Bridges. Got 'em? Trestles, too.

Fantastic pics....keep them coming!

Peter

Here's a couple from the NY&LB. A standard Atlas truss and a homemade curved girder.

These are some photos of the steel bridge spanning the door way to the shop. The rivets are hand punched using a modified masonry nail.The second photo shows the detail of the sub structure. The bridge is soldered steel. 

This is most probably one of my most ambitious endeavors. Here is my first double decker bridge, work in progress. She has a standard 4 foot arch section and has to 2 optional one foot long wings (Truss Bridges), one on each end. This bridge is Modular where as it can be purchased as a basic 4 footer or can have add-on wings of 1 and or 2 foot truss sections. Obviously it will require a very large area if purchase in the 6-8 foot versions. The photos below show the 6 foot version. Colors are black deck and Hammered dark bronze arch and truss. Will have updated photos once completed.  A you will notice this is not assembled yet , only w small clamps. Will have a 6 -7 footer at next York. Thanks for looking.

jim r

Putnam Division posted:

Fantastic pics....keep them coming!...Peter

Peter is right, there are so many fantastic bridges and bridge-systems shared in this thread, I just had to say Thank you, once again, and this time to additional voices who posted since my last Thank you:...

...for "Likes," Thanks  to: rail; Milhouse; B&S Railroad; tr18; AGHR Matt; Gregg; Bob Glofs; Samplingman

...and for "Replies," Thanks  for sharing ideas, perspectives, and/or photos to: Gregg; David S; DGJones; Jhainer; Jason Cvitanich; Ingeniero No.1; trainfun; Mo985; Ken M; ChiloquinRuss; crood58; tr18; NYC Subway TRANSIT SIGNAL; Model Structures; Mike CT; John H; Pine Creek Railroad; Dennis LaGrua; TONKANUT; Putnam Division; nylbfan; rail; Bridgeboss Jim

We love our bridges, don't we.      FrankM.

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Found a pic of the only bridge on my layout. It is a older pic before scenery..........Paul

nice 48" from SilkCity

mytrains posted:

nice 48" from SilkCity

Beyond nice. Good looking, yes sir! Did you do the weathering or did it come that way? It looks realistic to me.

FrankM.

Bridgeboss Jim posted:

This is most probably one of my most ambitious endeavors. Here is my first double decker bridge,...

jim r

Ambitious , by any standards, and successful, by any standards! The added weathering patina makes the whole thing rich and realistic. Congratulations on something so well done (notwithstanding the clamps and final set-up and dry, o' course.) That is going to be a knockout and eye-catcher wherever it ends up on a layout

FrankM.

Moonson posted:

mytrains posted:

nice 48" from SilkCity

Beyond nice. Good looking, yes sir! Did you do the weathering or did it come that way? It looks realistic to me.

FrankM.

most of the weathering is actually the raw material with the burn marks from the laser. that is the way it comes. I like the look.

aubv posted:

I could go on........

Please do. I can only imagine the wonders that must be ahead from you....

Only bridge I had at the time... Disassembled now, in anticipation of a new home with a bigger train room. Let's hope the new set up will be a bit less pre-fabricated.

but a guy has to start somewhere...

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Love this thread...thanks Frank!!  And thanks to everyone that has been contributing to it..!!  Here is a picture of the "Big Bridge" on my layout....

Alan

We have a few

Here's a picture of a curved trestle I built to reach the brewery level of my layout. It's loosely based upon the roller coaster trackage of the Milwaukee Road Beer Line.

Jim

Cool photos and great thread...you guys are doing some amazing work.

For you Lionel operating lift bridge fans, here's a picture of my last layout that incorporated 2-Bascule and 1-small lift bridge:

Yeah, baby, bridges galore!   This conversation is rockin' !!! Ideas and inspiration are everywhere!!!!

Sharing is good.

FrankM.

What an inspirational thread!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love bridges and wish I had the talent to produce such wonders.

I have ended up buying a few for our layout BUT if any of you wouldn't mind sharing a blueprint or something I think it would be a nice project for my son and I and he could also enter it in his upcoming Science Fair!!

Thanks everyone 

I hope this thread keeps on going!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow

Some VERY nice work by all of you.

 I attempted to hand build one and then the other two I store bought. I think mine look better in the dark with lights. lol

It was a fun project.

Larry

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Here are a whole lot more bridges of all kinds. There are a lot more, but I think this is plenty for now.

Thanks for looking.

jim r

http://historicbridges.org/index.htm

This site was probably from somewhere on the forum, but it has historical bridges from every state, so for the benefit of those who may have missed it, here it is. Good source for all the bridge builders, and those contemplating one.

Don

a little more silk city

and then there are bridges that are not real. the cross over bridge is Silk City, the rest are just artwork

Illuminated before scenery

Scenery panels in place under each arch

Griders on MTH piers with bridge shoes.

