11-21-2014 UPDATE...The "FIND" of a lifetime at York!!..is now on the layout..new pictures!

Thanks again everyone!!

 

Bruce...yes, I do plan to add piers but the piers will be integrated into the city wall on each side of the span.  Should look fine and be at least somewhat prototypical.

 

Matt...thanks so much but I feel like I am going to get hit by a lightning bolt..LOL!!

 

Jennifer...WOW!!!  Now I am really excited...you must have something to do with this bridge based on your info you shared!!  I gave you a quick call and left a phone message to find out more and hope you can call back as any added information can be credited to the builder especially for a magazine article....  Thanks so much and I know we all would love to see pictures of the layout this bridge was once on...along with the other 5 awesome bridges to which you refer!

 

Alan

 

 

Alan, you have a great score with that brige.  I wish I had room for that on my layout.  I know you will keep us posted.

 

Good luck.

 

Marty

Marty....You and Dotty will have to come take a look!!

 

Alan

That is a beautiful bridge - congrats Alan (and you couldn't find a better deal!).

 

The color matches a lot of the overpasses here in MO.  Of course, to be prototypical for MO, you need to add a couple of potholes on the roadway and a car with a blown out tire  

Gold strike!  Finding exactly what you were looking for.....blind, stinkin' luck, does

not happen often enough.  We can expect pictures of it when installed.....

Alan, just got your message but too late to call. I will get all your info tomorrow. The builder is a gifted carpenter/cabinet maker that worked with my husband until his recent retirement. He is also my mother's neighbor so my husband spent many hours over there with his trains. He had a 40" covered bridge, two bascule bridges, a ten foot stone bridge and a large trestle bridge all hand built. His 56 corvette was used in a Budweiser commercial, and he has a 49 mercury low rider with a chopped top. A very interesting individual.

 

Great bridge Alan. Good for you. And some great luck on the saw and sizing.

 

I can hear Alan Jackson's Mercury Blues in my head.

 

Gerry

 

 

That bridge will be the centerpiece of an important vignette on the layout. If nothing else you now needs some spectacular, mountains, factories, and etc., to balance it. I LOVE the color. It is clearly the nicest bridge for a layout i have seen.

Beautiful scratch built bridge and a monument to a period when America had people that possessed true craftsmanship abilities. Make sure you get it insured as a one-of-a-kind collectors piece. The story about the bridge presented by Jennifer was very interesting.

This bridge is also a reminder of the largely missing manual dexterity of the young generation of today. 

Pretty cool looking bridge   The subways would look pretty good traversing the lower level

Chris....just so you know, the actual transaction took place on Thursday a few minutes after the meet opened....but thanks for the reminder and joining in on the thread..

 

Alan

Once again, thanks guys and gal (Jennifer) for the comments! 

 

Ben...as it turns out, the height difference between the highway level and railway level is very close to the elevated I have in the city, thus one reason why I am locating it so that I can tie into the elevated.  By the way, it was great to finally meet you in person and congrats on being the NJHR President again....you have a wonderful group of guys and I was so proud to meet several of them!!

 

Alan

I second what Michael said!  The balance, the color.  That is one beautiful bridge!!

Jennifer,

Excellent story!!  Thank you for sharing that information with all of us!

Yes Mark...I am excited about Jennifer chiming in and hoping that she will get time to give me a call this weekend as I would love to know more about the artist.  Also, any pictures of his layout as well as the other bridges to which she refers would be of interest to a lot of folks here on the forum.

 

Alan

Great find, and even better story, Alan!  Thanks for sharing!

Alan, beautiful bridge. I used to have a PT Cruiser and the front passenger side seat folded forward. That should have made fitting it in easier. Back to the bridge...I don't think I would even paint it, that looks awfully close to government green. It's too bad that you aren't going to run trains across it (if I'm reading your text correctly). Steam coming up and out of 8 feet of bridge would be an impressive site! All in all, it's a great find and let us all see pictures when you have it on your layout.

Paul....I will be running trains across it.  The bridge has two levels with the upper level for the trains.  Also, I like the color too so I am not going to repaint it...

