Mark, I agree with Jeff, they look really good. I can’t think of anything to do differently.
Thank you, Jeff and Jay! They are quite acceptable. On to another side.
On another note, I did make the decision to buy the Atlas double truss bridge from a Forum member. We are meeting this Sunday afternoon about an hour and a half from my house. I will leave plenty early to make as many stops as needed to stretch my legs. So, next up is replacing bridges. Once the lift up is working well, I'll build up roadbed around the loop where I have the plastic trestle bents now. Then I'll build a lift out section for the town to be raised to upper track level and have some car storage underneath as Jeff suggested. I'll be allowing for access to the lower tracks either as a tunnel, stone wall canyon, or probably a little of both. I want to get all that done before I get back to scenery building in case I find I need to reroute more existing track.
They look terrific Mark! Well done. Can’t wait to see the rest. The bridge project will have a big impact. You have a good plan going forward.
Andy
Thank you Andy! I got a few more snowbirds on. Tomorrow evening I should have the bridge for a comparison photograph.
Can't wait to see the new bridge Mark. It's gonna look great. I like the snowbirds too.
Bob
just to touch on the "snowbirds" term again. Last night, I was listening to the old time radio channel on SXM, and there was a Fort Laramie episode that might have even been titled snowbird. In that episode, "snowbirds" were men who joined the army in the fall, enjoyed the relative warmth of the fort barracks all winter, then deserted in the spring.
And Western PA hoagies can be hot or cold. None of this "toasted" either, but you got your 'Italian' hoagies from a pizzeria, and it was baked in the oven until the mozzarella was completely melted and the meats a bit crispy on the edges. (cold) Subs were available, but you went to the Triangle Grill (not far from the old Union Switch and Signal plant) with friends and family to get a Battleship. Ugh.. Homesick and hungry now so early in the morning.
Thank you, Bob and Greg!
Bob, here are a couple photographs of the bridge, just for you.
He told me up front, it wasn't painted, so I'll have to do that. I'm going to beef up the end where I will put the hinges since it is of course heavier than the single track bridge. The single track one was already painted silver when I bought it. I will have to decide what color to paint it and will make it not as shiny.
Last evening I got snowbirds but on one side of the gable roof, so I'm on a roll; sort of.
Greg, that story about the Fort Laramie snowbirds makes sense. I can see why fellows would enlist for the warm winter bunk, and who was going to catch them if they deserted in spring. I agree hoagies can be hot or cold, not toasted. We stopped at a place that may have been a chain in the north suburbs of Pittsburgh a few years ago, and they were toasted so hard you could hardly bite through them. That just isn't right!!!! I'll bet the Battleship was something! I carried my lunch to high school. The cafeteria served cold hoagies every so often, but they called theirs " Mars Jet Buns" since I went to Mars High School. Bad joke. Fifty plus years ago, it was just a small rural school, now the suburbs are encroaching. I'm glad I live farther north now. It isn't the same place by far.
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@Mark Boyce posted:Thank you, Bob and Greg!
Bob, here are a couple photographs of the bridge, just for you.
He told me up front, it wasn't painted, so I'll have to do that. I'm going to beef up the end where I will put the hinges since it is of course heavier than the single track bridge. The single track one was already painted silver when I bought it. I will have to decide what color to paint it and will make it not as shiny.
Last evening I got snowbirds but on one side of the gable roof, so I'm on a roll; sort of.
Greg, that story about the Fort
Looks great Mark. I'm sure Mike can offer assistance if necessary.
Here on Lawn-Guy-land it's a hero whether it's hot or cold.
As long as it's in front of me, I don't care what it's called. 🤣🤣🤣
Bob
Very nice looking bridge. Please carefully document/show what you do to it. Copycats are waiting to borrow your technique,
Thank you, Bob and Bill!
Bob, you are probably a Lawn-Guy-lander who says, "I don't care what you call me, just don't call me late got supper!"
Bill, Isn't copy-catting what this Forum for? I got the idea from Mike and can pass on my version to whoever needs it.
All is looking great Mark. I like the roof and the bridge. Can't wait to see more.
Thank you, Dave!
@Mark Boyce posted:Thank you, Bob and Bill!
Bob, you are probably a Lawn-Guy-lander who says, "I don't care what you call me, just don't call me late got supper!"
Bill, Isn't copy-catting what this Forum for? I got the idea from Mike and can pass on my version to whoever needs it.
Looking good.......can't wait to see further pics.....
Peter
Nice looking bridge. I missed its acquisition. Is it an Atlas?
George
Thank you, Bob, Peter, George!
Yes it is an Atlas. The single track one is Atlas also.
