Show ME bridges.
This bridge is build by FREMO friends, not me.
Here's a video from Léon and the HowTo.
Pueblo & Salt Lake RR
Come to us http://www.westportterminal.de my videos my blog
Nice job whoever built it-I had to take a break from buildding the strut towers-Fun to build but man,they are a bugger to keep flat and square.
Looks very nice. What process did you use to keep it flat and square?
These are from my friend David Martin's modules, based on the Pacific Northwest.
We had our layout set up a couple of weeks ago at the Temple Model Train Show, and between those and Canyon Diablo, there were a lot of positive comments.
Robert Beaty
The Laughing Hippie
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The CF-7...a waste of a perfectly good F-unit!
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the
end of your tunnel, Was just a freight train coming
your way. -Metallica, No Leaf Clover
This is an ME 120' combination through/deck girder. It somes with several lengths of their bridge track with ties. The through girder comes with squared ends, but you can cut and sand the top corners to round them, and then glue pre-curved (u-do-it) top plates.
-Crandell
Wolfgang, you might want to weather that "puppy" something like the ATSF (now BNSF) Alhambra Valley bridge, adjacent to John Muir's former residence in my hometown:
Mark
These are nice bridge photos.
Anybody know if M.E. bridges also come in N Scale?
Conemaugh Road & Traction circa 1956
Here's a couple of my ME bridges.
I only had the patience to build one tower. Double 50' thru girder.
3- 30' and 2-50' thru girder with ballasted deck.
DJ.
Nice job on the bridges.
To help with squaring up any of the assembly, I build all the subassemblies on a flat 3/4" MDF base. Once it is time to glue up the open deck, the tower assemblies etc, I use various pieces of scrap oak, poplar and maple blocks in 1x4,6 and 4x4s at least 4" long.. These can be arranged in any way to aid in keeping the model square. I realize that not everyone will not have these large chunks of hardwood at their disposal, but any blosks will do the job. As a carpenter, I always end up with this stock left from stairs and ballastrade. 1X pine or 2x will work but the cuts must be done on a chop saw for clean square cuts. Many times weights must be used to hold the blocking to keep position.
This also helps when assembling structures as well.
Another helpful hint for those curved ME Viaducts: When building a curved bridge, the directions do show to make a template. I make sure that my template follows the true arc and is as wide as the ties themselves. ME bridge flex can be troublesome to curve w/o kinking. To gain a perfect arc to my template, I cut a piece of 1/4" luan to the inside of the tie. Now all you need to do is flex/ bend the bridge flex to fit the wood template. If you develop any kink and need to start over, just straighten the track by pressing on a flat surface.
I find that bonding the track w/ Pliobond to work fantastic. Pliobond (rubber cement) holds extremely well and remains quite flexable. It seems to and a slight cushion to the joint which is just what we need for any slight flexing and vibration from years of running.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
~G4
19 Years old, modeling the Cowlitz, Chehalis, and Cascade Railroad of Western Washington in 1927 in 6X6 feet.
Well, I've posted the Deer Creek Viaduct several times before, but here it is again--it's two ME tall viaducts joined together on a 36" radius curve.
Pardon the unfinished scenery in the background of the two shots, LOL!
The first tower was the worst. After that, it went relatively quickly.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
Tom, that has to be the granddaddiest of all the bridges so far. If you happen to have one, howzabout showing us an RDC partway along that bridge?
selector Tom, that has to be the granddaddiest of all the bridges so far. If you happen to have one, howzabout showing us an RDC partway along that bridge? -Crandell
Crandell:
Closest I could get would be my little 4-6-0 and a combine, LOL! But actually, if you want to see the GRANDDADDY, you should talk Wolfgang into showing a picture of that complete bridge at the top of the thread. I think it's based on the former SP viaduct over the Pecos River in Texas, and it's just Bloody ENORMOUS! It looks like at least six ME kits with tower extensions.
BTW, saw your video on the MTH/BLI thread. Excellent! How about some more?
It's still a fight and takes forever to get it just right before letting go and walking away to let the glue cure.
Part of the problem is that the instructions are terrible!
The kits are very nice but not for un-patient or short of expletives people.
The people at the company are very nice and helpful though.
I have no idea at this point whether or not I'll be able to get all 4 bridges city (viaducts) built. It's day by day by day...
Close up Pics of the M.E. city viaducts completed would be greatly apprectiated.
Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.
Captain:
I think that Crandell would be a lot of help on the City Viaduct--his own ME bridge appears to be made up of mostly City Viaduct components.
As to the 'general' assembly of ME kits--what I found frustrating at first was the fact that the girder assemblies for the towers seemed extremely fragile while I was putting them together. All I could think of was "Oh, man, this AIN'T gonna work!". However, as I worked them together, I found that they all fit just as they were supposed to, and I was both surprised and incredibly pleased at how sturdy they were as the various components were assembled.
