Bridge Abutments

[Anonymous]

I am at the point in my HO layout construction where I am adding the bridges. My question is how do I make the bridge abutments? Is there anything I can buy off the self and trim to my needs or do I have to make them from scratch?

[Anonymous]

For concrete abutments I use the same pink foam I use for scenery building. I cut it to the shape I want and paint it a weathered concrete color. I then plant it and scenic around it. They look quite realistic.

[Anonymous]

I seem to recall a recent article in Model Railroader about this topic. There are a number of off the shelf products. Check the Scenery section of the Walthers catalog or your local hobby shop.

[Anonymous]

Thomas,

I would build them from scratch but I also design bridges for a living so I am looking for some very specific details in an abutment.

I recall three companies which produce abutments in HO Scale; Chooch, Walthers Cornerstone series and someone else. I believe Walthers makes abutments and piers specifically to match the double track truss bridge they produce. The Walthers abutment is intended to look like a grey concrete abutment.

The Chooch abutment comes in a cut stone version or a tan concrete. The other manufacturer produces an abutment to go with Micro Engineering's plate girder bridges.

I could write several pages on abutments so let me know if you have any questions and I will tell you what I know.

Good Luck - Ed