# Modular railway comprised of model bridges, does it make sense?



## BigRedOne (Dec 13, 2012)

Hi everyone, I'm curious about any thoughts / opinions / recommendations about this idea.

After weighing the pros and cons of different methods of building a railway suited to live steam, I'm leaning toward something modular (meaning, intended to be disassembled and portable.) This way I can put it outside, in my basement, or even take it to a show. The portability requirement is each section is readily moved by one person, can be moved through normal household doorways and stairs, and a complete oval can be carried in an eight-foot pickup bed.

I could build the simple tables usually seen, but I thought a variety of bridges was a viable alternative, which would offer a reasonable facsimile of real railway bridges ... and give me a project I could start on during the cold months. I have a lot of 3/4" thick dimensional pine left over from my old HO table, which I plan to use to build a wood trestle-style bridge. I'm building a dual track railway, and I can manage about 16' diameter (8' radius) inner loop before it won't fit in my basement.

Below is a quick sketch of one bent. (Ignore the "layering," this was done in Excel.) I cut some 1/4" x 3/4" today, for the cross braces, and plan to cut 1/2" x 3/4" for the legs this weekend; I assume this is sufficiently strong even for the heavier models. Assembly will be nuts and bolts. (I know pine is not good for outdoor use, but I have it and want to prove the idea and develop the jig prior to buying materials.)

I'm thinking to build the bents at 38", yielding a rail height of about 42" with some type of foundation (like a landscape stone.) Track centerline spacing is 8". I'm leaning toward a Roundhouse locomotive personally, but I do want to be able for others to operate on my railway, including long 1:32 models, and 7/8" scale models. I'd like the overall visual impact of the bridges to plausibly fit this range of scales, at least to a non-expert's eye.

In the picture, each square is 3/4". The rails are oversized so they're visible; I've since increased the height, and added some width to increase the track spacing. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/42668...a75117777e" height="1451" width="800"&#160 frameborder="0" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen>


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

(Couldn't make any sense out of your picture url.) But maybe you mean like this?












http://www.eaglewingsironcraft.com/...oducts.php


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## BigRedOne (Dec 13, 2012)

Yes, that's very much what I have in mind. Thanks, Pete.


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## BigRedOne (Dec 13, 2012)

Here's the first bent trial fit together. It's 38" tall. 

That T-square in the background is a drywall square, available at Lowe's and I find it quite useful in model railways.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

I'm thinking to build the bents at 38", 
Don't forget to make them adjustable - you'd be amazed how uneven the average flat floor really is!


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## BigRedOne (Dec 13, 2012)

Lol, I've done enough home remodeling to appreciate that there isn't a single flat surface, square corner, or plumb wall anywhere in my house! 

I did recognize the need for adjustability, since I want to be able to set it up outdoors. Still not sure whether I'll use threaded feet or shims. Outdoors I'm thinking of sinking some landscape stones deep enough to just run over them with the lawn mower and leaving them in place. Settling will still be a problem. 

But, one step at a time. At least with this project, I'm accomplishing something! I couldn't find proper hardware at Lowe's, so I ordered from McMaster-Carr today. 

To make one full circle of 12' minimum radius with bents on 16" centers (measured at the OD) calls for 62 bents. That's 248 legs, 744 bracing timbers, and 1,116 bolts! Not sure I want to build a whole circle, since I want at least a stone arch too. 

Probably best to build a jig for drilling, so that's the project for this weekend.


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

I have tried searching online for this club without too much success. There is a group that operates a sectional layout at ECLSTS, calling themselves the Potomac Valley Club. As a sort of pun to their club initials (PVC) they have some relatively lengthy sections that are constructed entirely from PVC pipe. The club has made very clever use of the various PVC elbows and junctions to construct some neat bridges.

Anyway, thought I would mention their efforts as another idea for you. The PVC sections appear to be quite strong, but lightwieght as well.

Yours,
David Meashey


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## BigRedOne (Dec 13, 2012)

So far I've constructed five bents, with lumber cut for three more. I need to order more hardware. 

Visually I think they look a bit "oversize," but they seem to be strong and rigid. 

I should probably paint or stain it, a darker color would look more realistic.


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## neals645 (Apr 7, 2008)

Hey, Big Red, 

Just getting caught up with the forum. I like what you have so far. Things to think about: 

Having transported lots of wood trestles and bridges from home to our club layout, they tend to take up more truck bed space than you'd think, and they're pretty fragile... 

Speaking of fragile, if you do take it to a show, you can guarantee little kids will kick the bents (most of them by accident). 

Watch out for those knots - besides being weak points, they also tend to have a bend in the wood.


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## BigRedOne (Dec 13, 2012)

Thanks. I did lose a number of beams due to knots. I'm focusing on working quickly with material on hand, and trying to retain flexibility to accommodate the inevitable trial and error of learning what works well for large scale. Everything is bolted together, so replacing a timber is easy. 

I plan to assemble pairs of bents into rectangular units 16" long with cross-bracing. These become components which would need to be transported. Eight bents are built so far. 

It's been too cold to work in the garage, so I've spent the past three weeks clearing the basement and playing around with track plans. It's a work in progress, but I'm headed toward a plan with one R5 minimum loop and no grades, as well as additional R3 loop(s), and switching areas. All of the modular portions will be dual track R5 minimum, though I'd like to get to 12 foot radius if I can.


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## neals645 (Apr 7, 2008)

Nice to have that basement space and ways to keep making progress while it's cold outside. Keep us all posted!


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