A Great Start

Luis,

Welcome!  Looks like you are well on your way to a robust railfanning layout. As a fellow N scaler  I am always glad to see more good work in our scale.  Please post more photos as you get them.

Philip

I did enjoy it!  Good choice

I did enjoy it!  Good choice of railroad to model too!

 Hi all.  Thanks. Yesterday I

Hi all. 

Thanks.

Yesterday I have been finishing the card web on the left side. While I am waiting for a tunnel portal (I could scratch build one, but I don't want to), I will start building a curved trestle bridge for the left curve over the road.

I am going to follow Joe Fugate's directions to do it, but I am not sure about the correct size for the post, sway brace. I mean, what should I use?

Is the 1.5 x 1.5 mm (.060 x .060") good for the post and cap? And what about the Braces and everything else?

I am not afraid to get my hands on this, but all the info I get is through Books and DVD's and I never been to the USA...

Thanks.

Post and cap

Trestle post size is typically 12" and the cap is typically 12 x 14", with the 14" side being vertical.

In HO, I use 1/8" square styrene (0.125") which is slightly small, but close enough to look right. One old timers trick is to make all structures and bridges to 1/8" to the foot scale, which is 1:96 instead of 1:87.1 ... this puts the structures about 10% undersize and makes the trains "feel" more massive.

It's also sometimes easier to find dimensional materials and parts here in the US at 1/8" to-the-foot scale instead of exact HO scale. Point is, there's little harm in using 1:96 in some cases and in fact it actually adds something to the feel of the scene.

Hi Joe. Thank you so much for

Hi Joe.

Thank you so much for the input! I'll try to convert this into N scale!

It is always a pleasure to have a reply from a person I consider one of the BesT MR off all time!

Best regards from Portugal!

SP

Hi Luis,

don't forget that the SP let their equipment get really dirty over the years, and their track was not nesacerrly the best in the world. What year are you planning on modeling?

Some more work photos: All

Some more work photos:

All the cables are done!

Bridge abutments molds in place. Bridge will be built in Evergreen:

Tape was painted in dark brow. It was the paint I had at the moment!



For this side I am still waiting for the Tunnel Portal. I could scrtah build one, but I want one fist, then I'll start to scratch.



I hope you enjoy.

Cheers!

Looking good....

Looking good, but judging by the mountain shapes, you are going more dessert than forest. If so, the brown is just too dark

Yes that's true. I used this

Yes that's true. I used this color because it was what I had in my hand at moment. Because I am covering up the masking tape with a mix follwing Joe's tips on his DVD's, it is just for the paint to have a grip. 

I need to get a flat tan paint.

Thanks for the reminder! 

dessert images

Luis, I live near the old SP Sunset Route, and I plan to get some railfanning done soon, I might have images up soon on one of my photo accounts. It would be next week at the earliest since i wok nights and weekends

That would great, if could

That would great, if could point me then to your photos!

Thank you so much! 

Hi Evreyone.Today started to

Hi everyone.

Today started to build my Trestle Bridge using Joe Fugate awsome tips.

Started by tracing in a piece of paper the track, and marking the distance between the bents around 10 scale foot.

Also cuted some styrene sleeper suport and also some sleepers. Glued down one third of the bridge, using Tamiya's Extra Thin cement.

Started to build one bent to rest for the sleepers, using a plan I found using Google. Built a jig, and layed down the styrene.



Here is what I have done today.

The sleepers are not ligned up, but working in this scale and beeing my first scratchbuilding project, it is not easy, but I hope I can correct it.

Cheers!
 

 Hi all. Materials

Hi all.

Materials update:

Got the Tempera Powder Paints in Black, brown and Yellow, got the vermiculite, got the plaster, still need the cement and a flat paint.

I am close to start  applying the zip texture. Any thoughts or tips about it, besides the ones at DVD 4&5?

Cheers!

