08-14-2011, 02:16 PM
The bridge is almost embarrassingly simple and non prototypical. Meant to be a ballasted deck girder, it was made by using a piece of 3/4" plywood. I drew the track centers on it, then drew straight lines along its edges to clear the curve. I cut along those straight lines and glued Atlas girders to it. I simply bought those Atlas snap track girders and cut the girders off, discarding the track section. I cut the ribs off on the backs, and cut sections out from the middle as required to make the length I needed. The piers were made from 1" blue insulation foam. I simply cut the width and height needed from a sheet. Sanded the corners a bit and painted. I think they represent concrete really well. That's all there was to it!
One thing I wish I had done: Use the girders to determine the length of the straight portions prior to cutting. I had to re-cut mine to avoid having partial panels of the girder. Also, I wish I had made the short section of the rear girder (as seen in the photos) a panel or two longer so the pier would have been facing more upstream than it is. Again, while this method looks fine to me, it is not an accurate model of a ballasted deck girder. It was cheap and easy however. And being 3' away from the aisle on either side keeps it from being scrutinized too well.
Gary
One thing I wish I had done: Use the girders to determine the length of the straight portions prior to cutting. I had to re-cut mine to avoid having partial panels of the girder. Also, I wish I had made the short section of the rear girder (as seen in the photos) a panel or two longer so the pier would have been facing more upstream than it is. Again, while this method looks fine to me, it is not an accurate model of a ballasted deck girder. It was cheap and easy however. And being 3' away from the aisle on either side keeps it from being scrutinized too well.
Gary