The Great Canadian West Coast Railroad

Transcription

1 Small Garden Railway Contest The Great Canadian West Coast Railroad W 2 nd I N N E R A highly detailed line in a tiny backyard by David J. Hiebert Vancouver, British Columbia PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR EXCEPT WHERE NOTED T his is the second garden railway I ve constructed and the third miniature railway. The first was more than 10 years ago in a slightly larger back-garden space at our townhouse. Dog-bone-shaped, it had a seaside theme, a unique feature of which was the background. This was the existing fence, which I painted as a seascape something I don t remember seeing in a garden railway before. When I had to relocate to a small apartment, I sadly dismantled that railway and took the structures with me, including part of the fence that I had painted. But where to construct a garden railway in an apartment? The painted fence slats adorned my small balcony but there was no room for the train. I missed it so much that I had to find a way, so I laid a track and placed some of the structures around the top of my kitchen cabinets and dining room, to the amazement and delight of guests and neighbors children. Four years ago I married my wonderful wife Mary and moved to her housing cooperative in a tree-filled neighborhood in the southeast corner of Vancouver. Eyeing the small, shady garden area behind our townhouse, the second summer I was there I began dreaming of a new garden railway and thinking about how I could do it. Last spring and summer I laid the track area and built the pond and waterfall feature, planted some groundcover, and added some structures. But there was still no train. I had kept the fence boards I had saved from my previous townhouse garden and, toward the end of the summer two years ago, I added and painted more fence boards so that the whole back fence became the seacoast. Thus it rested in hibernation for the winter. When I learned of the Small Garden Railway Contest that next spring, I became determined to get the railway finished and the train rolling. The theme is British Columbia s west (wet) coast rainforest, with evergreen trees, a small lake, a waterfall, and the wild Pacific Ocean as a backdrop. It was a way to showcase this unique and beautiful ecosystem, inhabited and cared for by First Nations peoples for generations before the arrival of industrial over-fishing of salmon, clear cutting of old-growth trees, and reckless pursuit of fossil fuels. The times are changing and eco-tourism and sustainable development governed by local people are starting to flourish in place of monetary exploitation by large corporations. I wanted to illustrate this with an excursion train that takes people on an educational and cultural tour of beautiful coastal British Columbia. Melding of multiple hobbies Another interest of mine is architecture. I have always admired architects Frank Lloyd Wright and Canadian icon Arthur Erickson. Both designed their houses to blend into the existing landscape. Near 24 Garden Railways April Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

2 1. A close-up above Deer Lake. High above the stream in a hillside forest, a hiker takes her half tried rest. To the right, partially hidden in the undergrowth, sits a spirit bear cub with its mother. The grandstand nature of slopes allows all the elements to visibly play a role in controlling erosion so that the scene will still be there after a hard rain. Notice there is no exposed soil. 2. The first view of the Great Canadian West Coast Rail Road as one steps into the backyard. Within a small garden railway, it makes sense to ballast the track with the same gravel that makes up the beach and dry washes, thus unifying the garden and giving the illusion of more space. 25

3 1 2 2 Painted fence Roadway 9 Beach front Pond 7 Swamp Walk Cabana 1. Gnomes house 2. Eco-loggers cabin 3. Small house with two apple trees 4. Main railroad station Patio 4 5. Lighthouse 6. Baldwin house 7. Secondary railroad station 8. Shambala Shipping & Receiving The Great Canadian West Coast Railroad 9. Footbridge N 10. Automobile bridge 3 MARC HOROVITZ where we live, on small urban Deer Lake, is such a house designed in 1963 by Arthur Erickson. It was completed in 1965 and is now owned by the City of Burnaby. I did some research and contacted the Arthur Erickson Foundation. For a small fee they sent me the plans for this house, known as the Baldwin House. In keeping with the west coast BC theme, I was inspired to try my hand at building a scale model of this historic post-and-beam house to nestle beside the small lake, in my small garden-railway project, just as the prototype does by Deer Lake. 3. The GCWCRR train exits the moss-covered tunnel and slows as it approaches the goods platform, which was scratchbuilt by the author. Natasha busily polishes her new sports car at the back of the Baldwin House, not seeming to notice the train. On its right, tall narrow heather and rosemary screen the 1:1 fence. The downward slope of the trees on the bluff pulls our attention down to the sea. Planning With a small garden, by scaling objects (i.e., making them smaller when farther away) I hoped to achieve a greater illusion of distance. Thus, the mountain and waterfall are placed the farthest away. Also, the painting of the fence as a scenic background adds to the illusion of more space than there really is. My wife remind- 26 Garden Railways April 2016

