Bascule Bridge

Be mindful of the die-cast zinc frame, they'll often be warped. Others here have straightened them with heat and pressure, I'll let them explain their methods. Good luck.

I bought a used 313 bridge also.The counter weight is a spring
but the tension over the years warped the base of the bridge.
With the warped base the bridge would go up and down ok but
the base was not flat on the table. If the base was flat on the table,
the bridge did not line up correctly so I just left the base as it was
and shimmed it up at the corners. The only other problem was the switch
contacts. One set of contacts controls the bridge motor and the other
set controls power to the track.The track power must turn on before the motor
shuts off or the train will not start. There are some fiber spacers in
the switch which were missing so I used 2 relays controled by one set of contacts. The bridge worked very well but the directions say to turn the
power off in 3 track sections before the bridge. I did not have 3 sections and
using old steam engines before worm gears that would coast long distances with
the power off. The engine coasted onto the bridge as it was going up. I added
more track sections.

I increased the clearance on my #313 so I can run my acela and double stacks through it. See write up:
https://sites.google.com/site/...dge/basqual-bridge-1

I too had part of the board burn out and replaced it with a relay.

stan

Thanks all. Stan, you bridge clearance mod is a home run for me. It's just what I had in mind when I bought the bridge. Nice job.