I haven't been able to do anything on the layout since getting the bridge, but I did do some more measuring. I thought I had read in online literature from Atlas that the tracks on the double track bridge are 4" apart, center rail to center rail. The tracks looked a good bit farther apart than that as I looked at the bridge. Actually, they are exactly 4-1/2" apart center rail to center rail. So, I will have to move the track that is closest to the station 1/2" farther from the other track. That really won't be that much of a problem, after examining my roadbed and track. Nothing is glued down, I just used screws. I can start the curve that starts in front of the window a little sooner. The track on other side of the bridge will be reworked anyway, so it is a non issue there.
Mark, be careful with that bridge. I have installed quite a few of them. Fairly delicate or rather should I say fragile. Great detail but not very durable. Somewhat like the original Inter Mountain 0 scale freight cars. Best used in a once and done permanent installation away from any traffic in my opinion.
Using the bridge bare bones as a lift up I would suggest following Susan Deats Atlas bridge installation. Susan has a very detailed website on a variety of 0 scale issues. Susan is a very helpful person in the intricacies of model RRing.
After having some visitors reverse engineer a kit out of an installed Atlas bridge I started to make a plywood trays out of Laune, lath strips and Multi ply. Very durable and easy to R & R.
Flat black makes the wood base blend in.
Short fitter pieces of track and roadbed
were glued on each end of the lift out tray so as to protect the bridge rails when removing or replacing.
Another way to support an Atlas bridge is to make a box sub base:
The bridges power supply is kind of wireless. The square bass dowels from Freeman manufacturing have soldered drops for rail supplied power. The East dowel supplies one rail the West dowel powers the other rail. The cabinet magnets help snug the bridge down. The roller micro switches kill the power on each side of the bridge when the bridge is removed.
I did receive a fair amount of armchair criticism for relying on a slip fit male/female electrical connection but after 8 years it still is very dependable. Armchair criticism Frequently shoots blanks.
The only problem is with battery R/C. For some reason the micro switches seem to be ineffective. 
With either tray style the plywood stops at the outside most edge of the Atlas rail girder, not the over all width of the main deck frame. With the flat black applied I have yet to have anyone comment on the plywood sub base.
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Tom, when I saw you had posted, I expected some in depth information and wasn't disappointed! Thank you very much! Your information and photographs are extremely helpful. I had looked at Susan's web site several times before, but had never seen her information about the Atlas bridge. She documented the information in extreme detail. I already see lots of great ideas at just a cursory glance. Thank you for pointing me in that direction too.
https://slsprr.net/features/bridges1.htm
https://slsprr.net/features/bridges1drwgs.htm
I will look over all of this in greater detail in the days to come. There will be plenty of time to review information, ask questions, and gather materials, since I know I won't be starting this project until fall or winter.
Mark, Susan's approach is much more professional than mine. I really like her work, She and I had conversation about this project awhile ago. Very impressive person! I just do not like the lack of strength of the Atlas bridges. Way too delicate for me. The only thing I like better with my approach is that the Atlas rails imbedded in the bridge assembly are shielded from being popped out of their spikes. The fitter pieces I use at each end of all my lift outs I consider to be sacrificial in an abuse handling or contact situation.
The main line ends and the fitter pieces are adhered using Aileen's adhesive. That adhesive can be sheared off with a putty knife. It is very strong but not forever permanent.
I have had occasion to remove flex track and roadbed a few times without difficulty. It comes up clean.
Alinees tacky glue available at Michael's crafts.
The tie voids are filled1 1/4" Masonite strip aligns track. Unpainted wood is part of bridge tray
The dead weight provided flat rail head alignment while the glue dried.
Note four wire molding races around outside door.
Each wire run has quite a few track level voltage supply lines for the scores of blocks and power districts. This was all done before I discovered battery R/C. 
There is also one race which contains 110 voltage for the fascia service duplexes around the basement. No wires at floor level.
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Tom, Susan's work certainly is, though yours is more practical. The single track Atlas truss hasn't given me any trouble lifting and lowering, but the width of the double track one makes it more cumbersome, heavier, and I think more apt to break. Your fitter pieces area good idea. What you show looks like lift out, not lift up on hinges like Susan's and mine. I think I'm going to have to come up with a way to make the hinges more solid like she did, but use a wooden base like you did. I saved your posts and hers, just in the off chance there is a server issue and I lose something. Thank you again.
Hinges are best for anything that requires frequency. I formed three strap hinges to use on GRJ's yard lift up which I made. John fabricated real neat electrical contacts for it. Might be a good thread for John to repost the electrical contact photos.
My situation was for code egress and code service panel access. That door is never used. I check it once a year for a fire drill only.