 

Thanks,

Alan

OK...here are the updated pictures of the bridge installed on the layout.  I still have a lot to do but here she is in all her glory.  I took the pictures early this morning around 7:15 as the sun began to rise and illuminate the layout....so....some of the pictures are a little dark but I like the natural light.  I will post more with the room lighting on later as I get more done on the details....hope you enjoy as there are a bunch of pictures!

 

Thanks for looking and commenting...

Alan

Very cool.  I still can't believe how it fit so exactly!

 

- Mike

It looks fantastic; as if it was specifically built for your layout.

Very, very nice. I would have never thought to have one end of the bridge going into the backdrop, very clever and it looks great. 

Perfection. Great shot. It came out like a scene from a movie.

That really makes a statement. Your layout has always been impressive; the bridge adds immediate visual impact. Your design instincts are superlative. 

Hey guys....thanks so much...AND...I forgot to tell you that if you click on a picture and then click on "open link in new window" you will get a full page view which is a lot nicer to look at with more details...

 

Alan

It looks like Pittsburgh with the trestles coming out of the mountain, crossing the Monongahela......very, very cool!

 

Peter

That looks fantastic Alan!  It really fits in like a glove, what a find!  You really knocked out that update fast, looks like it was there from the beginning.  Very nice job.

I forgot to tell you that if you click on a picture and then click on "open link in new window" you will get a full page view which is a lot nicer to look at with more details...

I seem to get the same thing if I just click on the small thumbnails and then scroll through them.  Am I missing something?

I don't believe in fate, but sometimes thing just click right together better than you could have planned for.

Clearly, this was one of those times. I hope you bought a lottery ticket the same day!

Thanks again guys!

 

John...the picture is much larger if you click on one within the post and then click on "open link in new window".  You will get not only a large picture but an opportunity to enlarge it even further with just one click.

 

Alan

Using Firefox, I don't see that option.  I click on the picture, and I get a larger picture.  However, there is no Open Link in new Window option on the right click menu.  I tried in IE, but I still only get the same size picture.

 

It does expand when you click on the picture in the link, or the thumbnails, but the size ends up the same, 1000 x 750 pixels in size.  Nothing I do with IE or FF results in a larger picture.

 

This doesn't subtract from a great addition to your layout Alan, so I wouldn't spend any time on it, the pictures are great.

That's awesome, great city bridge.

Alan:

 

Everything looks great.  It's hard to believe you didn't have that bridge custom-made for the space.

 

Where did you get the maroon staircase shown in the pic below?

 

Something like that would be good for a city station I'm building.

 

Thanks.

 

SJS

 

You sure did not waste anytime to customize the fit for this spectacular new bridge. The installation is terrific. What a wonderful addition to this landmark layout.

 

Great job. 

I totally agree with you PETER.  The Burgh was my first thought.

 

Enjoy ALAN ENJOY!!!!  Very nice.

Great job Alan!  It reminds me of the bridges in downtown Chicago or Pittsburgh too.  Pittsburgh has the double-deck bridge like yours.  How high is the bottom the bridge off the floor?

 

Art

I just love the bridge and the way you have it set up. Your layout is outstanding! i just love the photos you have posted. How about a video that would be great then we can see it all.

 

Rich in NH

Peter,

Great observation!!  I agree it does.  Take the Parkway from the airport, down Greentree Hill, under the N&W trestle, through the Fort Pitt Tunnel and there you are right on Alan's bridge; Oh I mean the Fort Pitt Bridge with it's twin the Fort Duquesne bridge right in front of you.  

Alan,

That bridge looks great on your layout!  Just like it was custom ordered!!

Guys...the neat thing about all of this is that the bridge is exactly the right length...had it been longer or shorter by just one inch, it may not have worked or at least it would have taken a much greater effort.

 

I will take some night time pictures next as the bridge is illuminated all along the upper outline.  You can see the small LEDs along the top if you look carefully...

 

Thanks,

Alan

The amazing part is you "shot the dice" to buy it at York.  I suspect you weren't sure it would exactly fit, were you?