If you are worried about the train falling off the bridges there are two causes. The first would be from centrifugal force from too much speed. This would be difficult as a near to scale railing would be too low. You would have to have a railing at least half the car height to stop it from falling over, even then the inertia of the engine would continue to pull the train along the rail. I have witnessed a big G derailment while it occurred at an open house, and it was just like the real stuff, one car after another scissoring into a pile.
If you are more worried about one truck or axle derailing and causing the car/s to go off the bridge then follow the prototype example. Add a piece of scrap metal rail to the inside of the running rail for more than the length of the bridge. This will trap the wheel/s and keep them from drifting to the outside of the curve. On straight bridges you can use two, one on each side. To capture the derailed wheel you would place a 30 degree bend in the safety rail about 3/4 inches from each end. This will force the wheel close to the running rail and will not short out the electronics as it will not contact the other rail. The safety rail does not need to have any electrical connection.
On some of my bridges (all wood) I have added wooden strips between the rails to serve as a walk way. on curves you will have to bend them in. a 5/16" square strip bent in along the inside rail should help. I use the plastic "tie plates and spikes" of the track as a guide to hold the strip in the right place. you will have to nail the strip in place with small nails (pre-drilled) or a pin nailer. make sure the strip doesn't protrude above the rail head and doesn't get too close to the rail.
Winnegance and Quebec Railway
Eric Schade Gen'l Manager
Thanks Tom.....they are all wood construction and each one has a walkway (about 1")on the outside of the curves and a smaller 1/2" on inside. I thought something could either be drilled or glued through or attached to the outside of the walkways. The track is LGB radius 1 on the shorter bridge and radius 3 on the two larger ones. I'm just scratching around for ideas at the moment.
Alan.
You might consider adding a “working” walkway on the outside of the curve. A hand rail on the outside edge should give all the protection you would need. If this is a timber bridge you might also want to add a few Fire Barrel (water) stations along the bridge. They will help strengthen the walkway. If not a timber construction, thnk about using assorted trackside signal relays and other such trackside electrical items.
Tom Trigg
Have just completed three curved deck bridges for a friend using the ladder system. The longest was 23" long the shortest 15". I would like to add some form of a safety rail at least to one side of each bridge as they all pass over a shallow stream. Can anyone help with a simple method of achieving this?
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