Grading some narrow ROW
May 12, 2005
There are several locations where the right-of-way needs to be narrow, either because it's on a steep hillside
or on a filled shelf above a low area. These locations can't accomodate a tractor or regular excavator as they
are at least 5' wide, so I rented the smallest excavator available, a Kubota K008, which at 3' wide creates a
path that is perfect for my RR track. This thing is so small it's almost like a toy, but it's very powerful
and agile and turned out to be the perfect tool for the job.
I've decided that my RR-building project is as much about playing with excavators as it is about trains :)
Location #1 - downhill from the deck truss bridge
Click here to view this location highlighted on the trackplan
The desired trackline runs along the edge of a hill that is too narrow to cut into, so last
fall I dumped a bunch of fill along the hillside. These pics show how I graded the piles into a smooth path for the track. This view is looking down-grade from the lower end of the deck truss bridge. I've begun leveling the fill; unleveled piles can be seen in the distance.
Here's a closeup of the piled dirt before grading. Notice the flagged stake in the center of the pile - that's one of my laser-leveled grade stakes.
The track will run to the right of those 3 dark-trunked trees behind the flag, then it will swing to the left.
Same view as above, after grading.
Looking back (up-grade) towards the bridge (barely visible thru trees at center-left).
Location #2 - between the retaining wall and the barn pile
Click here to view this location highlighted on the trackplan
I graded the section between the barn debris pile and the retainig wall I built last fall.
This is an interesting and difficult to grade location because it runs along the side of a pretty steep hill.
Here's how it looked before grading:
and after:
Here's how it looks from the other direction (the end of the retaining wall is visible at the bottom)