4 Rolling stock, locomotives, and structures Trains and track LBG Big Thunder Mountain RR by Disney, with two open observation cars Nº 948 Bachmann Great Northern, with one passenger car and one combine, both battery lit One Union Pacific caboose 50' of track 4. Looking down on the Great Canadian West Coast Railroad from the living room balcony. Pebbles create dry-wash open areas for viewing scenery and foot access to all internal areas of the railway. Structures Piko Green River Train Station Scratchbuilt platform, secondary train station A country cottage (refitted, paintable birdhouse) The eco-loggers cabin (refitted, paintable birdhouse) Garden lighthouse refitted with a solar light The Baldwin House; a scale model scratchbuilt from architectural drawings of an original historic house designed by Arthur Erickson Two scratchbuilt bridges: a hikers footbridge and a country car bridge Tunnel under the mountain, scratchbuilt using patio paving stones ed me that this is virtually our whole back-garden area. Given that, I wanted to make it aesthetically pleasing, with a water feature and plantings that would be attractive to the eye so that not only we, but our neighbors would appreciate and enjoy it, too, as they looked out over their adjoining balconies. Construction Cedar fence boards were painted with a solid, water-base stain as scenic background. Dirt and earth were piled up toward the back for the mountain. Various sizes of river rock, both pebbles and stones, and lava rock were used for the stream and waterfall, while feather rock was used along the beach. Crushed (drainage) rock was used as the bottom layer of track bed; pea gravel of various sizes was used for the middle layer; and horticultural pumice formed the top layer of track bed. The tunnel was created using patio paving stones. The pond was dug out and lined with heavy plastic, secured with river rocks and glued down, while the edges were staked to prevent damage by the local wildlife. Quick-set ready-mix cement with various sizes of stones was used for the stream and waterfall area. A hose and pump provide the running water. Anti-mosquito pellets keep the flying nuisances at bay. Landscaping considerations and plants Regarding the seascape background, I could have purchased a big sheet of marine plywood and painted it to give the illusion that indeed there was a seacoast. However, I wanted to keep a reminder that this garden railway is in a real garden, bounded by a real fence, so I wanted to make use of the fence. Plants were chosen to simulate actual native coastal temperate forest flora. All plants are real, not artificial. The only trees I regret not being able to emulate are the iconic Douglas firs, some of the oldest and tallest trees here. A weeping willow beside the Baldwin House would be nice; I m still looking. Challenges due to constrained space The biggest challenge in putting together this small garden railway was how to build, plant, and add to it without trampling something, as it was bordered on two sides by fencing. My option was to leave the actual train tracks until last, after all the landscaping was done. Otherwise, there was nowhere to step, stand, or squat. At one point in the construction, I used a collapsible workbench to lie on, working on the garden from above. 27

