After my first trial , I did some internet searching to find other designs. I had seen one in Garden Railways magazine that I liked with the track on an open ladder and held up by poles. So when I stumbled upon O Scale Trains By Ron  on YouTube, and he had instructional videos, I knew I had my new approach. Ron also has some instructions and photos on his website . We'd see if this worked out. I tend to be a little impatient when starting a new project so once I had the idea of how the ladder railbed would go together, I dived right in. The basic design would have two pieces of PVC lattice board forming the supports (girders) with PVC trim cut down to be spacers. Holding the whole thing up I would screw the ladder railbed to a plumbing tee (mount) attached to a 1" PVC pipe which would telescope out of a 1.25" PVC pipe which is sunk into the ground. Since I was using track pieces with known radii, I thought I could calculate the inner and outer radii of the ladder...

We decided early on that we wanted the track for our train to be raised. We wanted it off the ground because the yard occasionally floods (both from heavy rains and extremely high tidal events) and we didn't want to be digging through the existing garden plants to lay the railbed. But we wanted it low enough so it was easy to step over and get to the plants inside. About 6 to 12 inches off the ground would work. So I looked online for some ideas. One idea was to use PVC deck boards as the base. They would stand up to the weather and provide a nice firm base. I could even make trim pieces as rails on the edges with trim pieces and fill in with ballast. I got a couple of pieces to practice with and the first attempt looked good. A short straight piece with the rails separated from the board by a couple of washers so rain water could flow out. And then I tried the first curve.... Not so good.  The boards were only just slightly wider than the ties on the track. As soon as the track s...

Construction on the Coastal Titans Railroad started with a survey of the land. There were several obstacles to work around including a tree, several pokey Yucca plants and the existing garden border. After picking the approximate path we wanted it to take: follow the edge of the garden down one side, turn in onto an old path, skirt around the tree, split around a sunken pond (still to be dug) and emerge back out into the yard, we mapped it out. Being technical people we decided to do a little surveying. Two markers defined the origin and a reference point. We laid out pavers at regular intervals around the loop. Using tape measures, we measured the distance from each block to the two reference points. Then using some trigonometry, we turned all of those measurements into a map. Map of the layout as initially measured Now we could import that into our track design software, SCARM , as a background. This way, we could see the intended route while designing the track. W...

Today were the first test runs of the Coastal Titans Railroad. The initial segments of track, where the future station will be built, was completed and signed off. Below are videos of the near-final testing of the track and the sign-off run once all risers were leveled and secured. Construction can now begin on segments of track going through the dense foliage. Initial running to test the track: This made sure that the track was smooth and stable. Sign-off run: This was after all the risers were leveled and secured. The track is now operational.

We are pleased to announce the founding of the Coastal Titans Railroad. Here, in a place called Baja Fibiger, Vitus Emil Fibiger discovered a land lost to time. Dinosaurs roam among plants and trees unseen for millions of years. Animals known only through fossils roam the lowlands. Even modern flowers grow here to incredible size. Daffodils tower over the lands dwarfing even the largest of dinosaurs. Enormous sunflowers rise beyond vision. Exotic daisies and herbs unlike anything Fibiger had ever encountered were around every bend. And best of all, they are all here for you to see. The Coastal Titan Railroad will soon be opening in Fibiger Park to provide tourists from around the globe a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with these amazing creatures. Make your plans now to see the amazing dinosaurs and plants of Fibiger Park.