Just completed the Walthers 933-2948 kit for my double track application. All went well. Not sure how to handle the deck, however. It has pseudo tie plates molded in but doubt they are meant to actually glue down bare code 83 rail. Don't know if I lay my Peco flex track section down on top of the deck or, leave the deck provided off and lay my track on top of the horizontal beams. Any insight as to the correct prototypical configuration for this situation?
Thanks, Geoff
I'm not familiar with that Walthers bridge, but I have used Central Valley and Micro Engineering bridges that had either ties with moulded-on tieplates, or just the tie plates, without ties.
I used plain Atlas code 83 rail on those bridges and used gelled contact cement to secure the rails to the tieplates.
if you use the same procedure, coat both the bottom of the rail and the surface of the tieplates, and let it sit until the cement is dry-to-the-touch. For long stretches of track, I usually place waxed paper over the tieplates, then carefully slide it off the tieplates at the starting point, while simultaneously pressing the rails into place...it works well and keeps things where they're supposed to be.
This one is on Central Valley bridge ties...
...and this is ordinary Central Valley tie strips...
I usually solder the Atlas code 83 rail into 15' or 18' lengths, then use the waxed paper method to cement the rails in place.
Wayne
If you put the Wooden Deck on the Horizontal Beams, you glue rail to the Wooden Deck. If you leave the Wooden Deck off the bridge, then you put down flextrack on top of the Horizontal beams or, better yet, put down Bridge Track for more realism.
Rich
Alton Junction
It depends on how you built it; I believe all the recent Walthers plate-girder bridges give you two options.
If you build it with the 'open' bottom with the ties in place, you could just lay rail in the provided 'slots'. You could remove the ties from a section of flextrack, with the ties still attached on either side of the bridge.
If you build it as a 'ballasted deck' bridge with the solid bottom, you would just lay your track on it and add ballast like you would normally do to the track not on the bridge.
wjstixYou could remove the ties from a section of flextrack, with the ties still attached on either side of the bridge.
That's the solution! I took an 18" piece of flex, removed the needed ties to the width of the span and glued them in the tie plates molded into the deck then mounted the deck to the horizontal beams. Looks great. I'll finish it up with weathering, attach it to the abutments, install it and insert it into the parallel mainlines as usual with joiners as appropriate. Good call. Thanks.