"New modules"
#31
That is really really nice. What a great scene, with the large bridges and all the masts sticking up in the background. I can't wait to see it all finished with a train crossing the bridge.
Thumbsup
Now for the bad part.... you are giving me a complex of a sort because of my layout ideas.... we can call mine "the unimaginative flat industrial railroad." Almost makes me want to rethink the entire thing!

Keep up the great work! Cheers
Three Foot Rule In Effect At All Times
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#32
An industrial railroad can sometimes appear "unimaginative, and flat", and in reality many of them are. There's nothing wrong in modeling them exactly as they appear.
Come to think of it, perhaps it's a truer, and more difficult thing to model. We have to suppress our urge to "dress things up".
Thanks for the compliment. In my case, I am not modeling an existing scene, but rather a scene that has bits of many different scenes in it. Consider it....."painting in 3D".

I was scrounging through my pile of "stuff" and found some "rattle-cans" one of jade green, and one of gloss black. The obnoxious blue of the water area is now "tamed down" a bit. once all the paint is dry, I'll apply several coats of "acrylic floor polish", for "shine", and proceed with bridge foundations, and waterfront "stuff". Not too long now, and the bridges will get a final color coat, and track will get spiked down.
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#33
faraway Wrote:That is really impressive. You must have a lot of space to spend so much for the water. That gives the bridges the stage they deserve.

"Lot of space".....My condo unit, is one that has a basement. With these three new modules, it is now full.
I never thought about the water area being a stage for the bridges, but yes, it is, and it is also a stage for the ships, so the bridges are "connection" between the ships, and the trains.

Speaking of ships.....Phantom has paint:
   
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
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#34
Very Nice Ships. Cheers
Matt
I can smell a steam post ten blocks away and when I do clear the tracks because the steam express will be hi ballin through
http://cambriaindiana.weebly.com/
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#35
LiveSteamer Wrote:Very Nice Ships. Cheers

Thank you!

Here are some of the ships/boats that are on the old module set:
   
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
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#36
On the last trip down the basement stairs, the bridge tender's shack (left side in front of the vertical lifts) "self detached" and crashed down the stairs. All the support structure was totally demolished. I'll have to rebuild that. Amazingly, this is the first major damage in twenty years of transporting the modules!
In the rebuild process, the shack will also get a new shingle roof. The old Campbell Scale "lick and stick" shingle strips, never quite measured up to expectations.
Now that the "Springbash 2010" is done, I can get back to the new modules. The upper level bridges are just about ready for track to be laid. The lower level has dual gauge track in place.
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
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#37
Sumpter250 Wrote:...Here are some of the ships/boats that are on the old module set:...

I love to see that. Will it be on the new layout too? Your sea/boat scenery is outstanding!
Reinhard
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#38
faraway Wrote:
Sumpter250 Wrote:...Here are some of the ships/boats that are on the old module set:...
I love to see that. Will it be on the new layout too? Your sea/boat scenery is outstanding!

The three.....the coastal freighter at the pier, the tow boat, "assisting" it, and the small boat under the bridge.....are not fastened down, so may show up on the new module set. There is the GCLaser 38' boat ( hidden behind the lift bridge ) that will also show up in the new location.

" Your sea/boat scenery is outstanding!"
I grew up on the south shore of Long Island, New York, and spent twentyone years in Navy service. I think my soul is "securely moored" to the sea.
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
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#39
Sumpter250 Wrote:and last, a zoom in on the rolling lift bridge....this one an old Heljan kit (one of many, as the tool went from one company to another)
[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]

All of the model work depicted in this thread is incredibly well done ... almost intimidating, to be truthful! Worship

The boats are beautiful, there is no doubt ... but my question has to do with the lowly Heljan Rolling Lift Bridge. :o :oops:

I have the AHM version of this kit (at least it appears from where I sit to be the same kit) and I was just wondering if you have installed it in a fixed, stationary position, as a manually repositionable bridge, which may be moved to the open position for photography, or if you went "all the way" ( 8-) ) and used the honky little motor that was available to make the bridge truely operational. Initially I had assumed that it was a fixed, stationary bridge, but not wanting to be too presumptuous, I thought I would ask.

As I said, I have the old AHM version that has the goofy-looking base with the funky little pilings for it to perch on. My intention is to build it up as a manually repositionable bridge that could be repositioned to the open condition for photography. The proposed location is on a removeable section of the railroad which will join the main body of the layout (in 1/2 of my Living Room) with the stub-end terminal of Weissport, Penna. (along one wall of the other half.) My plan is to use the removeable section to model the Lehigh River and not "waste" valuable real estate on "locale supporting scenery" when it will be needed for industry and trackwork. So the use of the AHM bridge and possibly adding another of the many unbuilt kits in my inventory, the Campbell Howe Truss Bridge, which is a handsome model ... but then I wonder about mixing a wood truss with a steel rolling lift bridge ... and how prototypical that might be. I suppose it could be justified as part one of an ongoing facility upgrade, but ... :?: :arrow: :?

