steel arch bridge

[ARTHILL]

I need a 38" steel arch bridge in HO. Where do I start? Are there kits to bash? It needs to cross a gorge 28 " deep.

[RedLeader]

I dunno how long it is, but I think OMI has a delightful brass model for about 2k a piece!.

[dknelson]

One of the European plastic kit makers, Kibri or Vollmer or someone, has a very large arched bridge kit but I cannot testify that it is 38" long. Check the Walthers catalog
Dave Nelson

[West Coast S]

Try www.stainlessunlimited.com. Though, geared towards S, O they do offer a custom building service.

Remember bridge demensions are determined by load capacity, don't limit your search just to products in your scale.

My very first S scale bridge was built from a O Scale kit.

[bpickering]

I've got two books on the subject of modelling bridges.

One is from Kalmbach:
http://store.yahoo.net/kalmbachcatalog/12101.html

The second is from Carstens:
http://www.carstens-publications.com/depot/00099.html

The latter is EXTREMELY detailed. One thing that it points out which is interesting to me is some of the pitfalls that modellers fall into. There are two that have potentially already been mentioned within this thread:
1) modelling a bridge that doesn't fit the prototype area (the Kibri or Vollmer bridge is of a European prototype, and might not be appropriate in an American layout)
2) watch out when kitbashing- very easy to end up with unprototypically thin trusses, long spans, compression when tension should be used, etc. Basically, bridges that would fall, perhaps even under their own weight.

Now, I don't know where you are on the "rivet-counting" scale. [:D] Personally, I'm happy just to have time to build anything, much less worrying about whether I have the proper number of NBW castings. However, even so, I found the latter more useful when it came to thinking about what bridges I'm going to build, and somewhat-specific numbers on things like span for a plate-girder through bridge.

YMMV, of course.

Brian Pickering

[jrbarney]

Arthill,
Here's a link to a keyword search in the Index of Magazines
http://index.mrmag.com/tm.exe?opt=S&cmdtext=steel+arch+bridge&MAG=ANY&output=3&sort=A
The first article citation is for a French prototype, but some of the other citations look as though they might be of use.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543

[cacole]

Miami Valley Products, if they are still in business, used to make bridge kits out of milled redwood that could be up to six feet long, either single or double-track. When painted dark gray, the redwood looks just like a steel beam.

A Google search for Miami Valley Products came up blank.

Midwest Products makes wooden bridge kits, and you might be able to paint one of these to look like steel. They have a Web site at http://www.midwestproducts.com that shows some of their assembled bridges.

[gmpullman]

Art...
I have what I recall is a Kibri steel arch bridge. As I recall I combined 2 kits to get 28" long and it's 5" high but you can just use taller piers to support it. I needed double track so I just put 2 bridges side-by-side. Also you have the option of arranging the arches in 2 different ways. You can multiply kits to get the length you want in 7" increments.
Check the Walther's web catalog... Nice looking bridge and not too "European" looking.
I added some Central Valley steel lattice to the deck to give it a more "railroady" look.
Ed

[jrbarney]

Art,
You might want to contact John Palecki Structures:
http://www.jpstructures.com/index.html
to check on the availability of his 0.005 etched brass bridge components that can be assembled with ACC. His current kits don't yet include an arch bridge, but you may find his parts can be used to "kit-bash" the design you decide upon.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543

[Anonymous]

In the April 1991 Model Railroader are plans for a steel arch bridge using Central Valley Girders. The arch section is approx. 29" and with the approach section could come out to about 38". The article is titles "Building Black Bear Bridge". It would be alot of work , but the end results would well be worth it.

Mike

[Anonymous]

What you need is Faller's kit #120535 -- the Bietschtal Bridge. Its an affordably priced plastic kit available from Walthers and others. Its about 43 inches long, with a steel arch beneath the trackbed, and is intended to span a gorge. Its wide enough for two tracks.

That's the only ideal option that I know of. Miami Valley made a number of long span arch bridges, but they have dropped off the face of the earth and are apparently out of business. Overland Model Imports, in the past, made several brass long span bridges but they are very rare and cost thousands. I recently saw one sell on eBay for over $5,000. You could try to kitbash an HO bridge from a larger scale kit. You might have problems though with the lack of detail in the original kit. There is a 47 inch long G scale kit (Large Gauge Bridges #50610) with an above the tracks arch truss that you might be able to kitbash into a 4-track HO bridge. Hornby, a British company, made an HO/OO scale Grand Victorian Suspension Bridge that's 48" long overall, but the central span is only 24". It was cheap and utterly lacking in detail.

QUOTE: Originally posted by ARTHILL

I need a 38" steel arch bridge in HO. Where do I start? Are there kits to bash? It needs to cross a gorge 28 " deep.