Speak for yourself, there, Shayfan. I finance my hobby by working days as a structural engineer, and even though virtually every aspect of my layout cries out “UNPROTOTYPICAL!” I could never live with myself if I built a railroad bridge with curved beams!
And thats what makes this hobby so great…the diversity!
Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you or anyone else. I meant that as a population thing, not that every model railroader bends the rules of engineering, but that many of us do and we chalk it up to making things work within our limitations. From my experience, most folks don’t understand why bridges can’t be built with curved spans - in fact, no one has ever commented on it when they see mine (I do use it as an opportunity to educate folks, because you can actually see mine twist when a heavy loco traverses it). My bridge is named Impossible Bridge because of the liberty I took making it curved.
My situation was that I had to choose between a tight radius curve, expanding my layout room, or a curved bridge. It seemed the most reasonable, if not realistic, solution.
We all have standards we won’t compromise - I respect you and your standards for structural design integrity.
So, was my explanation accurate?
No offense taken, Phil. I’m just poking a little fun with my own neuroses[:D]
You had a very good explanation in layman’s terms. I’d love to launch on a long dissertation on torsional stress and restraints, but, to quote R.M. Nixon, “That would be wrong.”