Weed control with aluminum rail

[one_inch_railroad]

A friend of mine has a one inch backyard railroad, every year we spend a few weeks just weeding the track that could otherwise go to more useful endeavors. At the end of the running season the track is 100 percent weed free but by the next spring it looks likes its ready for abandonment. He lives in the pacific northwest region and so there is a lot of rain, and spraying a traditional weed killer like roundup would work but you would have to keep applying it as it would get washed away.

I have done a bunch of reading online that a strong mixture of vinegar, isopropyl alcohol , soap, and salty water is very effective weed killer. Apparently the vinegar/isopropyl sucks out all the moisture of weeds that are already there and the soap being a surfactant helps it adhere to the foliage; while the salt prevents new weeds or anything from sprouting up.

However with the aluminum rail, I was wondering if spraying a highly salty compound on and around the rail would cause galvanic corrosion of the rail, when running with steel and cast iron wheels

Any thoughts,

Thanks in advance

[steamin10]

Yard garden chemicals suck for weed control for the reasons mentioned. Railroads used to use a pelletized weed control that was blue-green, and applied to problem areas on secondary trackage. Frist rate trackage only had problems if there was dirty ballast.

IMHO salty solutions should NOT be applied anywhere near aluminum rail. Particularly if it has to be yearly. Sodium Chloride is hygroscopic and draws moisture from the air if nothing else, and will constantly attack any aluminum. It will devour nails or metal screws touching the rails.

Golf courses rely on chemicals to maintain grass and open areas, cart paths and sand traps, without a lot of labor.

For years we used drain oil mixed with 'bad ' diesel from a truck stop. A light spray in the spring would go quite far, as it killed everything green it touched. Being oily, it took a while for Nature the Mother to destroy it with the right microbes. Now it is thought bad for the environment. Well, YA, I wanna kill all the grass and trees. Soft maple around here grows like a weed, destroys trimmer strings, and is 2 feet tall the second year. Really bad for a RR. Scrub Willow is even worse, as it sets up underground runners that make an entire comunity in a single year.

Ask at the farm store what the current fashion is for keeping weeds out of the rocks. I use chemicals sparingly, preferring to spray lightly for effect, and coming back 7-10 days later with a followup, to boost tough spots and anything missed the first round. But that is me. I dont have hundreds of dollars for for weed control, and this year has been really bad for me.

[makinsmoke]

When I laid my yard track at our last house I spent the extra money (not a lot) for the weed barrier cloth and laid it between the dirt and the ballast. I still had weeds and grass come up, but most was just germinating in the ballast and was easily removed.

Since the track is already laid maybe blocking up sections at a time and scooping out the ballast and sliding the barrier between the ballast and dirt would work. Given that it is a back yard railroad and not several miles of club track I'd sure give it a try.

Once that stuff is down it will probably enhance the manageability with the Roundup or whatever spot weed killer you use.

Brian

[steamin10]

What Brian says is very correct if not back breaking work.

A weed barrier will certainly help, given the penchant for applying too small of stone to be practical for weed evasion, and usually not heavy enough to get separation above the barrier.

Do certainly let us know if you invoke any changes and if it works out.

[Harold_V]

I am not current on what is and what isn't acceptable, but a soil sterilizer would be the choice I'd make, assuming it's legal. It may no longer be. I used to use one in an area I hoped to keep free of weeds. One application per year was more than enough to keep them at bay. I do not recall the name of the product (light brown granules), but you can explore the internet to get an idea of what may be available today, if anything.

Harold

[hammermill]

you need to know you chemicals a lot better to bee safe and not spend unnecessary cash

round up and its generic equal is a one shot deal normal 2 to 2.5 oz to a gallon

2-4d and 2-4danine (cheeper) kill broad leaf plants think dandelion and goatheads
aplication is also 2 to 2.5 oz per gallon. pay attention to temperature, if it too hot it will form a vapor cloud and kill nearby plants,shrubs etc

the above combined is a blend also sold as landmaster

caseron and sprakill are sterilants carefull these will migrate on you the sprakill is ment to be put down and then have a heavy rain to soak it in. in rocky areas i have been less than happy with it. as it stops growth from below but not above. it works well on bare soil that is undisturbed.

vinegar works well if above 15 percent concetration ,Hard to get,and at about 8 dallors a gallon not cheep

there are some other sterilants that are restricted aplication

round up and it generic clones attack cells and break down the walls in one way 24d in another
vinegar acts as a desicant pulling moisture from the cells as always the younger a plant the easier to kill it


in all of this protect yourself and dont apply with wind or in high heat

24d and 24da are differient products and need to be aplied per eachs instruction

wikepida is a good place to do more resurch but also check the label on each product.

stay away from hardware stores for chems as they are overpriced and diluted down.

look for a feed or farm supply store or coop that sells in 2.5 or gallon containers for best
pricing also get some blue dye to keep track of where you sprayed and you can use cheep dish soap as a sufficant. 24d benefits from this round up not so much but hey its cheep.

if you use generic round up expect it to take a few days to show good results as it works its way all the way down to the roots.

another effective weed killer, in the right environment is a weed burner that singes the plant.

when winter comes make sure you store chems where they will not freeze and be useless

sorry if i sound long winded but i hope this helps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2,4-D

[one_inch_railroad]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the replies, much better and more in depth than I was expecting. The one section of track that is really bad for weeds is going to be rebuilt this fall anyhow, so we will probably put down a layer of the landscape fabric as a protective barrier, and then use a soil sterilizer such as caseron. We will probably also use a combination of round up spraying, and old oil/diesel fuel just as a touch up.
I wan't the roadbed to be 100% weed free just like a real mainline.

Thanks Again

[jw_clarke54]

Talking about "barriers" was'nt there an article on some RR website about not only theweed barrier but also a Mat that locks in the Ballast so it doesnt move as much or with weeds?? JWC TX

[Bruce_Mowbray]

A couple of days ago, I ran and electric line in a trench from my garage to my orchard to power an electric fencer. I had to dig under my track to run the conduit. I put down this section of track about 7 years ago and this excavation project gave me the opportunity to see how the sub road bed was holding up. Here are my findings.

I used woven geo-fabric under my track. 2 feet wide laid flat in a trench that was dug about 4 inches deep. The dirt underneath the track was hand tamped. I did get weed growth on the track after three years. Now I know why. In digging the trench for the electric line, I carefully examined the side profile of the small trench. The ballast immediately under the track (1" deep) was clean. The next inch contained a lot of organic matter. Mostly decayed or decaying weed. This is probably from the weeds that were killed from my monthly "round-upping" for regular weed control. The last two inches of sub ballast was packed with dirt and roots from the surrounding grass. Very rich dirt. I figure this is from years of plant decay and the surrounding grass loving that rich soil.

In the future, I will lay the weed barrier/geo-fabric in a trench but I will have the sides of the trench lined as well. This should retard the intrusion of grass roots. I will also try to use any weed control substance more often to reduce the mass of decaying plant matter. I might even go with some manual plant removal in high growth areas. I am wondering if a heavy plastic (6 mil) would work better than the geo-fabric. The fabric, as tight as it is, still allows tiny roots to grow through. Once the roots have a good source of nutrients, they do not have much trouble spreading the fabric and growing big and strong. Small holes at regular intervals would allow for drainage and these might lead to root intrusion but not as frequent as the geo-fabric. The hole could be placed in the center of the plastic or a drain tile could be laid in the center of the trench with a "T'" to the side to allow for trench drainage.

Time to get back out to the track. I'm rebuilding a section of stone retaining wall that pushed itself in. But that's another lesson.

Isn't building a railroad fun???