H O Scale Bridge Models

[Anonymous]

Hey Y'all,

I've been talking it up about bridges with a few of you ...

What do you think are some of the most interesting bridge models in H O Scale?

Do you believe that most layouts need a good bridge somewhere to be complete?

Regards - Ed

[Anonymous]

Ed,
I believe a model raliroad isn't complete without a bridge and a water feature. This is just my opinion, and maybe it's because I like the water. I love any bridge that has a moving part. My favorites are the Bascals and the swinging.
Kenneth

[Anonymous]

hey Ed,
every layout has to have a decent bridge somewhere to be a realistic layout. Even kids toy train sets have bridges. My favorite are the wooden trussel bridges. I also like the arch span bridges. You may also want to consider having mountains along with your bridge to connect the two realistic elements. If you have any details on wiring a new layout please help, my husband is having some trouble.
thanks- angeleyes

[Anonymous]

Angel Eyes(?)

Thanks for the post. There are a few other threads discussing wiring here which you may find helpful. My biggest recommendation is to buy a copy of the Atlas book on wiring. I think it costs less than ten bucks. It is an excellent primer on two rail wiring. After that, consider buying the book by Andy Sperandeo on Wiring Your Layout. The Atlas book is cheap because they want you to learn how to use Atlas products which I think are quite handy and cost effective.

As for the bridges ... I am a bridge engineer so I am a bit picky about how I locate bridges on my layout. My style is to model the mundane every day stuff, so I avoid most of the spectacular. However, I realy like the looks of some of the newer bridges from Walthers, the Bascule and the swing span bridges. I may add a branch line just to have a place to put these.

Actually, I have been planning to model a branch similar to the one the NS operates from Richmond VA to West Point VA. West Point is at the confluence of two rivers and each has a swing span highway bridge used to get into West Point from Rte. 30. It would be a simple bit of artistic license to have the railroad enter West Point via a swing span instead.

I have been looking at the foundation elements (piers and abutments) of the bridges too to improve the appearance of my stuff. I have a small tub of Scale Crete which produces excellent results on the two things I have done so far. I am currently building a model of the bridge in Gordansville Va which is a two span double track thru-plate girder bridge on a skew of about twenty degrees. I am building custom abutments for that with my father's help (he has all the best woodworking tools).

Good Luck with your wiring. If you have specific questions, I will try and help the best I can. - Ed

[Anonymous]

Hey there, If you are thing to decide what kind of bridge to build because there are so many Model Railroader mag. put out a publication called strangely enough Bridges and Trestles. It's an exelent book and guild with about 30 or 40 different kinds of bridges in it. Your local library may have a copy or tha hobby shop will.

[Anonymous]

James,

Yea, I've had that book a while. My favorites in there are the Glouchester Draw and the Scherzer rolling lift span. I plan to build both models someday, but I'm not sure I will be able to work them into the layout. The Scherzer looks pretty tough. I may need to build it in a scale larger than H O.

My biggest objection is that the book gives so little attention to the abutments of the bridge. There are so many little things I am looking for which are different from the way highway bridges are built.

BTW, have you seen the new bridge track produced by Micro Engineering? It is 36 inch flex track with bridge ties and barrels for trestles. Does anyone know how far apart these barrels are installed on modern railroad bridges?

Catch you later. - Ed

[Anonymous]

Fire barrels, as they are called, were provided on timber bridges for fire supression purposes. Spacing of these barrels depended on the length of the bridge. Each RR had its own standards as well. UP standards for bridges 45' or less to have one at one end or both depending on access. 45 to 150' bridges called for barrels at both ends. Longer than 150', one at each end and for every additional 75' of bridge length.
They were maintained and filled on a regular basis. Each barrel had a galvanized or tin bucket.
Check out the article in 02-01 issue of Mainline Modeler for more info.

[Anonymous]

Gang;
A decent bridge is necessary for sure. I'm especially fond of trestles and have one on a shelf waiting to be installed. Rather than "decent" bridges, however, my budget only allows for simple/cheap ones. I've got 3 little plate girder bridges in now, two of which are over my waterfalls/creek (http://www.vennercs.com/users/aww)
The trestle will be used in conjunction with my bigger Atlas curved chord bridge and a much deeper and intricate waterfalls.
angeleyes, there are a large number of resources for layout wiring on the web. You might have a look at http://forums.about.com/ab-modelrailrd/messages or
http://forums/delphi.com/modelrr/messages/
There are others as well...contact me off the list for more directions if you like.

Cheers!
Bill Clark