Gibbon, Cozad & Western - "The 100th Meridian Line"

[C855B]

Any thoughts about modeling this bridge? Maybe three or four arches' worth?



I don't want to go crazy trying to specifically model it, but leads on a close commercially-available analog would be appreciated.

[wcfn100]

Is this the same bridge?

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ca1679/


Jason

[C855B]

Yes.

[Philip H]

@arbomambo did one somewhat similar for his T-Trak modules . . . .

[davefoxx]

Can you start with something like this laser cut bridge that Karin (@Alaska Railroader) at Rogue River Models produced?

http://www.zscalemonster.com/rogue_river_models/

At one time, she was very active here.  Maybe she could laser cut something closer.

DFF

[GaryHinshaw]

Agreed, this seems like a perfect candidate for a laser-cut board project.  Here is the T-Track post that talks about the Red River kit:

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=37019.msg459726#msg459726

[C855B]

Yep, I was thinking of Karin's project and couldn't find the thread here. Thanks for the reminder on Bruce's bridge and Red River. Karin's bridge would work in capturing the flavor of the larger arch spans, but I have to wonder if she's active, since this Z scale bridge was the one and only reference I found anywhere, and I suspect may be standing old stock. I was looking around at Faller and Kibri, and while their models are of stone arches, there are availability issues as well. This is a long term need, after Phase 0 is done, but it is good to plan now especially since incorporating this detail will take plan modifications in an already dense area of the layout.

What I did find during the search that solved another and much more pressing issue was abutments for two truss spans needing to go in within a week or so. Success! Chooch has cut stone abutments that are remarkably similar to the prototype and are dimensionally close to benchwork already in place, so there you go.

[wazzou]

Here is an N Scale one for reference.

[railnerd]

Steve Beals of the NLand Pacific Free-moN group did the entire Santa Ana viaduct on a module.

[C855B]

Nice. It also shows why I only want three or four arches' worth. Dat's big!   

Interesting picture for my purposes, in its demonstration of black for fascia and curtains. I was going back and forth between black and gray... definitely gray now.

[Cajonpassfan]

Here is an N Scale one for reference.

This is a very beautiful bridge, but a completely different design and time frame than the early concrete Santa Ana River bridge. And as beautiful as it is, it's much too light for mainline railroad use IMHO... It's a scaled down version of a highway bridge, which allows it to be light and airy and oh so elegant.
Steve Beals' model is a beautiful representation of the UP Santa Ana River bridge, and a shorter version would be perfect for the layout....and not too difficult to build I would think.
Attached below is an excerpt from the Historic American Engineering Records (HAER) with some of the key dimensions of the Santa Ana River bridge. [ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ]
Otto K.

[wcfn100]

Are you going for the form lines?

Jason

[davefoxx]

Here is an N Scale one for reference.

@C855B,

When I suggested Rogue River's bridge, my thought was, assuming the proportions are even close, to laminate pieces over the side of the structure to cover the smaller arches, over the railings, and under the large arches to make the bridge appear solid.  Would that get it closer to what you need?

DFF

[C855B]

Are you going for the form lines?

Probably not. As I said, I'm not going to make myself crazy trying to be faithful to the original, just going for the general look and feel. If I choose to approximate it myself, it may become curved, and possibly even double-track, where both fit better into the track plan. The concrete construction does make it a candidate for cutting out in pink foam... hmmm.

Anyway, while nice, it doesn't need to be a feature LDE. I have plenty of those already, including prototype-accurate bridges thanks to BLMA.

Those dimensions help, Otto! Probably having a beer or two before starting would be useful, too. Thanks for the suggestion! 

Dave, I got the gist, using Karin's model as a frame. The problem becomes finding Karin's model now. Her bridge reminds me of a very similar one near the Rose Bowl, the Colorado St. bridge over Arroyo Seco, and a couple of others on CA Hwy 1.

[Philip H]

I'm pretty sure that NLand Pacific Freemo guy could give you dimensions of his bridge. Then build it fromGatorfoam.