Ballast bridge track?

[gmpullman]

wp8thsub

Lots of steel truss bridges have ballast pans.

I stand corrected. I should not have been so quick to make that assertion!

I was going by the most recent one I rode across...

Regards, Ed

[wp8thsub]

gmpullman

You're correct that a steel truss bridge wouldn't have a ballasted deck.

Lots of steel truss bridges have ballast pans.

This one's on the UP in Utah's Weber Canyon.

This one's on the former Santa Fe http://okbridges.wkinsler.com/railroad/saltfork1.html .

This modern example is on the BNSF http://www.hanson-inc.com/projects.aspx?projectid=99rr039 .

As is this one http://prr4ever.blogspot.com/2012/06/12-06-15-photos-iowa.html .

[kasskaboose]

Thanks all for this useful information.  I didn't know so much about railroad bridges until exploring this topic further.  Given that the bridge is in the back, I still wanted to replicate a protypical scene. 

[gmpullman]

You're correct that a steel truss bridge wouldn't have a ballasted deck. A through girder or plate girder type bridge might be designed to have a ballasted deck.

https://www.arema.org/publications/pgre/Practical_Guide/PGChapter8.pdf

 

There was normally blocking or part of the abutment was formed to keep the ballast held back at the approaches to either end of the bridge.

Have Fun! Ed

[doctorwayne]

On a bridge of that type, the track would not normally be ballasted, although some railways do alter the bridge by adding a deck under the track.  The photos which I've seen show concrete, and it's done as a trough in order to contain the ballast.  On such bridges, the more closely-spaced bridge ties would not be used, as the track functions in the same manner as regular track.

Here's a bridge similar to that in your photo.  The closely-spaced bridge ties require no ballast (and there's little under them to support ballast).

Here's a link to some photos of ballasted-deck bridges.

Wayne 

 

[kasskaboose]

Should I bother ballasting track over a bridge?  I got a bridge from a friend that looks similar to the below pic: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/67/04/37/670437e663787fff57604a90ade23266.jpg

Should I bother to ballast this area of track?  To do that, I would need to put stryene under the track to prevent the ballast from falling through the bridge.  Based on a search online, it appears that ballasting track on this structure isn't common.