Hey folks, on my next layout, I’m planning on having a bridge over a river (yes, a classic scene, I’m sure). I’ve decided on this bridge:
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/product_p/mec-75-152.htm
my question: would these bridge piers be prototypical, or should I use different ones, and if so, which ones?
http://www.wholesaletrains.com/Detail.asp?ID=200452853
Thanks for the help, I know pretty much zero when it comes to bridges!
I think you can just about use anything for a bridge pier within reason. The only question I would have is what are the horizontal widths across the top of the pier model. I ask this because it appears that the bridge model comes with bridge shoes at each end. The bridge shoes will have to sit on top of the pier. assuming that you are going to butt two of the bridge models end to end, there has to be enough room on the pier top in the travel direction for the two sets of bridge shoes to fit. You also need to know if the width of the pier perpendicular to the track will accommodate the width of the bridge.
I was planning on using only one bridge model. as far as the pier, I think the tops might work, but then I’m not sure. I think I’ll order the bridge and then look in both Hobby Lobby and my my LHS and try to find some bridge piers.
If you are only using one bridge section, then you’ll probably not be wanting bridge piers. I think you’ll really be needing something called a bridge abutment. Some representative examples of these, although in HO scale, can be seen at http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?quick=bridge+abutment. Piers are used at the mid-span of multiple bridge sections, where-as abutments are used at the span ends. Typically, the abutment supports the ends of the bridge and also forms a structure that holds back the earth, rock, or whatever that is under the track as it approaches the bridge. Then, depending on how the earth adjacent to the abutment is contoured, you’ll have wing walls that join either side of the abutment to provide more support to keep the “earth” from collapsing.
Sawyer:
Maxman’s right. If you are only using a single span, you’ll want abutments instead of piers, which is what came up when I clicked on your link. Chooch also makes a good series of abutments which I’ve used on a couple of my bridges.
Tom
Thanks y’all! I’ll be on the look-out for abutments next time I’m at either my LHS or Hobby Lobby.
Deck girder bridges have been around since at least 1900. Ballasted deck girder bridges are generally newer or a rebuilt older bridge. The abutments or piers could be made of stone or concrete.
Thanks. it’s modern day, so I’ll probably go with concrete abutments.
A lot of older stone abutments are still around…
If you’re going with concrete, consider making your own. Depending on your benchwork style (open-grid or foam) then you might have wood supports for open grid anyway. In any case, use a piece of dense wood (I’d recommend masonite), cut it to shape, and use that. Don’t forget bridge shoes, which can be purchased from a detail parts supplier like Chooch. While small details, they really stand out if you know that bridges have them… I need to add them to my bridge still, and the lack of them is really obvious!
It’s going to be 1" foam over a plywood tabletop (same tabletop as all my other layouts, just in a different room (my dad made it so the table comes off the legs). I think for what I’m doing, just buying some Chooch or Woodland Scenics will work just fine. Thanks for th suggstion though, if I can’t find what I want, I’ll definitely do that!
It’s all up to you. I was just thinking that using a scrap piece of masonite would be a lot cheaper than buying a commercial abutment…
Reason I’m going to look at the commercial abutment first is that I don’t think my dad has any scrap Masonite; I’ll ask him though.
I don’t think I’d use hardboard (Masonite is a tradename: if you ask for it at Home Depot they’ll look at you funny because they’ve never heard of it. They call it tempered hardboard), because it is too thin. However, if you’re looking for something that might represent poured concrete, you can find at Home Depot some thin smooth-surfaced wood that is available in small pieces, say 24 inches long and varying thicknesses like 1/4, 1/2, and maybe 3/8 inch thick. I think they call this stuff craft wood. You can laminate the 1/4 inch onto the 1/2 inch and cut yourself (I mean cut for yourself) a reasonable representation of an abutment. The vertical dimension of the thin piece should be taller than the thick piece. The top surface of the thick piece represents the platform where the bridge shoes will sit, while the taller thin piece represents the wall that helps hold back the “earth”. You can also cut these pieces of wood to represent the wing walls. That way you’re not limited to the particular sloping angles the commercial wing walls pieces have.
Even if you’re modeling the modern era, the bridge and its abutments may have been around for a long time. There wouldn’t have been much incentive to change things, absent a complete rebuilding/upgrading of an entire route.
Just west of Ashfork, AZ, and about 150 ft north of the I-40 right-of-way, is a classic example. The Atlantic and Pacific built the abutments for a rather deep-girdered bridge out of huge sandstone blocks. Later, when the ATSF double-tracked that stretch, the abutment was extended with poured-in-place concrete. The line was abandoned when the new route was built some miles to the north, the bridges were removed but the abutments still stand.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)