The best laied plans of mice and men ....

Spring 2015

.... often go awry.    Especially when Mother Nature has other plans.

The track alignment through the “Stägä” Tunnel “was quite nifty, nice curves and an excellent visual divide to Preda. But .... despite the landscape professional’s complaints about the clay content while building the stairs, I didn’t consider that a problem.

The many test runs back in 2009 didn’t show a problem and went smoothly, just carry on building That was the plan with a few interruptions because of health problems. The big surprise happened this year when the first longer trains attempted the stretch under the stairs. Derailment at the Preda end of the tunnel. Remove the concrete slabs and start checking. The ladder roadbed had lifted and to boot that introduced a considerable twist in the track.

No need to mention that this will always happen in the most ackward place were adjustments are a PITA since there isn’t enough room to get at the screws to adjust the ladder. Even if that would be possible there would be no guarantee that the clay wouldn’t keep changing. Settling or lifting would be a real pain, what was neede was a permanent fix.  The alternative : an open track across the stairs. All it took was a short discussion and work was on the way.

Temporary alignment test to establish grades and curves. Looks quite acceptable.

Realign as much as possible of the existing ladder. Purchase one additional plank of TREX, cut the strips, install and level to the established grade along with the super elevation. Install the track and reconnect the power, followed by the cleaning job prior to the test run.

The visual division is not as good as it used to be, but the nice curves leading to the waterfall tunnel fit perfectly into the RhB impression that we are trying to achieve. The open line makes the correction of any problems much easier and in addition there is extra space for scenic improvements to fit the block walls better into the lanscape.  A very welcome side benefit.