I have 2 Plasticville truss bridges I want to use in a spot where I currently have track on trackboards of 1/2" plywood, which I plan to cut away to create a river on my under construction not yet sceniced, railroad. The bridges will bear the load of the trains going through and should look reasonably realistic. They are originally designed so you can actually place the bridges on a table top, and the 2 plastic pieces which tie the trusses together from the bottom have a flat enough profile that the track is apparently not misalligned from a height point of view.
My plan is to place two pieces of hardwood 1/4wide x 3/4high longitudinally under each bridge and screw the bridge to those pieces of 1/4 x 3/4 using plastic cross pieces mentioned before which have 2 pairs of predrilled holes in each. I will use the outer pair of holes with # 4 x 1/2" pan head screws. I am using gargraves track, and by sliding the ties slightly, i can get a flat fit on the assembly. I will then use 2 pairs of screws in different ties to secure the track to the 1/4 x 3/4 pieces. I probably will not put 2 screws in a single tie--I want to have no possibility of splitting the tie. They will probably be on opposite sides of neighboring ties. The pieces of gargraves track will extend beyond the end of the bridge to mate with the currently installed neighboring track with nmo "fitter" pieces.
I will support the ends with abutments made from 1" nominal lumber, I believe, but here I am getting fuzzy. I need approx 5" height from water surface (plywood) to underside. I should really go lookinbg for commercial product out there. The abutments would be installed right next to and in fromt of the risers supporting what is left of neighboring trackboards.
Suggesttoins or comments?
By the way, in general, when I try to use "search the community" it always takes me to Model Railroader site. Doesn't this forum have it own search?
sounds like you have eveything mapped out very nicely!! I think that so long as you're careful, and pre-drill appropriately sized holes in the ties, you won't have to worry about splitting them, but it also can't hurt to play it cautiously. Hope it goes well!!
"Unless bought from a known and trusted dealer who can vouch otherwise, assume every train for sale requires servicing before use"
Absolutely planning on predrilling holes
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