I plan on using Walthers Bridge track on my bridges in HO scale. How far from the bridge should the guard rails start / end at a point? And would the bridge track ties be black or weathered brown?
Hi,
From what I recall, you could likely do it any way you want and it would be "correct". On mine, I inserted the guard rails the length of the bridge itself. The protos may have extended it out further, but not less.
I'm in favor of the weathered ties, and use a flat black and dark brown and touch both paints with the same brush and let the paints mix on the ties.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Too many things on layouts are made too perfectly and in my opinion that takes away from the look of authenticity we are trying to achieve. Guard rails are no exception. If I were a crew forman, I would probably insist the crew do neat and tidy work, but that cost money. I often see guard rails that are not straight or the same length. They just will throw down two lengths of used rail, job done.
So don't sweat the length or how straight they are. A real modeler visiting your layout will realize that it is not sloppy modeling, but the "real" look you are trying to achieve.
As far as colour, there is no answer other than to say, incorporate as many different colours as you can in varying degree. Ties are not just one colour.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I've been working with Walthers bridge tracks for the past several weeks on two bridge projects. Although I don't think there is a "correct" position for the guard rails to start, the Walthers track comes with starting and ending sections that are each 2" long. These sections bring the guard rails together and are built on standard flex track ties. The bridge track itself has much thicker ties that are spaced closely together.
The easiest way to do it is to end the bridge track right at the start of your roadbed even with the bridge abutment. Support the bridge so that the bridge track rail height is even with the height of the rails on the flex sitting on your roadbed. Then use the 2" start/end extensions on top of the roadbed and continue on with flex. I guess if you want the guardrails to extend further you could use a longer length of bridge track and shim it over the subroadbed to the point where it meets the end of the roadbed, then continue on with the start/end section. But I am not sure how good it would look and a 2" extension is long enough for me.
I just posted this pic on my bridge construction thread but here it is again. The track isn't weathered and glued down yet but you can see how the sections fit together and the difference in the tie width and height. I am still fiddling with it to get everything lined up properly but it is very close now.
I suggest that you paint the track and ties to match the rest of your trackwork, but do a careful job of it because bridge track is much more visible than ballasted track.
I just spent a few hours weathering one of the track lengths and painting the rails but don't have a picture of the results yet. I brush painted the ties very dark brown shades to match the color of the walkway planking and to remove all the gloss. And did a careful job painting the rails, making sure to get some of the rail paint shades on the ties to add realism.
Huntington Junction - Freelance based on the B&O and C&O in coal country before the merger... doing it my way. Now working on phase 3. - Walt
For photos and more: http://www.wkhobbies.com/model-railroad/
While I don't know that Walthers Bridge, I purchased one w/ walkways on the inside of the bridge. Someone suggested gluing the walkways on the outside of the track bridge to provide enough room for the train cars. In doing that, I gained about 3/4" lateral clearance. Giving the cars enough room to maneuver is invaluable esp. wider cars or those that swivel a bit more.
~Lee
Walt, Glad you're back in the "saddle" again!
Here's a photo I shot from the rear platform of a train on the Wheeling & Lake Erie crossing the Ohio River near Mingo Junction, Ohio back in 2008.
Quite obvious that this was once a double-track affair that has since been reduced to single track.
Maybe these will help you with your weathering and tie coloration. I believe you have your guard rails just about right. I always wondered why track engineers didn't extend the guard rails a little more beyond the approaches to the bridges since a derailment could be catastrophic to the structure of the bridge but I guess they calculated the risk/cost factors.
I've used the Shinohara/Walthers bridge sections in quite a few places on my layout and the stuff is great for the applications intended...
Good Luck, Ed
Great pic Ed. My bridge looks more "freshly painted" and and my ties and track will be in much newer looking than the ones on that bridge. Interesting though that the structure is so very similar to the brass model, with the I-beams arranged so that wood beams have to be set down on them the same way I did to support the ties and track. Also there is no shine on top of the guard rails since no wheels ride on them.
The track spacing on my model will be right at 2" with similar clearance to the sides, so no problem running trains. Just have to be careful with easements from curves on the entry to prevent them from hitting the structure or each other in the tight space.
I would hate to be standing on the middle platform with trains going by in both directions
In answer to your questions I submit the following. As far as the distance guardrails should extend beyond the end of the bridge, I wish to share some observations from the New Haven RR. Remember, most railroads had their own standards for such items and can be found in system standards books for those roads. On the NH, the track speed for the bridge played into the extension of the guardrails. Slower speeds equal shorter guardrails. The whole purpose of the guardrails is to bring the wheels of a derailed car as close to their respective running rail before said car struck the bridge structure with possibly catastrophic results. Also on multiple track lines with a current of traffic for each track, guardrails often were not brought to a tapered termination opposite the direction of approach. On a model bridge, if it was for slower moving (30 mph or less) service, I would make my extensions 20 to 25 feet longer than the bridge. For faster trackage, I would go to 40 or 50 feet if possible to make the scene look plausible. If you can't use guardrails of the appropriate length, why not put a speed restriction on that bridge, causing trains to slow down to cross it? Thousands of prototype bridges have speed restrictions throughout the U.S., and it would add operating interest instead of flying around the layout as fast as possible. Guardrails were usually salvaged rail, not fit for use under traffic, since they were not load-bearing. Quite often these rails were of a lighter weight than the running rails and no tie plates were used under them, for these reasons. The spacing between the guardrails and running rails was just a little wider than the overall width of a wheel tread, to prevent derailed rolling stock from contacting the bridge. As far as tie color, there should be little difference in the color of the bridge ties and the rest of the track unless there has been a tie replacement project only on the bridge for whatever reason. Bridge ties being of different dimensions than regular ties were also much more expensive and unlikely to be replaced all at once. Best suggestion is to check photos of bridges on the railroad that inspires you and find a standards book if one exists for that road.
As mentioned prototype roads will have different standards for this.
The Reading Company standard is roughly 70 feet from the start of the point to the beginning of the "face of the back wall" (is this the beginning of the bridge?). This face of the back wall also appears to be the beginning of the bridge ties in the drawing. The point is roughly 10 feet and is shown to be a used number 10 frog point or a cast iron nose.
Hope this helps.
Chris