The Leeds Hill Railroad has been through several iterations over the years. In short, the first iteration was built in 2018, only a few months after the first engine, SRRL #10, was purchased. LHRR #1 was a full loop with a decent grade, mostly double-track, a complex wye, and a simple removable bridge. It ran around the family pool shed. Some old photos are included below. It was during this era that the decision was made for the railroad's equipment to be an assortment of New England lines.
LHRR #2 was very short-lived. There were big plans, as can be seen below, only a dog-bone shaped roundy-round line was ever built. The best day of this version was one morning after it had snowed, and photos and videos were taken of the train running in the snow.
Quite a bit was learned building these two outdoor projects. The most notable of which include:
- 'Pea gravel' is great for for ballast. It locks together fairly well and drains nicely. The only problem is that some of the rocks are a little small and they may foul turnouts.
- To avoid this, for LHRR #2, pavers were installed under switches. This eliminated the problem of stones in the blades.
- Grades are a pain. 3% is the max. Even so, track can bend and warp; making sure everything is level in all directions is critical.
- Cleaning the track is a pain (for track power). It was part of the reasonall LHRR stock is battery powered. But, powering a portion of the RR was always an option if ever there were visiting locos.
- Rail clamps, rather than the LGB fishplates, make it a lot easier to remove a portion of the track, without disturbing the entire thing. These are especially a good idea in high-traffic areas and all switches and crossovers.
Now, several years after the dismantling of #2, the Leeds Hill Railroad has begun in a totally different way. LHRR #3 is a table-top switching layout, which has been built to NHGRS' specifications. Most of it is mobile, but some is attached to the walls. Originally, it was going to be a loop and take up most of the garage, but it has become a switching layout instead. Maybe someday it will extend to outside the garage.
Header: A section of line from the original Leeds Hill Railroad ~ 2018
