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Railway bridge over track

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  • Member since
    February 2005
  • From: Sweden
  • 2,082 posts
Railway bridge over track
Posted by electrolove on Monday, April 18, 2005 6:40 AM
I wonder what the recomended minimum distance is if I want to have a railway bridge over my track in HO scale?

Thanks in advance
Rio Grande Zephyr 5771 from Denver, Colorado to Salt Lake City, Utah "Thru the Rockies"
  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Weymouth, Ma.
  • 5,199 posts
Posted by bogp40 on Monday, April 18, 2005 7:02 AM
3" is the absoute min. for actual clearance. Railhead to railhead is a different story. You will need to figure what type bridge and how much added clearance needed for supporting girders, bridge ties and other framework. To be safe, I will use 3 1/2" as a rule to give a little bit of insurance. The NMRA track gauge placed upright on the rails shows you the bare min. for clearance.
Bob K.

Modeling B&O- Chessie  Bob K.  www.ssmrc.org

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Monday, April 18, 2005 8:28 AM
NMRA Standard S-7 gives a minimum of 3 1/6" overhead clearence above the rail head for standard HO scale.
If you are running double stack trains, Hi-Cube box cars and auto racks, 3 1/2" may be needed. I use a mimium of 4" of overhead clearence for hidden track. Check the tallest rolling you want to run and use that for checking clearence.
  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: Morgantown, WV
  • 1,459 posts
Posted by cheese3 on Sunday, April 24, 2005 8:40 PM
I would play it safe and use 4 in. If you use 2 in foam all you need is 2 pieces stacked and you are there.

Adam Thompson Model Railroading is fun!

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