Topic: Trains in the Garden
The Boone Country Garden Club presented a Federated Garden Clubs of Missouri Citation of Commendation to Augusta Station recognizing our model train garden and other landscaping around Augusta Station. The garden was designed and developed by American Kitchen and Backyard Design of Augusta. It has been under development for the past two years. This was the first full growing season for most of the plantings. They've done very well even though the dry conditions of this summer haven't been ideal. The garden and pond is a favorite with our visitors.
The model railroad part of the garden is, shall we say, still is learning experience. This is my first foray into garden railroading and it is a whole new world from modeling the smaller scales. It sometimes is distressingly similar to the real thing. Laboring in 90 plus degrees and humidity to match with the sun beating down will convince you of that. Seeing that big shay climbing a 3% grade through the garden, however, is quite a reward.
We have used the fines of crushed slag for our roadbase. If you have a local steel mill (prototype size) it is a good choice. It drains well even though it compacts very firmly. It stays pretty much weed free. It has a very nice roadbed profile when used to build a fill across low spots in the terrain. It's also very stable and doesn't tend to wash away. However, it doesn't make so good a ballast. There appear to be certain elements in the slag which tarnish even nickel-silver rail and it attacks aluminum railjoiners with a vengance. So, I'm looking to buy bags of chicken grit to re-ballast the track.
The other problem encountered with our track has been warping due to expansion and contraction. The primary solution has been to add more curves to the track plan. I am hoping that the new chicken grit ballast will help in the further resolution of this difficulty. The secret seems to be to allow the rail to move uniformly along its' length as it expands or contracts. As with any fines material, slag fines become quite firm after they are in place. This creates considerable resistance to track movement. My hope is the grit will permit somewhat more movement while still providing a stable base for the trains. Time will tell.
