BNSF Front Range Subdivision - CO-WY State Line

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Great to see you back in MR business, Chuck!
And your small layout looks good: I dig the simplicity!

You might think about working fine-sifted dirt or grout into that fur, either with your fingers or a soft toothbrush.
Helps take the sheen off fabric fur and fills in the weave between fuzz.

Are you going to have stringers under your bridge track?
Couldn't quite tell from the photos.

And you can always make your own bent jig by CA'ing some wood to a piece of plexiglass (releases the woodglue much better than masonite):







The above is a short, square bent, but you can easily make the outer posts angled.

Anyway, looking forward to seeing your progress.

[Smike]

Scenery test area with cut and trimmed blonde faux fur. It still needs to be
trimmed and cut is come areas to even it out. Need to order Scenic Xpress
silfor and prairie tufts to blend in with WS fine turf and foam.

..and BOOM instant layout  But the twist is, this is really looking great!  I love the simple plan, and those poles are fantastic.

[chuck geiger]

M.C. - Thanks man, been awhile. I think I'm going to build a jig in the morning and bent away. I am
going to sift some fine dirt from the alley tomorrow and sift it in to the fur. Smike - Thank again, the
plan was from my first ever Postage Stamp N Scale 2x4 when I was a kid in 1968. Slight folded
dog bone with a siding. But it was horrible looking.

[chuck geiger]

Great to see you back in MR business, Chuck!
And your small layout looks good: I dig the simplicity!

You might think about working fine-sifted dirt or grout into that fur, either with your fingers or a soft toothbrush.
Helps take the sheen off fabric fur and fills in the weave between fuzz.

Are you going to have stringers under your bridge track?
Couldn't quite tell from the photos.

And you can always make your own bent jig by CA'ing some wood to a piece of plexiglass (releases the woodglue much better than masonite):







The above is a short, square bent, but you can easily make the outer posts angled.

Anyway, looking forward to seeing your progress.

Wonder if I should use the stringers that came with the ME Bridge Flex or make em?

[wazzou]

Keep in mind most stringers measure at 8"x16", 8"x17" or 9"x17".  There are usually a minimum of 3 under each rail.  The caps or the tops of the bents are generally 12"x14" or 14"x14" and almost always 14' long.
The piling is typically 12" or 14" diameter.
The sash braces are usually 4"x8" or 4"x10"' the sway bracing could be the same. 
The girt bracing, the ones that go from bent to bent are usually 6"x8".  Don't forget your bulkhead or back wall which would be varying lengths of 3"x12".

[chuck geiger]

http://nscaleadventures.blogspot.com/2010/06/building-curved-trestle.html

[chuck geiger]

Test back wall:

[chuck geiger]

[chuck geiger]

Cutting, shaping, up whisking faux fur. Blended with sifted dirt. Need WS turf and
foam (course and fine) in yellow to blend with it. I am going to use the faux fur on
the front fascia of the layout and static grass, either WS, Scenic Xpress for the grassy
hills near the back/backdrop. or Grand Central Gems mat for around the creek and trestle,
cut up and shaped. Here's the basic scenery up-front without blended turfs and small bushes.
(tried using reindeer moss for floral displays and it's not bad, you can only use the tight tops).

[Ed Kapuscinski]

The scenery test section looks great Chuck!

[chuck geiger]

Thanks Ed - So much fun to be back in MR again.

[chuck geiger]

[chuck geiger]

Thanks M.C. and Wazzou for the inspiration.

[davefoxx]

Chuck,

I don't mean to disparage your modeling, but the stringers need to sit on top of the trestle bents.  A trestle assembled in that manner would not be very strong.

DFF

[wazzou]

He's right Chuck.  Here is a picture taken on a project on the former Grays Harbor Branch of the Northern Pacific (BN, BNSF), now operated by the Puget Sound and Pacific.
Note a couple of things...this is a branchline but these are still 5 pile bents. spaced at 15' on average. 
This line currently sees unit grain and auto trains to Aberdeen, WA pulled by modern BNSF and sometimes UP power.
Note the differences in sizing of the structural members. 
It is easy to see the depth of the Stringers compared to the caps and ties, which in this case are just normal 7x9.  You can also see from this angle, there are three stringers per rail.
If I recall, you are modeling a present day BNSF mainline, you would at minimum want it constructed similarly to this bridge.
While you've done a nice job, the trestle sort of says logging railroad to me.