Suggestions for Bridge

[Gary B]

OK folks, I'm stumped. I laid out this bridge and never finished it because I know it's all wrong. Curved brick and all. Any suggestions on how to improve it without ripping up the track? I'm open to ideas, its become a real eyesore to me. Thanks!

 

[Irongrave]

could do a curved poured concrete bridge

 

[UP2CSX]

Concrete is what I was going to suggest. A thin coat of Sculptamold, just enough to cover the brick mortar lines, and then painted to match the concrete colored wall to the right in the second picture, should look good.

 

[Gary B]

Drew - Jim, Poured concrete, sounds good. The current bridge is only thin brick sheet. I would take it down and do the sides out of sheet styrene. Maybe add some layers for decortive value. I was thinking some little jut outs at the shoreline.

 

[drew1125]

Hi Gary!
I don't know if this will help or not, but your bridge reminded me of one I have on my current layout...

I made this arch bridge from Styrofoam…

The track is curved here, but the bridge is actually two straight sections set at an angle…

I trimmed it with some strip wood, & then painted it to look something like concrete…

 

[UP2CSX]

I like the idea of the sheet styrene and building up some thinner layers for decorative purposes. It was common for railroads to add some style to their plain formed concrete bridges. Check out the decorative elements on the dridge at http://www.historicbridges.org/other/ceresco/index.htm for some ideas.

 

[Gary B]

Drew & Jim,

Good ideas! The foam sounds good to bulk it out particularly the underside and back side where it curves out. But I'm more comfortable working with the sheet styrene. Maybe I can layer the plastic over the foam base.

Second question, do you think my span is too long? I really don't want to put a pillar in the middle of my river, but the single span seems a little long for masonary (cement)

 

[Irongrave]

might be hard to do now but I have seen curved steel bridges in the past with the high sides.

 

[UP2CSX]

Gary, the span is well within normal limits for a concrete arch bridge. You could use foam for the backing and styrene for the facing to get a smooth surface. It's actually a pretty good idea, because you can do all the styrene detailing the workbench and then just glue it on using latex caulk.

 

[Gary B]

Jim, Drew, I think I'll go with the cement span, sheet plastic over the foam. just need to work the details.

Drew, the curved steel would look too much like some of my elevated tracks, very close by so I want to avoid that.

Thanks both of you for your suggestions, sometimes it's good to get someone else ideas when we get stuck. I probably won't start on it to at least spring but now I have a clear picture of what I'm aiming for. I'll post some pictures when I do.

 

[Gary B]

Coming back to this old thread since I walked into my LHS and there was my solution for my bridge. They had a pile of structure kits that must have been hiding since the seventies and in them was a bunch of these ATT stone viaduct kits. Two curved and several straights. I bought the two curved and one straight and it looks like a start. I will have to make them wider and taller and discard the deck, but I think it will work. Here's a picture of the kits and a mock-up of what I plan to do with them. Sometimes it seems like I put things off and then a solution just shows up.

 

[eTraxx]

Like that .. very .. "John Allen'ish"

 

[Gary B]

Ed - Thanks, any comparision of my own feeble attempts to John Allen, I consider High Praise. I am a long time admirer of the man's work.

 

[Gary B]

Well I've been busy bridge building but haven't posted any pictures since my home computers been broken. (I'm not even sure why it's working now.) So here's some progress shots. I used auto body Bondo to make stone work to try to match the original kits. So far so good. Actually I'm already further along but wanted to post before my computer fails again!

 

[UP2CSX]

The stone bridge idea looks much better than the concrete alternatives we were disussing. Lots more surface detail and stone arch bridges like that are still in common use today. Good work.

 

[Gary B]

Thanks, Jim
I really wanted a stone bridge but couldn't find a good starting point. That's why I was looking for suggestions. When I found these kits (four of them) I knew I had a beginning. This thing is like a jigsaw puzzle, trying to arrange the parts around the board the track is on, over the water, rounding the curve, widening it underneath. The backside is the hardest and it's really not going to be seen very well. The fun thing is it kind of plays into my somewhat sloppy working habits! A bit more work and hopefully it will look like it's been there for a hundred years.

 

[cct70]

Hey, that looks sharp! I would have never attempted bondo, but you really pulled it off!

 

[Gary B]

OK guys here's what I ended up with. Thanks for your comments and suggestions. My son has promised to ballast and there is still some work to do at the water line.

 

[jscw1]

Arch Bridge Help

I read sone good ideas for your bridge and I like the idea of your bridge. I think all it needs is some TLC. Add some plastic styrene to create some detail and then paint it with a product I use alot and it's called stone paint. The paint comes in a spray and can be purchased at Lowes, Home Depot, and Wal-Mart. The paint comes in a variety of colors and leaves a nice stone texture. You could even add some street lights or a railing to enhance the bridge. detail is the key, even the ugly duckling turned out beautiful at the end of the story...

Jack Strong from Star, Idaho

 

[Gary B]

Jack - Thanks for your comments and suggestions. I'll give the stone paint a pass as the stone work is rather nicely textured in person. I'm not sure that shows up well in the photos. As far as finishing touches go, the top surface needs to be ballasted and then details added. My biggest issue is that some of the piers don't make it down to the water. So I either need to build downward or add more water!