The Carolina Sandhills Lines in HO Scale

[packers#1]

I’d look at some photos of lakes for reference, but a lake like that I’d add a few more trees at least, but have a field between the trees and the parking lot. It’s looking absolutely fantastic though Dave!

[chuck geiger]

DFF it's pimp.

[davefoxx]

Thanks, guys!  I realized that my static grass applicator didn't seem to be as effective recently and I have never replaced its batteries, so, yesterday, I bought some new batteries and gave it a shot.  There was marked improvement.  I'll probably still install a few trees in there, as recommended by Sawyer, but I wanted to test the revived static grass applicator.  Usually, I'll go over the new grass with the wet/dry vac to pull out any loose or stray blades, and I hope to do that this afternoon.  Oh, and I have to add that the wet paper towels as masking works really well to protect the adjacent scenery.



DFF

[davefoxx]

Well, it's time to scratch an itch with some scratchbuilding.  I need to build the highway bridge over the tracks on the route heading north out of Aberdeen (truthfully, the overpass is south of town, but whatever).  Not much to see yet, but gotta start somewhere!



Looking at this photo, I must remember to paint and ballast that track before planting the bridge.  Anyhow, some of you may remember this remnant of a similar bridge that I built in N scale for the Seaboard Central 2.0.  It's time to build the same thing in HO scale.  I'm cheating by reverse engineering this bridge, since I can see how I built it last time and pretty much just double the dimensions of the materials (give or take an inch or two, depending on the size of strip styrene).



Here's a sampling of photos of a prototype, which is a bridge very near to where I used to live in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  This shows some of the details of the construction, which I am posting here for reference.  Google Maps shows that bridge being replaced in aerial shots, so I don't know how long these photos will remain:







DFF

[Point353]

https://bridgehunter.com/nc/montgomery/bh43195/

[davefoxx]

Thanks for that link to bridgehunter.com.  Excellent resource.  I’ve seen that style of bridge, too.  The RIX older style highway bridge would be a good stand-in for that bridge.  I want to build the style I showed, though, because it screams Carolina to me.  I’ve also never seen it modeled much, if at all.  I can recognize a RIX bridge from fifty feet. 

DFF

[wm3798]

Do you still have the measurements I took for You?
And do you have plans for that N scale span?  I was just setting out to build a highway span for the retro rig...
Lee

[davefoxx]

Do you still have the measurements I took for You?
And do you have plans for that N scale span?  I was just setting out to build a highway span for the retro rig...
Lee

I know those measurements are around here somewhere, but I couldn’t find them.  But, reverse engineering the N scale bridge is working fine.

I’ll have to talk to Aly, because it has been on her layout.  But, coincidentally, last week I convinced her to remove it, because I had painted myself into a corner.  It wasn’t working out, so I came with an alternative that eliminates the bridge.  If she doesn’t object, you can have it.

DFF

[davefoxx]

A good day’s efforts achieved this:



I love working with a foam scenery base.  It was cake to start hacking at the hills, to allow the bridge to fit.  Terraforming, once the bridge is finished, will fill in the gaps and fix any scars.

What remains are (1) the concrete pads under the bridge that run from the abutments at the ends down the slope to the pilings and prevent erosion and (2) the railings.  Please excuse the crooked pilings, because they are only press fit into the holes under the piling cap.  They’ll get glued in as I figure out those concrete pads.

DFF

[davefoxx]

Do you still have the measurements I took for You?
And do you have plans for that N scale span?  I was just setting out to build a highway span for the retro rig...
Lee

@wm3798,

The N scale bridge is yours!  Aly said you can have it and to tell you, “Merry Christmas!”  Let me hang on to it until my bridge is a little farther along, in case I need to refer to it.  Give me a week or two and you can have it.

DFF

[Chris333]

Did you use the On30 to check the clearance Clarence?

[davefoxx]

Did you use the On30 to check the clearance Clarence?

Haha!  I was thinking about you earlier.  The On30 is in its box, but I’m guessing it no longer makes it.  That said, the bridge isn’t even close to permanent installation, and I hope to start the On30 layout before the New Year.

DFF

[wm3798]

@wm3798,
Wonderful news!  Please give Aly my kindest regards.
I will look forward to seeing how it fits!

The N scale bridge is yours!  Aly said you can have it and to tell you, “Merry Christmas!”  Let me hang on to it until my bridge is a little farther along, in case I need to refer to it.  Give me a week or two and you can have it.

DFF

[davefoxx]

So, here is where I ended up Sunday night.  The piles have been glued into the piling caps and were reasonably straight and pretty solid this morning.  They'll need to be sturdy, as I have to cut them off to fit a base under them.    I also whittled a little more of the hill away for that base.  Why is it that almost every bridge that I build has to be skewed? 



Here's the clearance, Clarence.  HO is no problem, On30 is doubtful.



Finally, here's how the highway bridge will be visible from the Southern Pines side of the layout behind the trestle scene.  I like that it is visible, since it will be a lot of work to build those railings and, for this reason, the bridge should be seen.  Otherwise, it would be buried on the far side of the layout about as far from the entry door of the room as it gets.



DFF

[wm3798]

It's good to have hidden gems, tho.