08-29-2010, 08:23 PM
cnw1961 Wrote:Wow, the pier is a mighty fine piece of modeling! Do you know how long you worked on it? Anyway, great to see you working on your layout again.
Hi Kurt. I started modeling the pier about two weeks ago...I think. I did a lot of measuring to make sure that I chopped all of the piles to the right height. The basis of it is a 1/8 thick sheet of craft plywood I picked up at Michaels in the modeling section. I then measured out every 12 scale feet and used 12 x 16 scale lumber for the stringers to the piles to rest on.
About that "resting" part.
Each stringer and pile were pre drilled to accept a piece of .039 music wire. I then tapped the music wire into the stringer and then the pile with a dab of Carpenter Glue on the ends. The cross bracing I just guessed and used some 3x12 lumber for it.
About half of the width though is supported by a retaining wall made from a row piles glued to 1/2 strips of craft plywood. So its not all stringers and piles. To be honest, you can barely see the retaining wall once it is mounted to the lake bed. I probably could have saved myself some work and moved the retaining wall closer to the perimeter.
I also got to thinking about the Truss Bridge and how it as a structure would affect the pier. The contant motion of rocking up and down, shoving, pulling, twisting, you name it, just how it might impact the pier in the real world... if such a combination structures were ever to exist? So I doubled up the piles towards the end of the pier, just to make it look more beefed up. I have also left the last two rows of stringers empty, until I figure out how to incorporate the pivots for the Truss Bridge.
Looking forward to getting the track laid on it and test it out with a string of box cars.
THANKS STEVE!!!!