The more you assemble of the various components, the better the kits seem to be designed. Though I'm unfamiliar with the instructions for the City Viaduct, the instructions for the Tall Viaduct, once you study them VERY thoroughly, start to make sense.
As I told Crandell, the first tower was the worst. Frankly, I didn't think it would work at all, but after I got it assembled, I was amazed at how absolutely well the kit was designed. After that, the other towers went together quite easily. And after I got the towers finally assembled (the most difficult part of the kit) the deck girders went together in about an evening--and that included clipping the girders for the radius I needed.
So don't get discouraged, my friend. The ME kits are complex, and they take a LOT of patience, but as far as design, I've found them absolutely fool-proof. The result, at least for me, was a tall viaduct that doesn't weigh much at all, but will support the heaviest train you can think of to run over it. My Deer Creek Viaduct has no problem supporting my VERY heavy fleet of Akane Yellowstones--it's that well designed.
Keep working on that city viaduct. You might want to PM Crandell and see how he finished his. I notice he's running some very heavy trains over it with no problem. Frankly, if I could find another spot on my MR for another ME Tall Viaduct, I'd be raiding my hobby shop without a second thought, LOL!
Well, Dang, almost forgot my ME twin solid-deck girder bridge over Plum Creek at Sierra Buttes.
I havent seen them advertised in my new MRR issue but I did find an issue in which they were, i believe from 06, and they had 2 sizes of N scale bridges. May do a lil searching and find more.
Great posts. I think that I will look closer at the ME kits. Thanks.
Sue
Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.
tgindy These are nice bridge photos. Anybody know if M.E. bridges also come in N Scale?
Why yes they do;
This is made up of three ME kits built upside down on a traced templet with Peco code 80 flextrack. The curve is 17" with an easement on the 80 foot girder section.
The abutments are scratchbuilt and the piers are from http://www.finenscale.com/architectural.html
John
Anyone have a link for ME's website? R. Staller
http://www.microengineering.com/index.htm
Many Thanks foe the link. R. Staller
Well......they finally caught up to the 1990's! If I had answered, incorrectly as it happens, I would have said that the company doesn't maintain a website, I would have felt justified and accurate because I looked for one three years ago when I wanted to get their bridge in my image earlier.
I will say that I had to phone to ask for missng parts, and they unhesitatingly shipped them to me. I had them within 8 days or so.
Spide -- Thanks for the N Scale pics -- "valley-spanning" is something M.E. brdges do well. Now where can it fit on the layout? ...the CR&T portion, or the Pennsy portion? M.E. website has city viaducts as well as the bridges in the photographs. A good thread to tantalize your tastebuds of creativity.
Beautiful photo's! I am looking to build a tall double track curved bridge and I am trying to find information on what I have to purchase from Micro Engineering to do this. Can you please direct me on how to do this? Thanks!!
*EDIT* Just noticed I responded to an OLD thread, but oh well...
I have several Micro Engineering bridges.
This trestle uses ME girder bridges with towers built from Central Valley parts.
These ME girder bridges have real wood ties in place of the plastic tie track that came with them. I did this primarily to allow the use of continuous rails from the adjacent track rather than having rail joints right at the end of the bridge.
Rob Spangler
I, myself asked questions as to how to construct a double track curved bridge even though it was an old thread. I am looking to construct a double train bridge which will elevate to the next level. I checked on the Micro-engineering site and they don't give much info on how to do this. Instead of a helix, I will have this senic area in the adjurning room. I am not sure which products to purchase to do this.
It will have to be steep and 'expensive' on your toy railroad if you wish to build such a large bridge to raise your twin tracks upwards of 8-14" in elevation! Maybe a curved stone viaduct would be a better option?
jgviolante@comcast.netconstruct a double train bridge which will elevate to the next level.
Unless you mean elevating to the next level of creativity, and maybe you do, 3% is steep, more so if curves are involved. At 3% you would need 22 feet to gain 8", plus there should be transitions at the beginning and end of the grade.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Micro Engineering doesn't offer their high viaduct in a doubletrack version, although I think that their city viaduct is available as a one. For a high bridge, you'd need to either kitbash the towers from M.E. or Central Valley parts, or scratchbuild them using Evergreen's styrene structural parts. It would likely be easier to construct a double track concrete arch-type bridge, similar to the Nicholson Viaduct...
...although to keep it simple, I'd skip the arches-within-arches. A 4'x8' sheet (or two) of .060" styrene would do the trick: cut and construct the curved deck first, then build the sides onto it - all three should be do-able as one-piece affairs, with added-on bits to create thickness for the deck's edges. Then you'd need only to close-in the piers and bottoms of the arches - one piece for each arch, I'd guess.
I used the M.E. tall viaduct kits, along with some Atlas deck trusses and modified through-girder bridges to create several spans to get trains to the lower and upper levels of the layout. All are curved, but only single track...
...and the second one, shown above, is finally getting some scenery, although it's only about 1/3 done at this point:
Wayne