Beautiful  layouts 

Good luck, John 

Choo Choo kenny posted:

     Thank you everyone for the likes and concern about straight vs. tapered legs. I am a jerk if all trades and a master of nothing. My father has always beat it into my head that anything you do had better be 110% perfect or it is a 99% failure. Even with that being said he would tell me someone else can always do it better, faster and cheaper than you so no matter how hard you try you will always fail anyway. I do not think of myself as a (RIVIT COUNTER) but I try to build things as close to reality on the train layout as I can. Those leg supports that were in the pictures have been cut apart to try to reuse but once the top and bottom were sanded on an angle to make the taper they were to short. They were thrown away a long tome ago and the new ones are being made from 5/8 in. (W) roof trusses and the cross braces are being made from 1/4 (W) roof trusses. I bought a rivet press to put the rivet details on the flat plastic that get glued to the (W) roof trusses so hopefully the new ones will look more realistic than the ones I cut apart. There are so many of you on here that I look up to Patrick H., GRJ, River Leaf Models, DOC, and many more that have helped and taught me so very much. I know my stuff does not belong on the OGR forum with the rest of you folks so from the bottom of my heart I say THANK YOU for all the complements on what I consider a failure. Take care and again thank you. Choo Choo Kenny

Choo Choo,  You are being much too hard on yourself and your dad is wrong.  Trying to be perfect in everything is futile and impossible.  There is such a thing as "good enough".

Most things in life including real bridges are built to a good enough standard.  You can always build a bridge with thicker steel, etc.  However, this drives up the cost and is not necessary.  A bridge only needs to be built strong enough to carry the designed load plus a safety factor.  Older bridges such as the Golden Gate are overbuilt because the designers did not have the computers or the understanding of materials that we do today.  It would be built much differently today.

A long time ago I was in the perfection business for several years.  People lost their lives if things weren't done perfectly.  Trying to achieve perfection every day is extremely stressful and costly.  I still get stressed whenever I think about those years.  

You only need to be perfect when peoples lives are on the line.  For everything else, "good enough" is "good enough".  Model railroading should be fun and relaxing.  

NH Joe

My further Thanks, since my last posting of appreciation, for "Likes," are extended to: G3750; mytrains;;feet; CaptJ; TrainsRMe; OGR Ad Man; Sean007

and for Replies, my Thanks to: aubv; PhillnAustin; Paul2; Jim Brenner; Paul Kallus; bluelinec4 (Ben); OGR Ad Man; Larry Sr; M1FredQ; Bridgeboss Jim; NYC, Subway Transit Signal; mytrains; rail; New Haven Joe.

And here is my further contribution to the conversation - a bridge project as it progressed, which included two Lionel bridges i weathered...

So where have I been to have missed this topic until now??  These are all fantastic bridges and trestles everyone!  

Frank, what a great idea for a topic!  It has given me all kinds of ideas as I have been thinking about bridges on a future layout and one that stands out as we enter the room.  Thank you one and all!!

Mark Boyce posted:

So where have I been to have missed this topic until now??  These are all fantastic bridges and trestles everyone!  

Frank, what a great idea for a topic!  It has given me all kinds of ideas as I have been thinking about bridges on a future layout and one that stands out as we enter the room.  Thank you one and all!!

That's a very nice thing for you to say, Mark, and underscores precisely my intent in initiating the thread, that sharing is good, and given all the interesting minds and imaginations on this forum, fun is a definite, it well appears.

FrankM

Great topic and Great Bridges.

I have 4 bridges on my layout, 3 are hand made from 1/2" pine and wood glue, the other is a series of Lionel girder bridges supported by plastic H-pile beams. The hand made bridges are all slight variations of designs I found in "Bridges & Trestle" book.

Bridge & trestle where upper level comes downhill to meet the lower level:

Warren truss bridges on upper level, with Stony Creek Bridge on CPR on lower level:

Bridge components drawn on brown packing paper, then pieces cut to size and fitted, prior to gluing.

2 Bridges open to allow access to center of layout:

My video does not appear to work. Not sure why.

Very nice Joe.

Don

Some plan old MTH steel arch bridges mounted to aluminum. (They are easily removed)

There is some fantastic work posted. I have a bridge on mine but after seeing all this great work, I just don't feel like embarrassing myself.

My layout is U shaped with uneven length legs of the U. While rebuilding, I decided I wanted the outer loop to go across at the ends of the legs. The tight isle way meant I needed a crossover that is curved to connect the legs of the U.

Steve

aubv posted:

Some plan old MTH steel arch bridges mounted to aluminum. (They are easily removed)

Nice. Did you cut the rear MTH bridge on each end in half?

BobbyD posted:

aubv posted:

Some plan old MTH steel arch bridges mounted to aluminum. (They are easily removed)

Nice. Did you cut the rear MTH bridge on each end in half?

I cut one girder section into four pieces, to add 5" to the end of  two of the 30" bridges.(3 bridges in total) 

My only bridge is a plate girder "pretender" used to  somewhat disguise the hinged drop section layout entry located in the 072/084 curves.

...other bridge views....

Do you have some new bridges, guys, since the last posting in this thread in 2016 ? 

Or perhaps there have been newer projects and changes to layouts that included bridges or enrichments to the environments around them?

FrankM