Gold Dawg Railroad
Ladder Roadbed Photos
I like how the ladder roadbed installation is progressing.
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| In the curves, it is necessary to use wedges, rocks and stakes to hold the curve until I get all the stakes in. | I staggered the joints of the sides of the ladder, even if it meant cutting short some pieces. Where the joint was on the inside of a curve I needed to add another piece of 1X2 to keep the ladder from kinking. This also gave me more area to set the track on if it could not follow the roadbed exactly | |
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| I used a two foot level and a 6" torpedo level to level roadbed, then screwed it to the posts that I had put into the ground. I painted the tops of the ladder sides with gray primer, then I laid stone dust ballast level with the top of the roadbed | Smokey found the rocks made a nice pillow to rest his head for his afternoon nap | |
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| Brandi kept watch while Smokey slept. I used an old chair cushion to kneel on. Helped a lot. To make this and other curves I used a Train Li Dual Track Bender. Worked well. | I laid two switches in place while deciding which one to use | |
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| The Train Li Dual Track Bender made it easy to make this smooth S curve | Here is how I supported the switch stand. When I complete the siding I will taper the ends of the 1X2 screw them to the outer edge of the curved roadbed |