I'm trying to gauge interest in a "class" on building a long-span truss bridge in N scale. By long-span, I mean a bridge of about 400 feet (30 inches) from anchor to anchor, although everything could be scaled down (or up), and I can give guidance on scaling. Before doing this as a "class," I need some input as to your interests. I'm going to leave this query open-ended, except for the following: No suspension bridges. No trestles. Steel structure. So, fire away! For those of you unfamiliar with my bridges, here's some, based on prototypes: Bridges are easy to make, once you learn a few tricks.
A class in basic bridge building techniques would be invaluable. These basic techniques can then be applied to any type of bridge with minor modifications. Stay cool and run steam.....
Pete, yes please, sign me up!! I have 2 areas on my layout under constructiion where I will need to have a number of bridges: First the Tacoma City Watwerway These bridges are (left to right): 1. UP drawbridge (with street at both sides) 2. NP drawbridge 3. 11th Street liftbridge (with pipe over the top of the towers) Bridges at Reservation, WA, Milwaukee crossing NP/GN/UP main line and then the Puyallup River Currently I plan to kitbash, but scratchbuilding will bring me closer to the prototype. So yes, let us know how you did your outstanding bridges... Cheers Dirk
The UP and NP bridges are actually rotating bridges, not sure if that would qualify them as "drawbridges"
Pete Please sign me up. This is the sort of info that I print out and keep in three ring binders. Prior to starting a project, I always refer to one of these downloaded "books". Len
This is a problem I've been dealing with for weeks and even after reading "Bridges & Tressels" there are still questions on my mind. A lot of time it's left to "trial & error" whereas a simple instruction would explain "why proceedures are done this particular way". It's a GREAT idea!
Around here they were called "Swing" bridges. Here is a cool website about bridges. Glossary of Bridge Terms
I am also interested. I have a 20 inch gap to cross and would like to use a traditional steel bridge crossing a river.
this would be great! I've always wanted to build one of Santa Fe's big bridges like Diablo canyon (new and old) and the bridge over the Colorado river (Ca/AZ)
OK, then, I'm preparing a class. My initial thought is to do a 36-inch long bridge (480 feet). This will fit on a four-foot N-Trak module. It will be double-tracked at the N-Trak standard of 1.5 inches--a bit wider than I'd like. I'd like 1.125 inches, but don't want a "pinch" at both ends of the module. You could build it single track without too much of a problem--I'll cover that. I thought I'd build a "curved chord" bridge--those that want to build it straight would have that option, too. A good reference for model bridge builders is Kalmbach's "Bridges and Trestles." This is not a pre-requisite and I'm not promoting Kalmbach in any way, but it has a finely detailed drawing of the 300-foot Big Warrior. I'm going to refer to that drawing quite a bit, as it is instructive about bridge building. Those of you who can find Paul Mallery's Carstens book "Bridge and Trestle Handbook" will also find it helpful. I think it may be out of print. I'm going to skip a lot of details about "stressed rod" and other design aspects, as I think most people will be glad just to build a good-looking bridge and not get into some of the details that might fascinate a budding engineer. Be aware that a 36-inch bridge built with plastic or brass trusses can get expensive. The class will have one solution for that; others may have other solutions. Given my current work schedule, I doubt I can start before Sept. 1. Any feedback? [ June 17, 2005, 10:55 PM: Message edited by: Pete Nolan ]
That works fine for me, school starts in August so anytime after labor day, should fit in between homework.
Since I'm done with bridges for the moment... I have that Kalmbach "Bridges and Trestles" book for sale... lightly used... PM me if you're interested.
