Lakes and Streams

Originally there was a fish pond, but the location directly under two Ponderosa pines was not ideal. In addition it sure didn’t look like a lake on a model railway, removing it was no big loss. In its place I dug a new pond off set to the left and in summer of 2007 it was finally finished. Liner placed, water filled, pump working and circulating through a filter. But until it got to that point....

There was digging....

.... and more digging!t

That resulted in extra fill for scenery development. Placing the subliner and the liner was child’s play in comparison

Temporary power hookup

Clear water

The preformed pond which will be the source for the stream through the village.

Then it was time for the proper electrical connection and not long after flew the first snow.

Outlets for two pumps.

Winterizing the pond was going to be a new experience, there was hope to keep the pump running. However the first cold snap produced interesting ice shapes, next was a good load of snow. Time to stop the pump and remove the filter for the winter.

Spring meant emptying the ponds and cleaning them, there was a surprising amount of debris. Next was continuing on the stream bed connecting the two ponds. The basic outline was delineated with concrete blocks, anchored with re-bar rods and filled in with fill and crusher chips. The old liner was used as subliner and the new liner placed on top.

Roughed in stream bed

Outflow from the “Source”

“Source”

Placing the stones in the stream bed to hide the liner was the next job. But before that happened I placed the flexpipe between the pump and the filter and the filter and the “source” in PVC pipe. That should prevent any damage from digging and should there be a leak it will be easy to remove and repair the hoses.

Testing the placing of stones

Camouflaging the liner takes patience and a good selection of suitable stones. It is almost like a jigsaw puzzle. Except for the gravel on the stream bottom, dump it and see how it flows.

The finsihed stream

Stream empties into the “Lake”

Small pools along the course

Outflow from the “Source”

The stream flows gently and slowly, right after the outflow from the “source” there are a few rapids over steps in the rock. Some song birds have already discovered the stream as a bathing and drinking spot.

To get a bit more flow we have a spare pump to more than double the delivery to the source.

The next project will be the cascades that cross the line between Preda and Seedorf twice.  A separate, large filter unit will be the source supplied by a high capacity waterfall pump. Construction will be similar but will require a lot more rock. Also included in this stage will be the careful positioning of the tunnels at two different levels, accurate measuring and checking will be a must.

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