I mentioned recently much of the line had been lifted for new trackbed, and I’ve now finished and relaid. The original trackbed design was motivated by the ‘overgrown’ aesthetic and in particular wanting moss to grow.
The moss got rampant enough to derail trains, but the key problem was the sub-base/rowlands mix around and underneath the track was porous enough for dirt to percolate down and quickly nourish the weeds trying to grown in and around the sleepers. Couch grass, brambles, ground elder and much more quickly established itself and if you weren’t quick, pulling it out would pull an entire track panel with it.
So I dug the sub-base out (not easy – but it went to a new home under a new path elsewhere) and following a more conventional design laid in breeze blocks, mortaring the gaps. This has provided a much more solid, level trackbed that has improved running, and so far is easy to keep clear.
I haven’t yet ballasted and that will be the next task. I want ballast for the appearance, but it needs to be held solid so I can brush it vigorously, to keep it clean of the kind of dirt that the weeds like to take hold in. I’m going to test horticultural grit held down with SBR, maybe with sharp sand in the mix. I may also give chicken grit a try…
