How did you incorporate your Hellgate?

The real Hellgate ran over water.

I like the look of a train running underneath.

My layout is flat so it is flat on the train board.

Pic shows the Hellgate on the South Fork Railroad. Two Mainlines thru the bridge, one behind. Three Mainlines lower level & branch line at back side of bridge, all to be over a river.  This is still a work in process, by no means done. Girders to be installed on three mains & branch lines.  Landscaping & backdrop work to be done. 

I have a river spanning part of the layout, it offers a place to display bridges. I am thinking of adding an extension on the other end as I still have a few more I'd like to get on the layout, and I may move the Hell Gate over there and put it out front. In general, I prefer to not have grades on the layout, so I make the river below the track grade.

Tim

You'll be seeing much more of my new O-Gauge layout in coming weeks/months, but here's a sneak-preview showing a low-resolution 3D aerial view of a triple-span Hellgate Bridge using three Lionel #305's (6-32904).  It's on the "main level" of the layout, but the scenery drops below to accommodate a river (in blue) and lower level loop of track (difficult to see in this view, but a section of the lower-level loop parallels the river).

Here's an overhead "track plan" view that better shows how the bridges will span the river and lower-level track.

David

This is a MTH Hellgate that I repainted.

We utilized our Hellgate bridge as part of a 14' viaduct to great effect. This one is a T-Reproductions model from many years ago

I only run pre-war stuff, and they weren't all that great on grades, so my layout is flat.  What I did was lower the river below the level of the layout, and put the Hellgate over that. 

The 305 and an old post-war bridge form my duck-under:

PD

Just wanted to throw this in for reference, don't want to hijack your thread.  Here is a picture of the real deal I got when working at a power plant in Astoria a few years ago.  i am rather proud of this picture.

Thank You everyone, you have given me a lot to think about.

Joe Gozzo

like this

Tim.  Your layout looks fantastic. Can you share more pictures? Thanks,

-Matt

Beautiful shot of the real deal.

spotted these on one of my car sites in a "back in the day" thread

I wonder what the span is of that bridge? Did someone model their own Hellgate to scale somewhere?

The Lionel Railroad Club Milwaukee incorporated Hellgate bridges into their club's layout including a truly huge club-built Hellgate bridge you can walk under, see photo above.  I highly recommend seeing this Hellgate Bridge in person during one of the club's open houses, one of which is always scheduled over the weekend of Trainfest in November.  Fortunately, you don't need to wait that long as their next open house is scheduled in just a few days on April 1-2.  Check out their website:   http://www.milw-lrrc.com/

Lastly, several SGMA members such as Kirk Lindvig, Chris Bogus and John Hinderer, have incorporated Hellgate Bridges into their modules.  You can see these in action in the videos of the SGMA layouts erected at the WGHT shows in Oaks, PA and Dulles, VA as well as on the SGMA layouts at the TCA's Convention in Baltimore and at Trainfest 2013 in Milwaukee.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XfQbfUEaJg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR7ZW-j428g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBFilidPFj4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pitfjcb7SY

Bob Nelson

Trainlover160 posted:

I have always wanted to install my Hellgate like Tom Snyder had on his, with a train running through it underneath. Just wondering how you may have decided to install yours? Is it level with other track or elevated and why?

Thanks,

Joe Gozzo

My #305 bridge is installed over a parallel track shown in the attached photo with a train running on the lower level.  Note that I added a red blinking LED at the top.  A friend custom made the lower piers for me.  

Bill

WftTrains posted:

Trainlover160 posted:

I have always wanted to install my Hellgate like Tom Snyder had on his, with a train running through it underneath. Just wondering how you may have decided to install yours? Is it level with other track or elevated and why?

Thanks,

Joe Gozzo

My #305 bridge is installed over a parallel track shown in the attached photo with a train running on the lower level.  Note that I added a red blinking LED at the top.  A friend custom made the lower piers for me.  

Bill

 

Bill...what did you use for the elevated platform...plywood? What material did you use for the handrails?

Thanks,

Jim

Jim Kelly-Evans posted:

WftTrains posted:

Trainlover160 posted:

I have always wanted to install my Hellgate like Tom Snyder had on his, with a train running through it underneath. Just wondering how you may have decided to install yours? Is it level with other track or elevated and why?

Thanks,

Joe Gozzo

My #305 bridge is installed over a parallel track shown in the attached photo with a train running on the lower level.  Note that I added a red blinking LED at the top.  A friend custom made the lower piers for me.  

Bill

 

Bill...what did you use for the elevated platform...plywood? What material did you use for the handrails?

 

Thanks,

Jim

Jim: Yes, the decking for the elevated track in the foreground is ½” plywood cut to the curvature of the track (it's Super O).  And it has ½” flexible plastic “half-round” molding attached to the sides.  The railings are 10-gauge copper wire.

One other comment about the bridge - In addition to the blinking red LED on the top center of the superstructure I added clear LED’s inside the supporting lower piers. 

Bill

The New York Botanical Gardens put up a nice Hellgate for the garden trains:

PD

JHZ563, Nice picture, & the triborough bridge in the background. You can make me a 16X20 of that picture

Steamer posted:

spotted these on one of my car sites in a "back in the day" thread

Great photos. Nice to see a little history with our trains.

Thank ,

Sean

Those crane operators cantilevered that far out at the end of the bridge had some stones.  Great pictures.

Sean007 posted:

Steamer posted:

spotted these on one of my car sites in a "back in the day" thread

Great photos. Nice to see a little history with our trains.

Thank ,

Sean

Not sure about the others, but that last shot is the Sydney Harbor Bridge in Australia (close in design and appearance to the Hellgate).

PD

pd posted:

...

...

Not sure about the others, but that last shot is the Sydney Harbor Bridge in Australia (close in design and appearance to the Hellgate).

It's difficult to read all the writing in the lower lefthand corner of this picture, but I can just barely make out "Sydney Harbor" and a date of Dec 30, 1925.  For all you historians out there, does that sound right?

David

According to Google and Wkipedia, that date sounds about right.  Construction began in July 1923, and the bridge was completed, inaugurated, and opened to traffic in March 1932.   

David

pd posted:

Sean007 posted:

Steamer posted:

spotted these on one of my car sites in a "back in the day" thread

Great photos. Nice to see a little history with our trains.

Thank ,

Sean

Not sure about the others, but that last shot is the Sydney Harbor Bridge in Australia (close in design and appearance to the Hellgate).

PD

None of those construction photos are of the Hell Gate. They are all the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

Here is my Hellgate spanning a river on the second level.Below and in front is a 313 bascule and in front of that is a 2 track mainline homemade girder bridge which rests on some arches about 3 feet long, not shown.

Bill Benson of Right of Way Industries had a great layout Hellgate Bridge scene. In fact, I believe is was a cover photo on OGR Magazine in the early 90s. I'll see if I can find it.

Peter

Well....my bad....it wasn't a cover photo(maybe it was on another magazine....LOTS or LCCA), and, it wasn't the 90s.....it was 89......Geez.....I've been doing this a while!

Here are the pics:

By the way....the OGR Magazine Digital Archive is great....I had every magazine since about Run 97 (when Myron convinced me at York to be a subscriber). The Digital Archive allows me to have all my old mags in a fraction of the space.

Peter

Steamer posted:

spotted these on one of my car sites in a "back in the day" thread

Thanks for sharing. Had an adventure with a stolen boat going under the Hellgate Bridge. A story of mispent youth for another day.