Bridge at Mason Park

[bdw9535]

Gary,

Look on the bright side the Texans might be able to win several more games this year, and you don't have to listen to Joe Buck announce any more baseball games till next year.

Bruce

[Gary S]

Well, all the Texas teams are done. Rangers lost in five, the Cowboys are sunk for the season, and the Texans' defense combined with the offense's poor play calling means they are pretty much through. The Rockets look to be bringing up the rear, the Astros will be in rebuilding mode next year, and the Houston Dynamo, well, I don't have a clue about them.

Got all the parts and pieces weathered and coated with Krylon Matte Spray. Next item on this bridge is to start preparing the benchwork for the bayou. On the Forest Hill Blvd bridge, I did get some cork laid up to it so I can get the trackwork done later this week.

[P5se Camelback]

Gary ...

You did not mention the Stars ...

... not a hockey fan?

C'mon ... ya gotta love that 100mph slap shot from the point and a beautifully executed butterflied kick save!

[eightyeightfan1]

That is one nice job.
Are you also gonna model the old pilings that were cut off just above the water line, and those just below?

[Gary S]

biL, hockey is just too much mass chaos for me.

88, yes, I'll be doing the old pilings, but not necessarily those below the surface. I'll probably do the water with varnish over paint instead of magic water or whatever. I guess I could do the poles just at the surface and varnish over them though.

[Gary S]

While waiting for the glue to dry on the other bridge, I got started on the benchwork mods for this bridge. The space I had originally left in the benchwork for the bridge was not big enough. Course, back when I was doing the benchwork, I hAd no idea what bridge was going there.

First, what was there, with the markings of what had to be cut out.

   

And all the stuff cut out. The foam and plywood that was removed was reused. Essentially, that piece was just lowered down to the level of the piece to the left. The hard part was cutting the existing boards to what can be seen in this photo because I couldn't get my power tools into the space. So, must of the cutting was done with a small handsaw. For some of it, I drilled a lot of holes along the line to be cut, then broke it out.

   

Then glued the piece back in and weighted it.

   

And added some bracing on the bottom.

   

[Gary S]

Started on the banks, but will have to let the PL300 dry for awhile.

   

[nachoman]

Wow Gary, another one? I'm gone for a week and this is what awaits me! BTW, I drove across Louisiana and Texas last week, and thanks in part to you I paid extra attention to the bridges. Even the mundane and ordinary bridges have character in those parts. In fact, the railroad bridge over the Mississippi River near Vicksburg wasn't nearly as interesting as the long, steel approaches.

[Gary S]

Glad to have you back, Kevin. So you drove through Texas, I am betting you were on I-10... within 20 miles of my house! Why didn't you stop by?

[nachoman]

Glad to have you back, Kevin. So you drove through Texas, I am betting you were on I-10... within 20 miles of my house! Why didn't you stop by?

Nope, i was on I-20 and I-40, driving through as quickly as possible on the way to/from a funeral. I wished my trip was slower-paced enough to stop by, though - I'd love to check out your layout!

[Gary S]

Kevin, if you ever are near Houston, give me a shout.

Got the end abutments set in place after alot of painstaking civil engineering to get them at the proper height. Glad that is done. Then I temporarily put the middle piers in and set the bridge sections in place just to give her an eyeball.

   

   

[e-paw]

Nice work Gary. Your bridges just seam to pop up over night.

Love the EMT under the layout..

[faraway]

Very impressive! The most impressive are to me the prototypes you choose. Many people make the failure to try to build the most spectacular trestle but can not provide a football stadium size layout of surrounding rocky mountain scenery. You concentrate with your really large space on the very "trivial" bridges in your neighborhood. And I mean "trivial" with all possible respect.

[Gary S]

Love the EMT under the layout..

Me too. It'll be one of the things that when I have visitors, I'll say " look under there." It certainly makes for a neat wiring job, and I had fun doing the install.

[Gary S]

You concentrate with your really large space on the very "trivial" bridges in your neighborhood. And I mean "trivial" with all possible respect.

I know exactly what you mean, and thanks for that comment. There isn't any spectacular scenery in Houston, and I am okay with that. I'm thinking the layout will be somewhat unique in that respect - no beautiful scenery, just trying to mimic what I see around here.