ATSF Los Angeles Division, circa 1949

[Cajonpassfan]

Had some HO friends run some trains, and fun was had by all.
Not exactly an ops session yet, but one has to start somewhere, right?
I really enjoy showing off N scale to the hard core HO guys😁
Fun for all,
Otto K. 

[Cajonpassfan]

Well, bump, it’s been a very busy year. Two of our kids’ destination weddings, and lots of travels all over. Fun stuff, but the layout has taken a back seat for a bit. Focusing on wiring, installing Tortoises and accessory decoders, signal lines and unfortunately, the actual visible modeling, the stuff I love, has been at a virtual stop. Recently I decided to tackle Cajon station area scenery, bridges etc., and dug up research materials, photos and  plans. First up, the highway (two-lane Route 66) adjacent to the tracks and its bridge at M.P. 63, pic below.
To be continued, soon I hope.
Otto K.

[Cajonpassfan]

It turns out the Rix Railings kit is a good start for this bridge. I cut and spliced pieces of it to yield 13 arches between spans to give me a 56’ long, three span highway bridge. It is a foreground model, just inside the fascia, so I want it to look right. Getting there I think...
Otto K.

[jagged ben]

Looking good as usual.

[Cajonpassfan]

Thank you! We’re doing family stuff over the holiday, but can’t wait to get back to it. I’m so tired of wiring and layout infrastructure stuff, I feels good to actually build something😎
Otto

[Cajonpassfan]

Well, it seems that before I can finish the highway bridge abutments and piers, I need to tackle the 60’ long two-span, four track bridge next to it to get things correctly proportioned. On the layout, the bridges are much closer together than in real life and that impacts their relative elevations. Fortunately, I have good pics I took years ago and also have basic dimensions from ATSF bridge and track charts to work with.
So here’s the start. Styrene is my friend.
Otto

[C855B]

... pics I took years ago ...

Quite a few, at that. '80s? '90s, maybe?

Spent many hours parked in the cul-de-sac on that rise at the top left in the second picture.

[Cajonpassfan]

Yea, 80’s, 90’s...surprised we didn’t run into each other. Or maybe we did...
So the ATSF bridge walkway standards show 4x6 risers, 2x6 rails; the diagonal bracing looks like the same size as the rails. .020x.040 risers and .010x.040 are the closest available. The two by’s might be a bit fragile, but look good. Here we go...

[Cajonpassfan]

Voila, that was easy!
Styrene is my friend. I like the way it looks, just hope the railings are sturdy enough
Now I need some abutments and piers to support the bridges...
Otto

[SAH]

Love it.  Building the old fashioned way:  One stick of styrene at a time.     Looks great.

[Cajonpassfan]

Lol. Thanks! More sticks, balsa and basswood this time.
And some paint and “wooden” plank walkways.

[Cajonpassfan]

Well, a little bit of progress on the four track bridge. Finished and installed the center pier and abutments, and figured out the placement of the adjacent Route 66 bridge. Proto and model pics below, including one from under the highway bridge...
Otto

[Cajonpassfan]

Well,  a Happy and Healthy 2020 guys! Especially the healthy part😬
Nothing particularly sexy to report, but I did work on lower Cajon sidings and surrounding (cardboard) scenery over the holidays. The challenge is to install a readily removable fascia on the upper (Cajon) deck to allow convenient access to LA staging 27” below, see pics.
I found some 1/8” styrene material that bends easily and anchored it in plastic “tile trim” pieces, see pics. A bit loose, but it should work, with maybe a screw or two. So the saga continues...
Otto K.

[GaryHinshaw]

Nice.  Where did you source the plastic?  That looks like it would be useful as a substrate for some of my standoff backdrop sections.  Is it more flexible that 1/8 hardboard?

[Cajonpassfan]

Thanks, Gary. I found it and other types of styrene at a local plastics supplier called S&W Pastics, in Riverside, CA. They had a lot of   pieces in piles for cheap. I should have bought more...I think they maybe be out of business.
And yes, the 1/8” styrene sheet is quite flexible and easy to cut.
Otto