After surveying the property from the backyard to the front yard, I realized I could make the grade a 7% climb, which is now the ruling westbound grade. The eastbound grade, climbing into the basement storage yard, is 10%. Loads will usually leave downhill from the storage yard. To make sure the final grade would be uniform, I start construction from the top. The track needed to cross from the western edge the driveway into the front yard. In my last railroad, built in San Diego, I also crossed the driveway, casting the track into the concrete driveway, but there the driveway was almost level. This time, the driveway is at a fairly steep angle, and there was no clear way to cast track into place. I decided to build a removable bridge. This could be lighter construction, since cars will never use the driveway when the bridge is in place. Once the bridge was fabricated, and the proper location marked on the driveway, I was able to establish the upper end of the roadbed along the edge of the driveway. I used a sting to determine that a 7% grade would indeed be sufficient, and began laying concrete blocks. Here is the roadbed looking downhill from the top. A bridge location pocket can be seen at the very bottom of the picture.
Here is a view from the side.
Track was added, extending from the previous phase. A hole has been cut into the fence, with a removable gate to preserve the integrity of the backyard.
Trim pieces were added along the edge of the roadbed to contain ballast.
Here is the track after being ballasted.
The bridge is a 1"x6", almost 15' long, straight for most of it with a curve at one end. Each end folds up, making the folded bridge only 8' long, which is easier to carry and store. Here is the bridge location.
Here is the folded bridge.
Here is the bridge in place.
This is the first load crossing the bridge.
