OK here's a how-to question

[rrinker]

My layout is buuilt flat, with 2 layers of 2" foam (4" total) so I have plenty of room to carve down below track level. There's this bridge I want to stick in, not even close to any of the other bridge projects as far as a fancy bridge. Here's a Bing Maps bird's eye view of the thing:
http://www.bing.com/maps/#JnE9LnRyZXhsZX...Q0OTE1NzY1

It's not even a full 2 lanes wide, and it's also very low, 12'9" clearance I think. I have a very tight space to squeeze this in - to the right is a turnout, to the left starts a curve in one corner of the room. I have two issues.

One, I am absolutely TERRIFIED at the prospect of starting to cut under the track I guess at some point I will have to bite the bullet unless I want perfectly flat scenery everywhere - but I do have another one where the street passes over the tracks that I plan to use foam scraps to build up the terrain - that one I'm only worried about getting it al fit in, which it will, I just have to plan how to shape the stacked pieces.

Two - not rue it will look right. I can't continue the track on a fill like is seen in the actual view, I only have space for a short bit of that to either side of the bridge abutments. To the right I could theoretically slice the foam at the frotn edge so that the main AND the siding behind it are up on a 'higher' level - which would then transition back to base level and then rise for the street overpass.

Mostly though I am scared to take that step of hackign up the terrain and hopign it will turn out looking ok. The bridge should be interesting, it's a short plate girder that I shoudl eb able to cut down a commerical bridge and use, the abutments are square concrete posts, I'll have to go measure but the seem to be about 12x12, stacked like timber cribbing and backfilled. Crazy thing is there's a big industrial park back there and about once a month or so some truck driver thinks he can take a short cut and gets stuck under the bridge. My viewing direction on the layout is actually 180 degrees flipped from the way I linked the map, oops.

--Randy

[rrinker]

I see linking doesn;t get the actual spot. You need to go slightly north of where the pin is, look for Ruppsville Road and Schantz Road and switch to bird's eye view. To the left of Ruppsville along Schantz is where the railroad passes overhead.

ANd had I made that siding that's in the way go the other way, it would be the siding just north of the bridge. I suppose I could tear it out and redo it, but dang it, that's the first thing I ballasted!

--Randy

[Sumpter250]

My layout is buuilt flat, with 2 layers of 2" foam (4" total) so I have plenty of room to carve down below track level. There's this bridge I want to stick in, not even close to any of the other bridge projects as far as a fancy bridge.
One, I am absolutely TERRIFIED at the prospect of starting to cut under the track I guess at some point I will have to bite the bullet unless I want perfectly flat scenery everywhere.
Two - not sure it will look right.

Mostly though I am scared to take that step of hacking up the terrain and hoping it will turn out looking ok. --Randy

If at first you don't succeed.......rip it out and build it again.
The 3-3/8" long, plank on frame,skiff in this picture:
   
......is the FOURTH one. The first two went wrong in the early stages, ( first 8 hours of the build ), the third was almost finished at around 12-16 hours of work. It just wasn't right, until the fourth try, and that turned out better than I expected.
The first three were smashed-to-bits, when they didn't come out right, and each, next, one was started from scratch.
Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.

[Puddlejumper]

Foam is easy enough to fix with white glue if you cut it wrong... get into it! Bust out the carving knife and get cutting. If it turns out horrible then get some white glue and put the foam back. Whatever repairs you need to make will be hidden with ground cover in the future anyway. The only way you will ever find out how it looks and if you like it will be to get cutting and try it out.

Dave

[rrinker]

Ok, resurrecting this because now I have no excuse. I have pictures of the bridge in question:

[album]3806[/album]

[album]3805[/album]

It's lower than I thought, only 11' 6" clearance. Don't even have to dig down very much for that.

--Randy