Materials

Hi Luis,

If by cement you mean the powder base material of concrete, portland cement, Joe has mentioned here on the forums that he no longer uses portland cement because of shrinkage issues.  He now substitutes black powder paint for color and leaves out the cement.

Ok, that's fine, but how many

Ok, that's fine, but how many parts of black?

I use ...

I use about 1/4 teaspoon of black powder per cup of plaster.

 Ok Joe, thank you so much.

Ok Joe, thank you so much.

Hello to all. Has posted

Hello to all.

Has posted here, I have been scratchbuilding my trestle.

My trestle in on a curve, a needs to go over a road. The thing is that I don't know what kind of structure do I need to add to my trestle.

I have been seeking for info, and I think that I could do something like Joe Fugate's Slater Creek Trestle, but I don't know sizes and stuff, for N scale.

I am sorry for making some dumb questions, but I need to have a good US look on my layout. I don't like portuguese models, I am tired of the European theme, and the US scene has been always in my heart. 

Can anyone help me?

Thanks.

Trestles

Hello Luis.

I model HO, but the scale measurements would be the same. A quick search of Google using "railway trestles" will give you lots of sites with pictures of wooden and metal trestles.

As a guide you can use the following measurements for dimensional wooden trestle. All measurements are in inches unless otherwise indicated..

Bulkhead planks 12x12

Piles 18x18

Sway braces and horizontal girts 6x12

Bent cap 12x12

Stringers 18x36

Ties 10 feet long minimum

Guard timbers 12x12

These are the basic measurements for a simple trestle. If you need to have a trestle that is higher than what could be cut from one tree for a pile, then things get a little more complicated. As for the trestle deck, the radius of the curve will determine the angle of the cut at each bent. I have HO templates, but no measurements for this. Most trestles that had to span a gap longer than the distance between bents used a deck girder truss. I suspect that the above pile and sway brace measurements would make a strong deck girder if that's what you had in mind. If you're thinking of a truss type bridge, I'm afraid I don't have the measurements for that.

This link will take you to several videos and stills of Shamusy's railroads that have excellent examples of different trestles that spanned roads and railways. http://www.badger-creek.co.uk/

I hope this helps.

Roy

Hello. Thank you for the

Hello.

Thank you for the answer.

Perhaps, I wasn't clear enough placing my doubts.

I have those measurements. My doubt is about how should I built it over the road. It is hard for to build something I don't know how it works. That's why I thinking about the trestle that Joe has on the Slalter Creek at the Coos Bay branch.

I hope some day to pay a visit to the US! That would clearly help me out!.

Modern Times

Luis,

in modern times, I think most engineers would span the road with a bridge section, and have the trestle continue on either side.

I'm no expert, but I don't think the wooden structure can support a wide strech without collapsing under the weight of modern railroad equipment.

That having been said, you've done a great job, and I think you should finish it. At the very least, it will be a great learning experience.

Here's a quick shot of how it could look. (linked without permission from JV models).  Just imagine your road under that span.

Scarpia, that's what I have

Scarpia, that's what I have in mind. I agree with you -I think that the wood would collapse.

I am thinking something more like this:

I will be using a bridge section, supported by two bents, just like Joe has done here.

I hope he doesn't mind me using his photo here.

Cheers!

for the sensible people that use metric....

1 teaspoon=5ml

1cup=240ml

Metric makes soooooo much sence,I wish that we were on the  Metric system

If you say so...

Living in a country that adopted the metric system, I can say it's a huge PITA!

Now we have 4' X 8' sheets of 10mm plywood.  My 3/8" drive ratchet accepts 12mm sockets and package sizes are 454 grams because that's a pound!

Oddly enough, 2 X 4's are still 1-5/8" X 3-5/8" and studs are 92=5/8" inches long...go figure.

By the way, a cup is actually 250ml.

I agree the Metric system is logical but converting from imperial measures to Metric was not very logical IMO!