As I said before, I am not good at kitbashing but I can build bigger things.
Winter building in the garage.This was the start of the railway 2 years ago.
The bridge is made of aluminium. The supports and base are reclaimed stretcher poles we were dumping at work. The base rests on the shelves that surround the pond.
The bridge is lowered into the pond and secured to bank either side. It can be removed for maintenance if necessary.
Note that this was all the rolling stock I possessed at the time.
Now I getting the hang of this photo lark, I can show some recent pics. But the temporary computer I am using at the moment isn`t speaking to my digital camera.
No Capt, I left it in it`s natural state. The metal has tarnished now and looks less bright. I had a painted bridge there when it was 00/HO. The paint tended to peel after a while. Too much maintenance, too little time.
Ian, handsome dogs, beautiful garden, and the original concrete bridge was a treasure! I’d love to know a little more about it. And the new bridge is totally awesome! Nuts, bolts and rivets…I’m amazed at the amount of work it must have taken. Great job!
SandyR
Hi Ian,
Lovely work mate, glad to see the dogs take an interest in your work!! Looks like Sunday evening is Brit evening. Work tomorrow, sigh.
Cheers,
Kim
[tup]
Sandy
Thanks for the comments. The bridge upper structure was a bit fiddly. The nuts/bolts were very small. I have a job where I sometimes get a lot of time between calls so I took the pieces to work and assembled them there. You could say I got paid for building my own bridge.
The concrete viaduct took some time. Took me a week to make the shuttering/mould out of timber and round plastic guttering, 15 mins to mix and pour the concrete. I left it for a week and with a deep intake of breath from me and my wife, I removed it . Hey presto. It has been in place for a number of years when the double 00 track ran on it. It now looks old and just right.
My wife is the gardener and she thanks you for the compliment.
All the best
Ian
Hey there,
Well done! I need to build an 8’ bridge for my indoor line. Need to build strong! That’s quite a span with no support underneath. Considering doing Western Red Cedar but your aluminum sure looks interesting. Thanks for the pics! Later eh…Brian.
Thanks Brian
Actually the pic is deceiving. The close-up is a bit blurred but it shows two pieces of ally 28mm x 28mm box sections the full length of the bridge( something else I found as scrap). I used ally for it`s strength and to stand up to the elements. If you are planning indoors,cedar would be alright, probably look nicer too.
Ian,
That is an excellent idea for outdoors. The square tubing is very rigid for long spans. I’m thinking for strength of hiding aluminum angle in the base of the bridge. I have never built a bridge that long so it should be fun. Later eh…Brian.