove to them that they're correct when I publish some pics of my "negative braking system" driving trolley. I'll let you think about that one Lol ;D ;D ;D |
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Post by modeng2000 on Nov 8, 2009 9:29:39 GMT
Looks like an interesting solution DJ and a very practical one I think. Does the high ambient temperature mean you use less coal? John |
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Post by ilvaporista on Nov 8, 2009 10:42:07 GMT
It gets quite hot here as well, but not to over 50 Deg.C. There are a few tracks that are all welded and no need for expansion joints. As my test track is only 48m up and down I guess only the track length changes. I have not yet started charging extra for the ride on the longer distance.
From my experience the coal consumption is about the same as in the UK, just the beer consumption rockets when it gets that hot ;D
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Post by drjohn on Nov 8, 2009 11:01:07 GMT
Looks like an interesting solution DJ and a very practical one I think. Does the high ambient temperature mean you use less coal? John I'm wondering about concave lenses and mirrors and having a solar powered steam loco ! ;D ;D ;D DJ |
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redmog
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Post by redmog on Nov 8, 2009 15:16:57 GMT
Looking Great.
John -
Thanks for sharing the very interesting photographs.
It looks as though it's going to be a great track.
How nice to be able to get up early in the morning,
in a warm climate, and have the loco steamed ready for breakfast.
Just a though - Coal?
Chris
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Post by modeng2000 on Nov 8, 2009 15:52:55 GMT
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), and what I plan is to weld the track solid, but make the tie-down steel sleepers with oversize holes so the whole corners can slide to take up the expansion - as per british rail.