I was thinking about ordering one of these for my layout (Walthers stock # 933-3185), but was wondering if anybody knows the answer to a couple of questions first:
What is the distance from the top of the rails to the bottom of the bridge (for clearance for tracks underneath)?
I’m guessing the kit does not come with track?
I checked the Walthers website and a couple of other places, but they didn’t have the info I was looking for. Thanks in advance if anyone can answer these questions.
If you’re that close for under track clearance, you probably need to raise your bridge. If you make the bottom of the bridge 4" above the rails below, you should ample clearance for just about any kind of car.
The bridge doesn’t come with track – you can use flex track, or Walters also has some nice bridge track with guard rails that works well.
It’s about an inch from the bottom of the ‘feet’ on the 4 corners of the bridge to the track. So you’ve got to give yourself about 5" from the track that feeds into the bridge to the lower level to give it good clearance if you’re going to run track under it. Lower, of course, if you’re using it as a river or highway overpass.
Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, I’ve got limited clearance to play with, so raising the bridge isn’t an option. I don’t run any modern hi-cube boxcars or autoracks, so if it’s about an inch from railhead to bottom, I think I might be OK. I’ll have to take some more measurements to be sure, though.