True, but next you will want to know haw to model water, when you could have had it all ready for you
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Thanks for the compliment. Yes, I did use new lumber. I have enough trouble doing that well. I can't imagine the trouble I'd have using a piece with the sink still attached.
Rick Krall
Nice Work. And new lumber too. LIONS never use new lumber. Always pick over the stuff in the barn and clean it up.
LION does not plan. Him builds first and then figures out what it was that he made, and then puts some rails on it.
ROAR
I don't know whether I'm giving back or hogging bandwidth, but I'd like to share my approach to installing a bridge on a mainline that runs diagonally over, rather than parallel with, my L-Girder benchwork. The Forum posts I consulted up front stressed the importance of a precise installation, and I was afraid I couldn't achieve level and plumb given the differences between the orientation of my mainline compared to my benchwork joists:
And with the temporary subroadbed removed:
This created two problems: (1) Inadequate surface area on which to attach the abutments, and (2) difficulty assuring level and plumb even if they could be secured, given that they'd be at an angle to the joists. I hadn't seen a solution to this problem in any of the Forum posts I consulted. Mine was to create a two-part, articulated abutment that enabled me to attach and position it in a two-step process that resulted in a secure, precisely positoned, and seamlessly integrated bridge crossing.
My first step was to model each abutment using stripwood and a 1X6 piece of clear pine:
I then temporarily clamped that structure to an identical piece of 1X6 that would connect the assembly to the benchwork. The test fit shows the angle and the limited benchwork I had to work with at this point:
To solve the surface area/angle problem, I created a base by gluing scrap 1X2 riser-stock pieces to either side of the 1X4 joist:
When the glue dried, I clamped and then marked the ideal position for each abutment assembly with painter's tape. You can see the shims in the distant abutment that assure the assembly is plumb. Having the abutment-model piece separate enabled me to level and shim that independently without disturbing plumb:
Once I assured the abutments were level...
...I ran test trains to optimize the installation, replaced the clamps with wood screws (I had carriage bolts on standby in case I felt I had to keep things flexible), finalized the installation with wood screws, and completed the job by adding the bridge/track assembly:
The painter's tape marks the installation so I can secure everything in the right position after I finish the scenery under the bridge. In the meantime--I can run trains and assure everything remains in its proper place before locking it down.
Anybody with more experience (that would include most of you, I'm sure) might have a better way to do this, but I'm proud that I figured this out and pleased with the result. Regardless, hopefully my experience will help others. Is this a great hobby or what?