@Tom Tee posted:Hinges are best for anything that requires frequency. I formed three strap hinges to use on GRJ's yard lift up which I made. John fabricated real neat electrical contacts for it. Might be a good thread for John to repost the electrical contact photos.
My situation was for code egress and code service panel access. That door is never used. I check it once a year for a fire drill only.
@gunrunnerjohn could you post some photographs of the electrical contacts. Thank you!
@Mark Boyce posted:@gunrunnerjohn could you post some photographs of the electrical contacts. Thank you!
Here's a link to the original post in my layout build thread: https://ogrforum.com/...3#157265375044264253
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Here's a link to the original post in my layout build thread: https://ogrforum.com/...3#157265375044264253
Excellent, John! Thank you very much!!!
Wow Mark, planning is just as important as execution. Gathering information from great resources and great folks here on the forum. Things are really shaping up.
I’m with Bob, call me whatever you want, just not late for dinner! 😉
Andy
@Steamfan77 posted:Wow Mark, planning is just as important as execution. Gathering information from great resources and great folks here on the forum. Things are really shaping up.
Andy
That is so right, Andy!! Where else could someone without the insight into innovative or advanced techniques be able to have folks who have those insights offer such great information. Tom and John are just two of many folks here who are happy to take the time to offer knowhow from their areas of expertise. So many here share from their background developed over years of experience gained at their vocation and hobby interests. I am so happy all of these forum members have helped me in various areas of the hobby, and I try to offer what I have learned from others and from trial and error.
Sometimes a contribution to the hobby can be made by just asking a question or presenting an idea of the end result we are aiming for. If we don't ask, an answer that many readers can use may not be given. In the case of John's answer, I read what he had done at the time, but had forgotten all about it.
Thank you, Andy!
I finally got all the snowbirds on the station. I opted for one row on each roof surface as the prototype photographs show as opposed to two or three staggered rows. Here are a couple photographs, one a closeup. I'm happy with them.
I'm going to leave the station project for now until I get the parts I want for the interior. Next up is some cleanup of the shelves underneath the layout and making a space to store the double track bridge until I get the plan ready for the changeover. The way it is now, I could bump into it. I changed out a bad DCS remote thumbwheel carriage in my original remote. Before that, I backed it up and loaded the information on the spare remote I bought last year. Now both are up to snuff.
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It's looking really good, Mark.
those snow birds are very difficult to install because not enough material was provided to install them into the roof. that chimney looks good. much better than the one that came with the kit.
Nice job on the station Mark. I don’t know of a more diversified hobby than Model Railroading. Detailing roofs, fixing remotes, working with a computer and building bridges all in the same day.
Looks great Mark! The snowbirds are a nice touch!
Looks complicated, I'm going to model Florida, no snow! 
Mark,
The station looks great including the completed snow birds. Great work!
Michael
Thank you, Richard, David, Dave C, Bill, John, Michael!!!
David, you told me the snowbirds would be tricky because the tabs are so short. I don't know why they made them so short, but I got the knack of it as I progressed. There are 57 of them on my model.
Dave, you are so right. Once a layout reaches a certain point, You can pick and choose what you want to work on any particular day or do a few odd jobs too. I forgot to mention, I pulled an engine off the shelf and ran it for a while as well.
John, as David and I mentioned, those snowbirds are stinkers. I have some left over, but it will be a while (if ever) before I put them on another building.
I want to add that pulling the DCS remote housing apart to change out the thumbwheel was a trick! I followed Barry's suggestions in his book. He said you need patience, and that is for sure. It was quite painful too. 
I was thinking, why do they even need the one screw in the battery compartment, the plastic tabs really hold. I know, I should go WIFI and use the phone or a tablet.
Many thanks to everyone!!
@Mark Boyce posted:I want to add that pulling the DCS remote housing apart to change out the thumbwheel was a trick! I followed Barry's suggestions in his book. He said you need patience, and that is for sure. It was quite painful too.
The second time you take it apart, it comes apart easier.
John, yes that is true with all those kind of things. Barry eluded to that in his description. Ultimately, if a device is taken apart enough times, the screw is necessary to hold it together if it is bumped or dropped.
Nice work on the station Mark. It really is coming together.
I can relate to your adventures taking the remote apart. I've repaired my son's X-box remotes several times and finding all the clips, screws, and layers to take apart is almost the worst part of the job. YouTube is your friend for finding all of them.
Bob
Thank you, Bob! I know, laptop computers can be an issue too. You are right, YouTube is priceless for this.
Great Job as always Mark, your attention to detail really makes your work look so realistic.
btw I also have the 2 track pratt bridge by atlas. Although mine started as a single then I purchased the add on. I have not yet taken out from the boxes yet. Although I will be now very gentle as all have mentioned it is delicate for such a large bridge.
