Here is a new bridge for my branch line. I started with a 24” long Howe Truss Bridge kit from Smith Pond Junction and added their 12” extension kit to the center. Overall dimensions are 10½" wide x 37" long x 11" tall. Inside dimensions are 7" wide between the inside truss rods and 9½" from top of the track stringers to the bottom of the cross beams. List price is $97.99 for the basic bridge kit and $57.99 for the 12” expansion kit.
The kit included full size assembly drawings, pre-cut / pre-drilled red cedar components, and threaded brass rods, washers and nuts. I dipped the wood parts in Thompson’s Water Seal® semi-transparent Acorn Brown waterproofing stain and wiped off the excess with a rag. I cleaned the brass parts with warm soapy water and weathered them with a brass darkening solution.
No bridge ties were included in the kit. It is designed so that the user can place commercial track directly on the stringers. I cut sixty-two 6½” long bridge ties from ⅜” square cedar and added scale 4” x 8” guard timbers along the outer edges. The running rails and guard rails are Code 215 aluminum hand-spiked to the ties with ⅜” steel spikes. (Note: I build all of my bridges with the guard rails outside of the running rails.)
I used a Grex pneumatic pin nailer to assemble the guard timbers, ties, stringers, and lower cross beams with ¾” long 23 gauge pin nails. All other wood components were assembled with the threaded brass rods, washers and nuts provided in the kit.
Total time involved, including cutting the ties, staining the wood, weathering the brass, hand-spiking the rail, and assembly was approximately six hours.
Bob
