Colorado Midland Railway Engineering Report

[Dave V]

In MR Sam Posey's layout had one steel bridge, painted silver... 

But then in December 2001, Sam Posey's layout has two steel bridges (one just like tha Manitou one and the other an impossibly rickety one) and they're both Tuscan...   

[tom mann]

You can make any color any other color through the magic of weathering!

[davefoxx]

You can make any color any other color through the magic of weathering!

"It's the world of magic, thank you."

[Dave V]

No pics, but excavated the rest of the gorge over which the steel bridge passes.

Also added bridge track to the wood (plastic) trestle deck.  Here I departed from the Midland practice and added the code 40 guard rails.  Why?  Because to leave them off looks really model railroady (even though this scene will have two large bridges side-by-side, as model railroady as one can get without a full-up figure 8!) and, I noticed, it really helps me quickly "rail" the locomotive and cars.  It works kinda like a re-railer but looks way cooler.

The wood trestle will be on a 2% grade, so I need to attach the bents at the proper angle.  Luckily, I still have a bunch of the 2% riser material...  I can use the accordion folds as a guide for mounting the bents at the right angle!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

The Midland didn't add guard rails?

They really were cheap!

[Dave V]

The Midland didn't add guard rails?

They really were cheap!

Nope.  Perhaps that has something to do with that wreck on the Ruxton Avenue bridge Chris linked to...

[davefoxx]

But, I agree (and would have done the same thing) with adding the guardrails to the model.  Since most viewers are not CM experts, you would likely have been called out from time-to-time.  It becomes tiresome to continually explain and justify reasoning.

Oh, and I like the multi-tasker option of using the bridge as a rerailer.

DFF

[GimpLizard]

No pics, but excavated the rest of the gorge over which the steel bridge passes.

Also added bridge track to the wood (plastic) trestle deck.  etc., etc., etc.

Without pictures... it's just empty claims... 

[Dave V]

Without pictures... it's just empty claims... 

OK, OK, pics tonight!   

As an aside, like many of you, my formative "model railroading" years were the late 70s in to the 80s, when I would devour each and every one of my father's Model Railroader magazines cover-to-cover at least a dozen times.  It seemed then that it was a requirement for every model railroad to have a huge, unphysical wooden trestle--usually double-tracked--no matter how era- or locale-inappropriate.  Both of our local train clubs had 'em. I recall the thrill of seeing trains, usually from a dog's breakfast of eras and prototypes, swing out into empty space, propped up only by an impossible array of matchsticks and toothpicks.

I always wanted a big trestle.  Looks like I'll finally have one!  At least this one will be reasonable in size and span, single-tracked, era-appropriate, and won't be crossed by second-generation diesel lash-ups in intermodal service.   

[Dave V]

[wazzou]

That looks great Dave.  I'm not really sold on those spindly piles on the trestle bents but understand the context.

[Dave V]

That looks great Dave.  I'm not really sold on those spindly piles on the trestle bents but understand the context.

Thanks!

Yeah, I wish they were a little more substantial too.  That said, those bents end up closer together than what I'd usually see on the prototype, so it ends up looking a little more robust than if the bents were on normal centers.

Of course, this kit allows me to do in a few easy evenings what would otherwise take me months of frustration, so that was the obvious motivation here.  It remains to be seen whether I can execute this on a continuous 2% grade and still keep every bent perfectly vertical!  Like I said, the leftover 2% risers give me a great template for assembling the trestle upside-down.

I take a certain amount of pride in being able to take an inexpensive plastic kit and making it look realistic.  It's one of the few things I think I do well.  Let's see if I can make this jumble of plastic sticks look like wood.

[Chris333]

You only need one or two bents at the right angle. Then go off of those 

[delamaize]

Dat Viaduct.....

[GimpLizard]

Much better. Thank you.

I'm really looking forward to seeing this layout come together. Don't wanna put any undo pressure on you, but I just KNOW it's going to be top-notch.