a few bridge questions

[Russ Bellinis]

A good book to see some interesting trestles in is "Railroads Through The Coeur D'Alenes by John Wood. I checked a copy out of my local library a few years ago, and that entire area was amazing. They had a "S" curve trestle and a partial "U" curved trestle crossing back and forth over a gorge to gain elevation. If I remember correctly, the trestle bents were installed at angles to each other, and the stringers were straight but making a small turn at the end of each one. The track was curved on top of the trestle. They had one photo taken about 1910 of a small 2-6-6-2 that looked like the prototype for the Mantua Mallet logger with tender. It was pulling 8 cars and a caboose, and the caption said that was the maximum load it could handle in that area without a helper due to the extreme grades! I have often thought that if I had a spare bedroom to use as a dedicated railroad room, I would like to get that book and use those railroads as prototypes for my model. Here is a link to it on Amazon:

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