Kits for depot and trestle


Secondhandmodeler

Secondhandmodeler

All new now!
With finding my new bits of inspiration, I need to find kits to fit the prototype. I've been looking online and think I've found a few things that will be close. I'm wondering what you folks think of the the kits compared to photos of the original. Here are a few pictures.

This is a picture of the trestle I'm trying to copy.
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I found this trestle kit online. I'm thinking that if I can separate at the span, add the plate girder sections, then add the rest of the bents on the end, it'll come out pretty good.
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I also found a depot kit that is close in style to the original. I could add a full second floor, but I'm not sure of my skills. I may just add the limestone at the base.
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Do you folks think these kits are close enough? I think the trestle could turn out spot on, provided I can recreate the piers. Th depot is pretty close. I think I'd have to buy two of them to add the second floor. I'm not sure that's worth the time or money. Any thought?
 
Corey,
Form what I can see in the picture, that trestle looks pretty crudely constructed. It looks like the bents are just triangular center sections with X bracing on the sides. It also looks like most of them are about the same length except for the ones on the far left. It would be pretty easy to go out there and get some good pictures of the bents and tthen make a paper or styrene jig. You can build the bents from stripwood and it would be a reasonably cheap operation. I can't see spending money for a curved trestle that's going to be the same pile of stripwood you could get on your own.

The plate girder sectons look fine. The concrete piers is what I'd spend money on because they can be a real pain to build and take up a lot of your time. You can get ones that are a very close match and they aren't expensive.

The station looks like a good start but you'll have to do some kitbashing if you want make a better replica of the exsting station. That bay window and end cap are are defining parts of the station's architechture. You could get away without adding a complete second story by adding the bay window to the front and eliminating the overhang on the peak. You could remove the chimney from the end and replace it with some low windows and then add the arch section above it. Looks like you'd have to add some limestone looking trim to that area as well. I don't think it would be that hard to do and it would make it look more ike the real Mankato station.
 
Jim,
Thanks for your insight on how to move forward. The trestle looks pretty straight forward. You are probably right about skipping the kit. I'll have to decide if I'm brave enough to modify the station. If anyone has any more ideas I'm all ears. Thanks again.
 
Just to throw another wrinkle, Capbell makes a whole line of different trestle kits. You can get them ant a semi-reasonable price on eBay. But you could build a jig and scratch the bridge as Jim suggested.
 
I may need to do a little comparison shopping between kits and building from scratch. I just thought the kit would cut down on the chances for error. I know the original trestle is eighty feet tall and five hundred fifty feet long. I may need to scale that down a little! Here is a panoramic shot from a long time ago. It's from a post card online.

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I suspect the two steels deck sections and about 6 or 7 sections of trestle bents will do what you in terms of capturing the look. Just the trestle section would be a little under 7 feet long in HO at full scale and I don't think you want to waste that kind of space.
 
I'm trying to figure out how tall I would need to build it to look decent. I'm also not sure if I want to add the arch bridge. I picked up the latest MR today. There is an article about running Milwaukee and C&NW together. That's good timing. Maybe I'll get some ideas. You're right about building the trestle to scale. I don't think I want to take up a full quarter of my layout with it.
 
When I 1st joined this forum back a few years ago I had just bought a Miami Products wood trestle kit. I had checked around for quite a few months trying to get prices on enough wood to build my own design. When I ran across the kit I found it was a lot cheaper to buy the kit than the lumber to make it. Back then a 4ft long wood trestle kit was $35.00. Since that time Miami Bridge products has sold out to another company. I'm sure a kit would be your best bet, because of getting true scale. Those bridges were strong enough for a 200# person to stand in the middle when they were finished.
I sold that bridge about 5 years ago for $200.00. Since then a few people have given me partial kits of those bridges & I have used the lumber on numerous building projects & loads & still have some of it left over & I will never give it away.

Larry
 
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