Gary S Wrote:Reinhard, you're correct. I know I've said it a hundred times, but the 2" blue foam is a fantastic medium for the base of a railroad. Want a ditch right there, no problem! Need a creek over there? No problem!
Tetters and 88, thanks for the comments. 
Gary, could you do me (and possible some others) a favor and do some photos when you install the next turnout with switch machine on top of/in/under the blue foam? I would like to see how the wire of the switch machine got through the wood, blue foam and finally into the switch. That must be a long way and what size does the hole in the blue foam have? I think some photos taken during installation would be very helpful.
faraway Wrote:Gary S Wrote:Reinhard, you're correct. I know I've said it a hundred times, but the 2" blue foam is a fantastic medium for the base of a railroad. Want a ditch right there, no problem! Need a creek over there? No problem!
Tetters and 88, thanks for the comments.
Gary, could you do me (and possible some others) a favor and do some photos when you install the next turnout with switch machine on top of/in/under the blue foam? I would like to see how the wire of the switch machine got through the wood, blue foam and finally into the switch. That must be a long way and what size does the hole in the blue foam have? I think some photos taken during installation would be very helpful.
My previous layout was all foam surface, if you look on my web sire under the old stuff there are pictures of ohow I mounted Tortoises in the foam directly under the turnout. On my current layout I am using servos and controllers from Tam Valley and mouting them underneath - on this layotu I have TWO layers of 2" forma on top of 1/4" plywood, and they work FINE from the bottom, through all that. I don't have pictures yet because I haven't permanently mounted any of them. On the old layout I also experimented with using caulk to glue a Tortouse to the bottom of the foam and connect it int he usual manner, just through 2" of foam instead of a layer of say 1/2" plywood, and that also worked just fine - but I tried that after I had all the others in place fromt he top.
http://www.readingeastpenn.com
--Randy
Thanks for the links. I have got a very simple question.
How do you know where to drill the hole in the plywood exact under the turnout through the blue foam? From top? Do you have such a long drill? From the bottom? How do you know so exact where to drill?
I do mark and drill from top with plywood and a thin layer of cork only with a standard drill (about 3' long). I think I miss something very simple how to drill that hole if the plywood is hidden under a thick layer of blue foam.
For me, there is 1/4 inch of roadbed, 2 inches of foam, and 1/4 inch of plywood for a total thickness of 2.5 inches. A 3 inch long bit barely chucked up in the drill is long enough for me to drill a pilot hole from the top. With my mechanisms and the long spring steel wire, there is plenty of tolerance for error. The hole on the bottom is somewhat oversized, and the controller can be moved around for best operation, then screwed there.
With a double thickness of 2 inch foam like Randy has, instead of hunting for an extra long drill bit, you could take a stiff piece of wire, perhaps from a wire coathanger, cut it off at an angle with wire cutters, and use that as a drill bit. The 1/4" plywood is pretty easy to drill through (don't push down to hard, let the angled wire do the cutting, otherwise you may bend the wire). I used the coathange drill bit technique myself in a couple places where my feeder wires needed an angled hole so as to miss cross braces and such.
Gary S Wrote:... A 3 inch long bit barely chucked up in the drill is long enough for me to drill a pilot hole from the top....
Got it
I was looking for a problem where none exists. Just drill the hole. Thank you
With 2 layers of foam I need a longer one - so I picked up a 6" long bit at Home Depot (or maybe Lowes). I only have one, in 3/16" (smallest one they had - fits a pair of feeder wires). For the turnouts I use this bit to make a pilot hole, then drill down and up through this hoel with a large bit to give clearance for the throwbar wire to move back and forth.
--Randy
Did some research on GoogleEarth and then went scouting to get some more prototype photos. I'll be going back to get some measurements of various things so these bridges can be added to my layout. I've been enjoying the bridge building, and have searched out a few more places for these bridges to go on the layout. Originally I had not planned for all these bridges, but, like I mentioned, it is interesting and gratifying to mimic the proto structures, and I think the elevation changes in the terrain add a great deal to an otherwise flat layout. Hope y'all enjoy the bridges.
