To Tunnel Or Not To Tunnel That Is The Question!!

stevelewis

stevelewis

Registered
009.JPG 010.JPG 009.JPG The slow construction of my tiny line continues most of the trackwork for Phase 1 is almost complete, Phase 2 has yet to be finalised!!
I have the opportunity to include a tunnel! on the current section, I have had tunnels on previous lines which posed no problem, the proposed site on the current line I think meets all the criteria which would mnean it should be trouble fre (ie No longer than 1.75 arms length so that access can be gained to extract any derailed stock and clean track,wide enough so that any derailed stock would stand a chance of not being scraped along the inside walls, and the track within the tunnel would have several power feeds)

So what is the consensus do I go ahead or not??!!

Note in the aerial view the last vehicle is a DR bogie goods van the tunnel mouth proposed would be around 1/2 way along its length.

Some pics, showing the the proposed site of the tunnel, it would be approx the length of the train minus 1/2 the last vehicle.
 
Could depend on what you envisage above the tunnel. Rack railway? Rockery? simple planting out?
 
Not qualified to talk tunnels.. But wall looks remarkably close to stock, bottom right of last picture..
 
PhilP said:
Not qualified to talk tunnels.. But wall looks remarkably close to stock, bottom right of last picture..
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Think its a bit of an optical illusion"! camera angle etc, the 2 USA Streetcars pass that bit with about 2" to spare and they are around 40% longer than the coaches in the pic.
 
Optical illusion.......just had one of them.......thought I saw a nice new LGB 2-10-2 Hartz sat on my desk.......until I realised it was just my little old Stainz, (sob,sob,sob!!!)
Kev :)
 
lgbmad said:
Optical illusion.......just had one of them.......thought I saw a nice new LGB 2-10-2 Hartz sat on my desk.......until I realised it was just my little old Stainz, (sob,sob,sob!!!)
Kev :)
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Nearly - better luck next time!
 
YES!! I love tunnels theirs nothing like the sight of a train appearing out of a tunnel from who knows where and they do work best on a curve but unfortunately 99% of derailments are on curves!!
 
Go for it!
Makei t longer too with an inspection/ rescue hatch halfway along
 
Yes - go for it! Mine are under the mountain and as Paul (Minimans) says "there's nothing like the sight of a train appearing out of a tunnel from who knows where".
 
owlpool said:
Go for it!
Makei t longer too with an inspection/ rescue hatch halfway along
Click to expand...
I had one about 10' long on layout no'1 bsck in '78 ( it is referred to in my thread in Pictures from the past) I had no real clue in those days the tunnel was on a Gradient and curved thro' around 60' 2/3rds from the lowe point of the gradient.

I did incorporate a lift off section ath the half way point, but in the lines existance until around '84 when we moved I never had to use it
 
I started my railway in the back garden but soon ran out of space and I wanted to expand. Permission was granted to use the front garden, as long as it blended in and was not obtrusive. But getting there would be a problem.
One side of the house I have the garage, drive, passage-way etc. and to the other the boiler, oil tank etc. Investigation found that the railway in the back garden was on the same level as the footings under the floor boards of the house. So that's the way I went - straight under the house, with a cast concrete tunnel portal set into the walls front and back*.
The tunnel entry/exits were lined-up using a cheap DIY laser and the track laid using the same. Cross-levelling and ballasting into position using the method I have employed throughout the railway of a mix of horticultural grit/waterproof PVA has ensured that the line has remained straight and true so derailments are very, very rare. My track cleaning loco and track sweeper take care of maintenance through a tunnel that is over 6 meters long! If the worst came to the worst, then within the hour I can have the necessary floor boards up and back down before the wife even knows about it!
I know it exceeds the 1.75 arm-length rule but I make up for that in the fact that the tunnel has a purpose.
Go for it! Properly planned and executed tunnel are good!
*See 'GardenRail' 236 for full story.
 
Personally I prefer cuttings to tunnels. Easier to maintain the track and recover derailed stock etc. I think it's kind of a waste to hide the train out of sight for too long!
 
Or you could have a "virtual" tunnel. Line goes behind a line of shrubs/conifers and pops back out through a carefully manicured hole. Advantages - no limitation on your loading gauge, no risk of stock getting stuck or damaged if it derails and no mowed down hibernating hedgehogs and other critters. You still get the "shock n' aww" as the train disappears and reappears somewhere else. OK, it can take 3-4 years to grow to get the full effect.:wink: Max

sleepy line 006.JPG
Emerging from the forest.JPG
 
they are cool

its all about
access-if you don't do this, don't do a tunnel
clearance
superb track work
being able to keep out animals
 
Tunnels and cuttings add lots of visual interest. Have you thought about several small tunnels like the aberglasyn pass?


Also make sure the floor of the tunnel is nice and solid, eg 2 or 3 inches or concrete And the track is firmly fixed down.

Also make sure the tunnel is structurally strong enough to support the weight above it, I used breeze blocks for walls and patio slabs to make the roof

Dan
 
lgbmad said:
Optical illusion.......just had one of them.......thought I saw a nice new LGB 2-10-2 Hartz sat on my desk.......until I realised it was just my little old Stainz, (sob,sob,sob!!!)
Kev :)
Click to expand...
I suffer from similar optical illusions when I look in my wallet and think I see money :shake:
 
And make a couple of plugs for the tunnel mouths for when trains are not running.
Keeps the tunnel cleaner!

Malcolm ( who has a virtual tunnel )
 
Brixham said:
And make a couple of plugs for the tunnel mouths for when trains are not running.
Keeps the tunnel cleaner!

Malcolm ( who has a virtual tunnel )
Click to expand...

..................and critters out!!!!!

I have two dead end tunnels. the shorter is single track about two feet in length and the longer one is double track of eight feet in length. Their purpose is for storage thus keeping trains out of sight - giving an impression they went somewhere and reappear on the 'return'. Both tunnels are concealed but have easy roof access.
Tunnel style features and done by having a covered bridge - four feet long - and an arch of cotoneaster.
 
a98087 said:
Tunnels and cuttings add lots of visual interest. Have you thought about several small tunnels like the aberglasyn pass?


Also make sure the floor of the tunnel is nice and solid, eg 2 or 3 inches or concrete And the track is firmly fixed down.

Also make sure the tunnel is structurally strong enough to support the weight above it, I used breeze blocks for walls and patio slabs to make the roof

Dan
Click to expand...
Yes my first tunnel back in the early 80s was constructed withh breeze blocks for walls & 18" square paving slabs for the roof, on which there were several rockery stones, tunnel was sloped curved and 10' long, I can still visialise the sight of a 2095, lights blazing, heading through the tunnel!
 
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