What do you think? And really, I don't mean to hijack your thread ... I'll take this to its own thread if that would be better.

Hmmm ... I'm not sure what happened to the reference photos. :? :oops:
biL

Lehigh Susquehanna & Western 

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~~Abraham Lincoln
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#40
I tried to get the photo to show up, but....
If the thread is to have any educational benefit, some discussion should be included, about alternatives.
I had originally intended on having the rolling lift operate, and then thought about all the fingers touching it, and probably moving it just enough to have rolling stock crash to the floor.
It's removable ( spans a module boundary ),and could have still been, and been operational, but is now rail-joinered in, to keep it from being moved while in use.
On a home layout I'd have it operate.
Wood truss and steel rolling lift......I'd call the combination.......improbable.
There may very well be a situation where that combination exists, but it would be a rare case at best. Bringing the rails out on a wood trestle, ending at the stone abutment that supports one of the standing ends of the lift bridge, is plausible for the specific scene, but deck, or through, girder bridges might have been a more commonly used method.
The location of your railroad, is probably the most controlling factor in what engineering would be used.
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
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#41
Well, it's not like there will be any ships going under this bridge! I'm not even sure how navigable the Lehigh River is up this far for anything larger than small pleasure boats, and I'm modeling the mid-Thirties, in a real "working class" area, so I'm not sure how much of that kind of traffic there would actually be.

See the Google satellite map of the Lehighton - Weissport area for some idea of the area.

I had basically decided to use the rolling lift bridge because of its appearance. Many of the railroad bridges in the area, as I recall (calling on twenty-plus year old memories,) are plate girder bridges on stone masonry abutments and piers, high enough to allow small boats to pass without obstruction. Again, I just thought the rolling lift bridge's structure was cool and that most people wouldn't know whether it was engineering-wise the right choice or not.

In reality, the "original" spans in this area would have been wood, and eventually replaced with steel, at least that's my best guess. Bridges are one of the few elements of the area that I have not studied all that much about. I do know that the much-photographed L&NE "High Line" bridge over the Delaware River at the Delaware Water Gap is a plate girder on Steel bents on masonry piers, but the Delaware River is easily two or three times as wide and the railroad three or four times as high due to the mountains on either side of the river.

Up here on the Lehigh River, the banks are nowhere near as high and we're crossing from one small upstate town to another.

I haven't a clue!
biL

Lehigh Susquehanna & Western 

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~~Abraham Lincoln
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#42
As things are progressing, I began thinking that there's too much "stonework" already, so I decided to set the "Eureka bridges" on pilings, instead of stone abutments. This is what I'll build.....there will be four sets. The distance from the waterline to the top of the bent is 8' ( scale ). The actual distance from the waterline to the bottom of each pile, is 1/4". I can drill through the 1/4" plywood "water", and glue "stops" on the underside, that way I don't have to worry about the depth of each hole. The bents will then be glued in, and the bridges set.
   
The piers may seem light, but it is, after all, a walk bridge, and won't be carrying that much weight.
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
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#43
This is the scale drawing, converted to jpg format. The view from above will be used to set the holes for the pilings of the bridge bents, both on the modules, and for a building jig.
   

Now the "design work" is done, time to build bridges!

and.........shingle the roof of the shack Eek insanity, like work, is never done. Icon_twisted Big Grin
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
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#44
Progress on the second of three walk bridges:
Here are the first build ( still unpainted ), and where the second build is now.
   
The vertical hangers, and the angular bracing are next, then the deck.
After that is done, the third bridge, the wood piling bents, roofing and details on the bridgetender's shack, paint, weathering, and installation on the modules.
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
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#45
Last night I was able to get the tracks of the dual gauge, thoroughly spiked down through the end curves that will become permanently inaccessible, once the covering scenery is in place. I also got the mainline tracks soldered ( for continuity ) and all the adjustments made for reliable operation. Ran the first trains under power, and found just a few areas that needed further attention.
Ballasting can now be done, and scenery started.
Found out that not all commercial stripwood is cut exactly "square".....have to redo the pilings and platform for the tender's shack. Curse
Camera died on the first shot, too late for a charge, so camera batteries are charging now. Pictures later.
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
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