5 Plants on the Great Canadian West Coast Railroad Vancouver BC Canada USDA Hardiness Zone 8b GROUNDCOVER Alpine rock thyme Acinos alpinus Chocolate chip bugleweed Ajuga reptans Valfredda Dill Anethum graveolens Corsican sandwort Arenaria balearica Fiber optic grass Isolepis cernua syn. Scirpus cernuus New Zealand brass buttons Leptinella squalida Black brass buttons Leptinella squalida Platt s Black Small-flowered sweet alyssum Lobularia maritima Easter Bonnet (white, deep rose, and violet varieties) White sweet alyssum Lobularia maritima Snow Crystals Corsican mint Mentha requienii Golden oregano Origanum vulgare Gold Tip Extra triple curled parsley Petroselinum crispum Blue star creeper, fragrant carpet Pratia angulata Irish moss Sagina subulata Scotch moss Sagina subulata Aurea Tricolor sage Salvia officinalis Tricolor Orange Ice stonecrop Sedum album Orange Ice Thick-leaved stonecrop Sedum dasyphyllum Gold moss stonecrop Sedum sarmentosum Purple bacopa Sutera cordata Bahia Purple Sand Creeping thyme Thymus citriodorus Doone Valley Woolly thyme Thymus pseudolanuginosus Red creeping thyme Thymus serpyllum Coccineus Major and Coccineus Elfin thyme Thymus serpyllum Elfin English thyme Thymus vulgaris Whitley s creeping speedwell Veronica whitleyi SHRUBS Asparagus fern Asparagus densiflorus Sprengeri Firefly heather Calluna vulgaris Firefly Kramer s red heath Erica x darleyensis James Stirling hebe Hebe ochracea James Stirling Patty s Purple hebe Hebe x Patty s Purple Raspberry ripple hebe Hebe x Tullyrasp Curry plant Helichrysum italicum Lavender Lavandula angustifolia Ellagance Purple Little Heath andromeda, Japanese andromeda Pieris japonica Little Heath Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis Winter savory Satureja montana TREES Green Gem boxwood Buxus microphylla Green Gem Common boxwood Buxus sempervirens Green Mountain boxwood Buxus x Green Mountain Green Velvet boxwood Buxus x Green Velvet Boxleaf euonymus Euonymus japonicus Microphyllus Blue Star juniper Juniperus squamata Blue Star Dwarf Alberta spruce Picea glauca Conica Emerald green arborvitae Thuja occidentalis Smaragd Teddy bear arborvitae Thuja occidentalis Teddy 5. The author places one of his deer from above. The backdrop s beach sand seam lessly blends with flotsam and jetsam (lower left), gradually merging with shrubby dune stonecrop then scrub lavender trees around the lighthouse. PHOTO: MARY L. HIEBERT A concern, with one length of track running alongside and close to the patio, was potential damage to the track by an accidental misstep. I didn t want to put up a barrier or fence, which would be too unsightly. After much thought, using materials on hand and used materials purchased at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, I took two louvered closet doors; screwed two shelf supports 32" high inside each; placed three 48" cedar fence boards between them; two 1" dowels on top, front, and back; topped them with a garden-themed curtain that can be adjusted for shade as needed; then added a tall, folding work stool I d had for years but never used, along with another bar stool, and voila! an attractive no-step-on-track cabana on which to sit and sip a drink while watching the train go by. How special problems were overcome As all miniature-railroad builders are aware, you can t just go into a store, hobby shop, or whatever, and find everything you need to put together the buildings, plants, and infrastructure. There is a lot of re-purposing and recycling going on. For instance, in constructing the scale-model Baldwin House, I used garden plant sticks for the posts and hardwood-flooring (ash) slip-tongue lengths cut to size for the beams. A medicine pill bottle top became a cover for a street lamp, and so forth. After I constructed the lake and filled it with water, I was happy to see it didn t leak. But when I came out the next morning, lo and behold, the pond was almost empty. Looking closely, I saw that the edges of the heavy plastic liner had been pushed aside into the pond, causing the 28 Garden Railways April 2016

6 6. The train exits the tunnel into the sunlight, much to the delight of the little girl and her mother. Note the roads edged with larger pebbles, gradually transitioning to trees with moss, stonecrop, and finally herbs, like oregano and thyme. 7. The train slows as it passes the iconic post-and-beam Baldwin House, designed by Arthur Erickson and built in The author built this model to around 1:28 scale from plans obtained from the Arthur Erickson Foundation. Note the pedestrian using the Swamp Walk path at middle right. Dozens of little trees and shrubs from a varied palette form repeated patterns, with like size trees clumped together and swaths of stonecrop bordering the front. water level to go down. Animal tracks along the edge gave them away the raccoons that visit our neighborhood each night had been delighted to find a convenient water source! To fix this, I took sections of coat-hanger wire, bent them into U-shapes, and pounded them down along the edge of the lake, making it snoutproof. It seems to have worked so far. Another problem to overcome was how to landscape on and around the rocky areas that are a natural part of the coastal rainforest landscape. There was no room to stick in live plants or moss. When I came across a bag full of dried moss used for flower arranging, I used a About the author waterproof construction glue to affix bits of it onto and around the rocky areas. This worked quite well. Particular climate challenges A challenge to the wet coast theme was that the spring and summer of 2015 were the warmest and driest on record in southern British Columbia. The fence slats, installed closely together in April, shrank and needed repositioning and repainting in June. Some plants got heat stroke and sunburn and needed to be trimmed or replaced, while requiring consistent watering in order to maintain the rainforest ambience. David Hiebert is the owner of a building maintenance company (now semi-retired) and the proud father of five grown children. He is also author of a self-published children s book, Gratefully Going Green. He and wife Mary are residents and members of a housing cooperative in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and are active in the promotion of a communityoriented, cooperative lifestyle. The future of the railway I would like to invest in more train cars and track in order to have a diversity of trains to suit my fancy and mood. However, I can t see changing the ecosystem of the garden due to climatic limitations. I may decide to paint a different scenic background on the fence, perhaps a type of landscape rather than a seascape. The Arthur Erickson Foundation would like to do a feature on their website that includes the Baldwin House, of course, but also in the context of the garden railway. Family and friends involvement (kudos and nods) My wife Mary helped with this write-up, some photography, plant placement, and encouragement. Thanks to the Arthur Erickson Foundation for providing the plans of the Baldwin House. I am grateful for the encouragement and patience of our close neighbors in the co-op, having to look down on the back-garden chaos as it was slowly transformed into a serene scene over these many months. I must give a plug to Habitat for Humanity s ReStore in Vancouver, where I was able to find many things (such as the blue paint for the sky) at reasonable prices. 29