Topic: Details of the trackwork on the 7.25" line at GHLS

[Willow_Ridge_RR]

Ferd,

  7.5" I have some video, and a friend is snailmailing me a disk of pics.  Will post when I get.

-Bret

[russ]

I visited their setup when I attended a narrow Gauge convention in Detroit.  It is very impressive.  I will see if I can find the pictures I took and then post them.

Russ in Oakville, Ontario, Canada

[Ferd]

Hi Bret
sounds amazing - is their line 7.25 or 7.5" - did you get any pictures?   ro
cheers Ferd

[Willow_Ridge_RR]

Russ,

  I was just at the SRCL railway in Micigan this last weekend. What a fantastic setup for those Maxi-7's!  They run on 8-12 lb rail with true 4x4 ties held with lag bolts.  a very sturdy track to say the least.  You want it that sturdy when you ride IN (totally enclosed)the caboose or passenger car.  It really gives you the big RR feel.

-Bret

[Ferd]

Here is a photograph of the newly completed back loop with a ample weed growth.

[russ]

When we built the 7 1/4" track at the GHLS club facility, we wanted to make sure that it would hold really large locomotives.  There was a fellow in our area who built a Maxi-7 to the Don Young design which is a model of a 2 foot gauge prototype Forney 0-4-2 such as one would find on the Miane two foot gauge lines.  At 3.5" inches to the foot, this is a massive locomotive which the local tracks just couldn't handle and so the locomotive ended up living and running at a track in Michigan in the USA.  We were determined to not this happen again so we built to support such a large locomotive.

Our track is on a well trenched base.  We use steel rails from Cromar White in England.  One of our members owns a metal stamping company in our area.  He produced a die and stamped out the tie plates which have a prototypical profile.  He also stamps out rail joiners for us.  If you are interested in more information about these bits, visit www.ghls.org and click on "for sale" and select the top item for sale.

Russ in Oakville, Ontario, Canada

[Ferd]

Here are some detail pictures of the GHLS club track. (Golden HorseShoe Live Steamers). The first being our only trestle. (yes we wish we had a tunnel). The second picture is the ashpan dump area of the track. The rest are detail pictures of some of our switches on the line.
Cheers Ferd