Building material for portable tunnels.

A

alec dawe

Railways, Cars, Wine!
As the brief that I was given as part of the planning authorisation for my line included not hacking about SWMBOs plants, I find that keeping them off the line in summer is hard work, and keeping the heavy fall of leaves off in Autumn is impossible (yes I know leaves are inevitable, but there are a couple of areas that are particularly bad), I have come up with the idea of portable tunnels, more like shelters really.
Need to be portable to keep them clear inside, especially as Mrs. Tiggiwinkle is likely to think they have been provided for her. If they were permanent, them I'd probably use concrete, but they need to be movable.
So what material do you recommend? They need to be strong enough to cope with standing on, but I'm assuming that MDF, no matter how treated, will turn into a soggy mess, so I was thinking that the only real possibility is tannallised timber, unless anyone has a better suggestion.
 
I am trying to visualize your needs Alec. I do have similar issues with long leaved plants that droop over the ROW, I overcome this with strong wire meshes that usually have had another purpose in their lives. ;D
Leaves are soon removed with a soft sweeping broom so they present no problem - other than the fallen one which derails a car. ;)
I have not done this but have used something similar for temporary storage area for trains in a sudden rain shower. If there is room maybe a low course of loose laid house bricks, say four of five high (do not know the size of your stock) forming the two walls. A quick, easily removed cover would be roofing slates (the modern type which are relatively cheap). They don't take up much space in storage and of course are waterproof. You may think of an alternative wall or covering of course, but there is the advantage of lightweight plant pots placed on top if the head gardener has too many objections. ;)
 
MDF can be supplied in a waterproof form. That doesn't necessarily mean that it doesn't gather water, it just doesn't fall apart because of it. Known mostly as Green MDF.
 
Why do you need to be able to stand on them? Couldn't you just lift them off the line to gain access to the garden.

Making a structure such as an inverted channel out of wood, requires braces and framework. If you just had to set them to one side for access, then you could make a light framework (25mmx25mm sawn timber and staple some chicken mesh to it or cover it with a thin plywood (which would give it more structural integrity) and treat with bitumen paint which you can get in green (Bitumastic comes to mind).

When I saw the title I thought you were wanting something easy to take to a model railway show ;D
 
What about using a garden cloche?

I have a couple that Mizzy uses, made of polycarb that I've thought about using to cover the tracks during winter....
 
I bought a cheap plastic sheeting type of garden cloche. It was fine when the wind was not blowing, but I found it unreliable as this area, being near the sea, is prone to squalls. But a more substantial type might work well.
 
If you are wanting to use a sheet material on a timber frame use cement particle board which can be bought from most builders merchants and is 9mm or 10mm thick.
 
Without doubt the best, strongest and most durable will be recycled Plastic Decking. Not cheep but you will probably only need 2 Boards. Use it for the framework as well. Filkris are able to supply, but there will be suppliers in your area.

http://www.filcris.co.uk/products.htm
JonD
 
If you don't really need them to bear much weight, how about the corrugated pipe used for drainage on roads etc? In black plastic and in all sorts of diameters from perhaps 30cm to a metre, it is light and can easily be tackled with a hacksaw to give, say, a 3/4 tube, which simply sits over the track and can be stored easily when not in use. When there was some work going on at my local station, I simply asked the helpful foreman to save me any offcuts and used them to form a couple of permanent tunnels on my line. So if there are any roadworks near you, perhaps you might have a butchers for any waste going spare?

Not a very good pic, I am afraid (and this piece of pipe was built over as you can see), but you can get the idea if you imagine it without the 'bridge'! This was just about large enough to accommodate double track and was of course my favourite price - gratis.
bridge_from_north%20(Small).JPG
 
I used the cloche type tunnel, clear polythene secured over wire hoops that staked into the ground. They had drawstring closable ends and were each about ten feet long. Could cope with curves too. In the end gave up using them as it prooved a chore removing and replacing the and now just give the track a sweep before running sessions. Saves playing hedgehog croquet.

Max.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom