When I first did the scenery on my layout I had three bridges that needed abutments. Being lazy I just painted the ends of the foam risers grey and called it done. Well I got tired of the poor-quality results and built some new abutments for one bridge out of craft sticks and strip wood. Here's the results:
I glued the together with Titebond II wood glue and stained it with Minwax "Special Walnut #224"
Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad in N Scale.
www.prr-nscale.blogspot.com
I did the same thing you did at first -- paint the ends of the risers.
When I got tired of that look, I glued cut-stone textured paper on the ends. Disguised with vegetation, this kept me happy for a long time.
I've recently cut several Atlas piers in half and installed them (suitably weathered) as well. I'm very happy with that look.
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
Nice work. The Minwax stain works well. You have detailed them into the road bed nicely. We all have projects like that which need finishing, I guess. Well maybe almost all. I have a few friends who plan and finish projects before they move on. I am spending the summer finishing some parts of my layout that have been waiting for years.
You get an A for effort, and I always like seeing common materials put to use as scenery materials. But one of the tricks to using the popsicle sticks is to end up with a project that DOESN'T look like popsicle sticks!
I hate to be the turd in the punch bowl, but have you ever seen this kind of arrangement out there in nature?
I know, I know, you can find a "prototype for anything"... but really. In this day and age, all you have to do is google "bridge abutments" and look at the pictures that come up. You'll be hard pressed to find a steel truss bridge sitting on timber abutments, and even harder pressed to find something with the geometry you've created.
I say this not to belittle or insult, but only to encourage you to use the resources that are easily at your disposal to raise the level of your work. You can do it!
Lee
Route of the Alpha Jets www.wmrywesternlines.net
Sorry, Dennis. For the sake of the OP, I'll add that the scenery work around the bridge looks very good, and he obviously put a lot of effort into it. Taking a little more time and effort, the scene will be dynamite.
I've learned an awful lot from people who turned a critical eye to my work, and weren't afraid to point out things I could do better. I appreciate hearing truthful criticism much more than I like fluffy "attaboys."
Sure, I would get defensive, but in the end, It makes me turn a more critical eye on my own work, and try to do better. If you're happy with mediocre, and want to encourage others to stagnate, then go for it. It all looks great.
I appreciate the comments and constructive criticism. Unfortunately this project was a bit of a kludge job and would have turned out better if I had done it right the first time and not been lazy. You know what they say about hindsight.
Oh boy, GP9man! I've definitely been there, done that! And it's always the bit that you figure, "well, no one will see it but me" then it seems to show up in every other picture... or worse, it ends up not only looking bad, but creating operational problems!
If it was me, the abutments might look great, but the clearances would be too short, or something along those lines... Measure once, cut twice!
So are you going to take another stab at them?
Wow, what an intriguing thread.
GP-9 shows his efforts and gets applauded.
Lee tries to raise the ante with his critique, and Vega tries to sooth GP-9's feelings.
GP-9 accepts the criticism in good spirits.
So, I decide to jump in the fray.
I will say this. The wooden abutments look pretty good but, as Lee asks, is it prototypical to mount a steel truss bridge on wooden abutments? Dunno.
My problem with the scene, though, is that the bridge looks out of scale - - - too small compared to the loco.
What am I missing here?
Rich
Alton Junction
wm3798 You get an A for effort, and I always like seeing common materials put to use as scenery materials. But one of the tricks to using the popsicle sticks is to end up with a project that DOESN'T look like popsicle sticks! I hate to be the turd in the punch bowl, but have you ever seen this kind of arrangement out there in nature? I know, I know, you can find a "prototype for anything"... but really. In this day and age, all you have to do is google "bridge abutments" and look at the pictures that come up. You'll be hard pressed to find a steel truss bridge sitting on timber abutments, and even harder pressed to find something with the geometry you've created. I say this not to belittle or insult, but only to encourage you to use the resources that are easily at your disposal to raise the level of your work. You can do it! Lee
Must be something in the water this weekend...
John
Well, if it's constructive criticism we're after.... it does look, well, "added on" in that the bridge doesn't really appear to be sitting on the abutments.
When I did mine, I cut into the scenery so that the pier pieces wrapped snugly around the end of the risers, so that the bridge still looks like it's sitting on the abutments -- only the last 1/4" of each end has anything underneath it.
