bridge on a curve

[ranchero]

 thinking of having some water feature on my On30 layout, problem is the only place i could locate them would be on 22" curves. I was thinking maybe a pair of small culvert but how does the prototype railroad deal with that particular situation

[ARTHILL]

My wooden trestle solved my problem. A series of short steel bridges on pilars would also work. There are many kits that bash for a curve, though I am less familiar with the O gauge stuff.

[CTValleyRR]

Here in New England, both culverts and curved trestles are widely used. 

On my HO gauge layout, I kitbashed an Atlas bridge deck and a set of bridge piers into 6 short straight segments instead of a true curve, but it looks fine.

The key to a curved bridge is never let any part of the bridge structure extend above the track, unless you're absolutely certain that no part of any of your existing rolling stock or any future acquisition will come into contact with your bridge.  I have a NH E33 (ex-Virginian) which used to bump the bridge structure on a straight section because there was a curve too close to the bridge.  I had to get nasty with a Dremel to solve that problem.

[markpierce]

Bridges on a curve, unless made of masonry or cement, consist of one or more straight sections of bridge, as with a wooden trestle or a steel bridge.  Here is an example of a single-span, deck-girder bridge on a curve:

 

 

Mark

[doctorwayne]

markpierce

Bridges on a curve, unless made of masonry or cement, consist of one or more straight sections of bridge, as with a wooden trestle or a steel bridge.  Here is an example of a single-span, deck-girder bridge on a curve:

 

 

...and here's a multiple-span deck bridge on a curve.  Note that all of the individual spans are straight, as Mark pointed out:

Wayne

[wedudler]

 Even wooden trestles are made of straight wood.

Wolfgang

[mononguy63]

If the civil engineer determines that culverts would be large enough to maintain adequate flow in the stream even during flood stage, then the railroad would much prefer to use those with earth or cinder fill up to the track elevation. Bridges and trestles are structures that cost money to maintain and could possibly limit the size of locomotive on the line for fear of overloading the bridge (the Monon Railroad fought that very problem for years with its bridge over the Wabash River in Delphi).