New Location for a Model Railroad?


Iron Horseman

Iron Horseman

Well-Known Member
I'm on "vacation", meaning I am not in the office working. Instead I am working on the house. So I was thinking about a "wish you were here" postcard to everyone. The only thing that would make it better was if it was over 100 degrees instead of ninetys and if this was hot tar instead of asphalt emulsion!

Anyway I did get to thinking about Tony's (Wombat457) new G-gauge layout, and said to myself. Wow, Think of all this unused real estate up here on the roof. Double Wow, it is already pre-ballasted, I could use this asphalt as creosote for G-ties, and just laying the track "flat" has a max grade of .04%. I guess it would be really hard to get guests up here for operating sessions.

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Tomorrow at 3:30 I will be off work until July 7th due to our annual summer shutdown at work. Our house has dormers with fairly flat roofs on the north and south ends of the house. The tree branches on the east side have gotten too close to the roof, so on Monday I get to take the gas trimmer with the pole saw attachment up on the dormers and do some trimming. Oh, joy.
Here's a pic of the south side. Don't remember why I labeled stuff.:confused:
Housepic1.png
 
Iron Horseman said:
I'm on "vacation", meaning I am not in the office working. Instead I am working on the house. So I was thinking about a "wish you were here" postcard to everyone. The only thing that would make it better was if it was over 100 degrees instead of ninetys and if this was hot tar instead of asphalt emulsion!

Anyway I did get to thinking about Tony's (Wombat457) new G-gauge layout, and said to myself. Wow, Think of all this unused real estate up here on the roof. Double Wow, it is already pre-ballasted, I could use this asphalt as creosote for G-ties, and just laying the track "flat" has a max grade of .04%. I guess it would be really hard to get guests up here for operating sessions.

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Horseman,

What a great idea, and so easy to do as well. As for getting people up there for operating sessions, well - not being able to get some people up there could be an advantage as well :)

I really hope you do this as I (for one) will be watching and following very closely.
 
Looks like you'll need a vacation from your vacation!
No flat roofs around here, they'd collapse in the winter.
 
I can remember doing this with my Dad, when he was between heavy construction jobs. There's nothing like working in mid-July in Alabama, on a roof, pulling up buckets of boiling tar, and buckets of gravel. Using heavy duty mops to spread the tar around, then adding the gravel on top. The temps on those roofs would sometimes get to 125-135`F.:( (Did I say it was hot?) Often times the heat would come through the soles of your work boots and if you weren't fast enough, you'd get second degree burns on your feet.

Dad would keep a small trough with mostly ice in it, nearby, so you could pull off the boots as fast as possible, and stick your feet in the water to cool them, and then your boots, so you could put them back on without burning your feet again.:( (Did I say it was hot?)

Depending on either the quality of the soles of the boots, or the type of material the soles were made of, the heat of the tar, and the roof, could soften or melt the soles of the boots enough that any semblance of a thread pattern was gone after a few days of this work. (Did I say it was hot?) Most times, doing this, we got a pair of the cheapest boots we could find, so as not to ruin a good pair of boots that would make them useless on other job situations.

I "worked" with my Dad for many years, between the time I was 12 up to the start of college, (I never got paid for any work until I was 18, and could legally work on a construction site). Prior to 18 I just worked for him on home type repairs, (to learn mostly, and I loved driving nails), that way it was just him and me and we never worried about the inspector. We always knew when he was coming and I'd "wander" off from the job until he was gone. My Dad taught me a lot about home repair, and general carpentry in those years. He taught me even more during college breaks I'd work with him, and during the summers on heavy construction sites. I sure do miss him. (Did I say it was hot?)
 
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wombat457 said:
What a great idea, and so easy to do as well. As for getting people up there for operating sessions, well - not being able to get some people up there could be an advantage as well.

I really hope you do this as I (for one) will be watching and following very closely.
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Well, I was being a bit facetious, but Today I was working on the high roof and here is a different perspective of the space available. The dark black is obviously what I coated yesterday. 1/30th done. The roof would be almost as large as a basement would be for an O-Scale railroad.
roof.jpg
 
Unfettered said:
We've had a lot of wind and temps in the upper 90's in south Central KS. I feel your pain.
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That is where I am. If it hadn't been for the wind I don't think I would have been able to do it. 5:00 a.m. to about 8:00 a.m. is the only time I can do any spudding.
 
I have work on most type of roof. OK work bit hot and had to watch that gravity. Its not the fall that hurts its the stop at the end. They don't let my work on them now healths to trashed to be safe. So I fill for those of you that still do.
 
One time I actually got "caught" by an Inspector, and he asked what I was doing? I told him I was Dad's nail gun. He asked what did I mean by that, so I showed him. We had been doing some framing, using 16 penny nails, which as you know is a large nail. I hit it once to set, and the next blow drove it all the way in. I could drive nails like that all day with a 20 oz hammer and not get tired. He just told Dad to make sure that I was careful, and walked off. I was 13 at the time.
 
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