I kind of figured that the narrow underpass was a pre-existing condition on the layout, not that the OP had made it look that way by adding the abutments.
GP-9_Man11786 I appreciate the comments and constructive criticism. Unfortunately this project was a bit of a kludge job and would have turned out better if I had done it right the first time and not been lazy. You know what they say about hindsight.
Lee's giving you some good advice. After all, you wouldn't want your bridge to turn out like this poor chap's...
(Snicker )
richhotrain Wow, what an intriguing thread. GP-9 shows his efforts and gets applauded. Lee tries to raise the ante with his critique, and Vega tries to sooth GP-9's feelings. GP-9 accepts the criticism in good spirits. So, I decide to jump in the fray. I will say this. The wooden abutments look pretty good but, as Lee asks, is it prototypical to mount a steel truss bridge on wooden abutments? Dunno. My problem with the scene, though, is that the bridge looks out of scale - - - too small compared to the loco. What am I missing here? Rich
The bridge is an Atlas 5" Warren Truss. It's a fairly inexpensive model and that may explain the scale issues.
I too like to use common everyday items....Try wooden coffee stirrers....they have a rougher finish than the popsicle sticks and and can be purchase in boxes of 1000 for a reasonable price...DL&W brakeman..
jwhitten GP-9_Man11786: I appreciate the comments and constructive criticism. Unfortunately this project was a bit of a kludge job and would have turned out better if I had done it right the first time and not been lazy. You know what they say about hindsight. Lee's giving you some good advice. After all, you wouldn't want your bridge to turn out like this poor chap's... (Snicker ) John
GP-9_Man11786: I appreciate the comments and constructive criticism. Unfortunately this project was a bit of a kludge job and would have turned out better if I had done it right the first time and not been lazy. You know what they say about hindsight.
Geez... what a hatchet job!
Kalmbach has published a number of articles about bridge construction, and I believe there's a Tony Koester book on the subject. These would be a great place to start. There's also a bunch of information on line. Here's a couple of references that might help you out.
Bridge Article: Scale Rails On line
WM Western Lines Bridge Article
As you might guess, I like bridges!
wm3798 jwhitten: GP-9_Man11786: I appreciate the comments and constructive criticism. Unfortunately this project was a bit of a kludge job and would have turned out better if I had done it right the first time and not been lazy. You know what they say about hindsight. Lee's giving you some good advice. After all, you wouldn't want your bridge to turn out like this poor chap's... (Snicker ) John Geez... what a hatchet job! Kalmbach has published a number of articles about bridge construction, and I believe there's a Tony Koester book on the subject. These would be a great place to start. There's also a bunch of information on line. Here's a couple of references that might help you out. Bridge Article: Scale Rails On line WM Western Lines Bridge Article As you might guess, I like bridges! Lee
jwhitten: GP-9_Man11786: I appreciate the comments and constructive criticism. Unfortunately this project was a bit of a kludge job and would have turned out better if I had done it right the first time and not been lazy. You know what they say about hindsight. Lee's giving you some good advice. After all, you wouldn't want your bridge to turn out like this poor chap's... (Snicker ) John
Actually the post where I found Lee's bridge was pretty interesting / useful too...
Main line to bridge: http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/t/168908.aspx
You might want to check it out. And if you use the search feature for the forums, there have been a lot of good discussions about bridges in the last few years.
V8Vega I feel bad about Lee's above post. We should encourage and uplift each other. I think your abutments look great. I sure am glad I am a high rail model railroader. Dennis San Fernando Valley CA.
I feel bad about Lee's above post. We should encourage and uplift each other. I think your abutments look great. I sure am glad I am a high rail model railroader.
Dennis San Fernando Valley CA.
And we are happy being "scale" model railroaders. It's obviously a different way of thinking than hi rail, which is why you probably think its good enough
Whatever turns your crank, but this isn't the hi rail forum, and the standards are different. Not better, just different.
I have some of those stupid HO Atlas abutments installed (not sure what I was thinking) but they will be soon covered with scale lumber planking. This is acceptable since I model a logging/mining branch line in 1937, not a Class 1, 2 or 3 railroad.
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/