Double Bridge/Double Tunnel Ideas??


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explorer626

New Member
All, first time poster and new to the hobby. Me and my sons (8,10) are in the early stages of building the layout (from www.layoutvision.com) below. Wanted to see if you guys could offer some advice on the following questions:

1) What are recommendations for best technique to use to build the double-track tunnel? (plaster sheets, insulation foam, etc.?)
2) Any ideas on how to construct the tunnel portals for a large tunnel like this? I have only seen single portals in the store and interested if there might be a relatively inexpensive way to make our own portals that look reasonably good.
3) Similiar questions regarding the bridge for double track....any option to make your own bridge without having pay for a pre-made bridge?

Thanks for your help,
Phil

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for building your tunnel. I've used wood for the main frame as support then drywall mesh with compound over it. really there are 100s of ways of doing it. just make sure you leave access to the track in the tunnel for cleaning and derailments

woodland scenic makes nice double track portals. you could build your own out of some scrap plywood and small stones to make an older style hand laid stone portal. also could make a wood style out of balsa wood but IMO I'd run the woodland scenic myself.

as for making your own bridge you can but will be a lot of work. I'd take the kit-bash route. and use a pair of atlas single track bridges and have fun with them to fit your layout.
 
Looks like a nice little layout plan.

For the tunnel, I'd build it up using pieces of foam insulation board. It's easy to build it up, layer by layer, until you reach the height you want. You can then cover it with Scupltamold and carve in details. I don't know what your plan is but you're going to need an access pannel to get to those tracks inside the tunnel. If you have side access, then you can just make a removeable panel. If you only have access from the top, you'll have to do some planning about what parts of the hill you want to make into access hatches but still blend into with the scenery.

There are lots of double track tunnel portals available. One example is at http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/110-113, but there are many more. You can construct your own, but it's usually easier for beginners to use a pre-made portal.

The double track bridge span is fairly small, so the easiest bridge to make is a plate girder span. You can use a piece of thin plywood for the bridge deck and then glue a pair of plate girders on each side. Lay the tracks and then ballast as normal. It will be a "good enough" bridge without spending a lot of time and money. If you want to get a little fancier, you can use a double track plate girder bridge like the one at http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/210-1904.
 
welcome to the site. thats a nice track plan

make sure the track work is very good in the tunnel to prevent derails. The transistion from bridge to curved tunnel porthole will be your most important part of the track work for proper running of trains. also account for overhang/swing out of locos and cars on the bridge and porthole aera.

Use Foam and cardboard stips to contour the hill/mountain. After you have your basic frame for a hill side use woodland scenics plaster roll and layer up the hill sides. I like to put minimum of 2 layers of the cloth over each aera. you can stuff news paper, or more cardboard behind the plaster to help contour the hillsides to your liking

You can make your own bridges with balsa wood and wood glue. it takes more time but will look better and likely make things easy as far as how the track work goes. Just make sure the bridge is level with the ground on both sides of the bridge. you dont want a steep transistion or dip right before a curve track that dissapears into a tunnel. its just asking for trouble.

you can buy double portholes or simply make a double porthole out of pink foam and a file. cut the foam to your desired size and opening and file the edges to get that old look around the edges. I made a 3 hole tunnel this year at the club and it turned out great. the soft foam also let me "stamp" a build date into the top just like the old tunnels had. take a look at this tunnel and hillside I made last summer at the club.

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Jim's idea of using thin plywood and plate girders is about as easy a bridge as you can get. You can make the bridge as wide as you want. Here's my version. I actuallly used cardboard for the base.
Doc
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