I have had quite a creative time with Plastruct and Evergreen styrene building materials. It almost reminded me of the fun I had with my Erector Set back in the 50's, when I would build all kinds of stuff. I have a small table saw (about 12 inch top with a 5 or 6 inch blade) that really came in handy, as I would never have tackled any of these projects without it. I used MicroMark's "Same Stuff" cement, which bonded quickly and produced very strong joints.
My latest layout, which I am still working on, needed some bridges, so in the spirit of hand crafting what I could, I designed and dimensioned them on the computer using Visio and built them with Evergreen and Plastruct styrene. This was an enjoyable undertaking, and the bridges will look great on my layout. I took the photos below before I weathered them, which I will do at a later time.
Here's the first one, just a short span needed over the future creek:
Here's another small one to span the same creek:
I will have a deep ravine farther downstream, so I needed one with a center support:
And finally, a big one that will handle two tracks:
This bridge is pretty heavy, and will certainly hold both the C & O Kanawha and the RF&P 2-8-4 at the same time. I will work on the concrete support pillars next. I also have a trestle that I made out of basswood. I am painting it now, and will post it later.
Mike
