# Building a Bridge in my Garage



## SnowHunter (Jan 21, 2013)

I started this project a few days ago. I'm new into the G Scale world. I decided to build this 1 foot wide 8 foot long wooden box style trestle. It’s not prototypical.....I wanted to save some money and see what everyone thought about it so far. I'm asking for opinions so hit me up lol.










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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Nice looking bridge.....Interesting Hardware great idea....What are the ammo cans doing in the last picture? 


JJ


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## SnowHunter (Jan 21, 2013)

Thanks...........................Oh they are keeping one side down as there was a twist in the wood!! I used mending braces from lowes to make gussets and join the wood together. The lumber is 1 x 2 x 8 Spruce-Pine Furring Strip from lowes. I tried to find the straighest ones. I think I will use picture wire and some eyelet screws to string cabels. I hope to have it completed tommarow as it has taken 2 days so far.







I thought I would take a crack at it. I'm no carpenter but I think it will work.


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## chuckger (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Snowhunter, 

Check the thread Finely got it going by Robby D, see if his bridge might give you some ideas. Your bridge looks good. 

Chuck


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## cape cod Todd (Jan 3, 2008)

Hello 
You have the start of a nice looking bridge there. I built a truss bridge a few years back about 4' long similar to yours and I put cross bracing on the sides and bottom to support the track then added a walkway. It is hard to tell by the photo but what is the height of your bridge? I had to build my to accept my tallest engine which is a Bachmann Shay with a baloon stack which is nearly 9" tall plus the track. for good measure I rounded the bridge off to 10". I like what yo have done but make sure your tallest train will fit in plus anything you might pickup in the future. You wouldn't want to have to remove or remodel your fine bridge. 
Do keep us updated with photos. 
Todd


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## SnowHunter (Jan 21, 2013)

Thanks Todd, Well today I finished the rest of the support beams thru out the bridge. Next will be the track support. I will add some more details to it aswell. It came out better than what I thought it would. I have posted some new pics below. Enjoy!!!



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## bicyclexc (Mar 31, 2010)

Looks great! Make sure you paint it nice and good if its going outside. Those pine strips won't last long with moisture.


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## SnowHunter (Jan 21, 2013)

Thanks, Yeah I was thnking about that when I was building it. I figured if I treat it real good stain it and then weather seal it... I could get a few years out of it. I might even dontate it to a local club here where I'm at. I just found out they are fairly new so that may work too. I finished putting pictue wire and eyelet screw on it to simulate cables. I also finished puting track support in place. My height is 9 inches and the diesel fits good. If I have to I can always modifiy the top braces. This was my first attempt at a bridge and I thought it would teach me some things. The wife is on vaction....so I been able to have my man cave time!!!!


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## Exile182 (Jan 26, 2013)

Thats a really nice bridge! Well done,


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## FlagstaffLGB (Jul 15, 2012)

Morning, realizing you aren't going for a proto-typical look, I would add a suggestion that you use construction grade #2 redwood. A typical 2x4, 8 feet long will run you about $8-9 each. If you carefully select them from your local Lowe's or Home Depot lumber bins, you can get one or two with very straight grains and mostly reddish coloring. The redwood will do much better outside and the straight grain will probably minimize the warping over time. You will also find that if you use more smaller sections that the bridge is lighter and stronger...of course the trade off is that it takes longer to build. I build a lot of my bridges by making an under frame of primed (pre painted) pine 1x material and use some I beam or box construction for the overall strenght. Then you can add lots of truss style rigging over and around it to give you that stand-off appearance of the proto type, without all the extra work. Maybe takes twice as long to build, but should last a long time. Oh yes, the 2x4 red wood is cut on a table saw with feather guides into scaled lumber....similar to 8x12, 4x6, 12x12, etc. I also like to stain it all in stripes first and let them air dry. You can quickly tell if a piece is coming to warp on you. Glue and a pin nailer makes the truss work go quickly. I'm sure this bridge you have built will give you lots of years of enjoyment. Have fun.


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## SnowHunter (Jan 21, 2013)

Thanks for the advice on the redwood. I will keep that in mind for future projects. I figured I would go the cheapest and it would cost me less for my mistakes. I like your bridge and I will eventually take the time and build something hopefully like that. Hopefully i will get to staining mine today sometime. Thanks for the postive input and feed back. much appreciated.


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## SnowHunter (Jan 21, 2013)

I would like to update this with my layout after months of work on and off I have my trains up and running on my small oval enjoy!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-drXn4_vdf0


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