As I do these builds, I'll start new threads in the Scratchbuilding forum.
First, this is a fairly large structure over Brays Bayou near Mason Park in southeast Houston. The bridge is about 270 feet long from abutment to abutment.
[
attachment=19899]
[
attachment=19898]
[
attachment=19897]
Next is a road underpass on Forest Hill Blvd, a relatively minor side street in an older neighborhood. The painted-green concrete work and the little steel I-beam bridge make this one look like a fun build.
[
attachment=19896]
[
attachment=19895]
[
attachment=19894]
[
attachment=19893]
Last is another road underpass at South Wayside near Navigation. I like this one because of the interesting concrete work on the pedestrian railings.
[
attachment=19892]
[
attachment=19891]
[
attachment=19890]
[
attachment=19889]
That last one, the one with the fancy concrete form work on the pedestrian "railings" are remiscent of '30's WPA stuff. Do you know when that one was built?
BTW ... I showed my daughter the close-up shot of the curb gutter drain on your last bridge. I said there's this guy named Gary on Big Blue ... "
She said, "Yeah, I know, the bridge guy from Texas."
"Right ... well, he built this new bridge ... it's a street underpass and you know how they fill up when it rains, so he built this gutter drain ..." and turned the laptop around so she could see it.
"DAMN! He's gettin' really good! That could pass as real! If you hadn't told me I would have thought it was just some gutter drain that you in your weirdness had taken a photo of. But that is awesome!"
Just thought I should tell you that your work is appreciated by non-model railroaders as well as the rest of us here.
I thought it was time for a new bridge... and here you have hidden plans for TWO in the existing thread!
Nice pics and research material. These will undoubtedly be beauties as well.
(If you want these split into their own threads, just let me know).
Andrew
P5se Camelback Wrote:That last one, the one with the fancy concrete form work on the pedestrian "railings" are remiscent of '30's WPA stuff. Do you know when that one was built?
I haven't done any research on the bridges at all. It is interesting that all three of these bridges are on the same line in a stretch of 1.5 miles. Plus, there is one other bridge in that stretch too.
Now, I'm having a pre-senior moment, all I could think of was "railing," but what would we call those things that keep the pedestrians from engaging with the autos? :?: :oops:
P5se Camelback Wrote:She said, "Yeah, I know, the bridge guy from Texas." If you hadn't told me I would have thought it was just some gutter drain that you in your weirdness had taken a photo of. But that is awesome!" Just thought I should tell you that your work is appreciated by non-model railroaders as well as the rest of us here.
Thanks biL! And tell your daughter that the Texas bridge guy said hello!
MasonJar Wrote:I thought it was time for a new bridge... and here you have hidden plans for TWO in the existing thread! Nice pics and research material. These will undoubtedly be beauties as well. (If you want these split into their own threads, just let me know).
Thanks Andrew. As I start the buidls, I'll make some new threads in the Scratchbuilding forum. Oh... there were actually three bridges up there!
Now, speaking of these bridges, I mentioned in my reply to biL that there are five bridges in 1.5 miles on this particular east-west section of track, which runs a bit south of downtown Houston and then turns and heads down to Galveston Island. Here's a map with the bridges.
[
attachment=19905]
And the bridges as numbered:
ONE - South Wayside
[
attachment=19904]
TWO - 69th Street
[
attachment=19903]
THREE - Forest Hill Blvd
[
attachment=19902]
FOUR - 75th Street
[
attachment=19901]
FIVE - Brays Bayou at Mason Park
[
attachment=19900]
And as this line heads south to Galveston, there are numerous bridges along the way. In the next few miles, there are at least four more substantial bridges over waterways.
Is this a regularly used mainline Gary? (BNSF right?) On one of the photos is looked like it may have been a branchline.
Tom, it is a regularly used line. It goes from Houston to Galveston where it ends, so I suppose you could say it is a branchline. Still, it gets big trains, lots of big locos and long heavy loads.
The real question is...which one does the Troll hide under?