When we first expanded the railroad from the original section to the train shed all the bridges were simply track on pressure treated lumber.,
Over the years we have gradually gone back and replaced the pressure treated bridges with actual model bridges…
Deb and I both liked the bridge at Glacier on the WP&YR so this year’s bridge replacement was based on this bridge.
Stan
Before
After
Very nice interpretation Stan, looks great in place.
Fantastic rennovation!
Very nice Stan … great looking bridge…
Very nice. Looks much better
This is absolutely stunning! What materials did you use and how did you achieve that level of detailing? I’d love to be able to add one half so nice to my new layout.
Looks great Stan well done
Very nice looking! The mockup is also great!
Are you going to share any secrets? How did it do after a year and a month?
Sorry for the delay. We are dealing with an asian jumping works infestation. Collected over15 gallons of worms to date.
Many of our bridges are designed from plans or photographs to resemble various actual narrow gauge bridges. This one is based on the bridge at Glacier on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad. Our bridge is not as high, a couple bays shorter and a tighter curve then the prototype but still a good representation.
The center span is steel and was custom built by Mainline Bridges. They are very slow but they build great bridges at a reasonable price and they enjoy building different bridges. The bents and ties are redwood.
Once we received the steel section we reworked the area the bridge was going into. This involved rebuilding some the rock walls and opening up the entire area.
For all our bridges we always hand lay the rails on the ties. We do this by soldering brass tieplates to the underside of the rails every about 8 or so ties, These are then screwed onto the ties. Normal tie plates are used for all other ties.
All the bents are built using jigs and once they are all built, the bridge is put in place and held up by wooden blocks. We then dig holes under the bents and fill these holes with concrete. Several of these holes go below the frost line.
The final step is to cast the visible pier supports usind non shrinking grout. Keeping the wood bents off the ground helps prevent rot.
Once the bridge is totally in place we do the final landscaping and planting.
Stan
Ack!
According to a video I watched, the best way to get rid of them is to summon a demon so he can bring them to the depths of hell!
(Apparently, you can eliminate them by putting them in the sun in a plastic bag - they say 10 minutes is enough to kill them, but I am thinking more like ten hours - sheesh!).
I’ve not heard of these worms before. We have had an unusually wet summer here and my back yard is loaded with worm castings (poop). I’ll need to take a look and see if I can identify the worms. I often see earthworms when working in the yard, but didn’t know there was an invasive species to be on the lookout for.
I’ve been battling an invasive vine that is taking over the trees. I’m able to eliminate it from my yard, but the neighbors don’t care and it roots in their yard and climbs into the trees on my side of the line 
I’m a big fan of Roundup (spray to kill!) for just about everything… 
OK, this is some serious thread drift. I guess it’s OK on a year old thread!
I use a similar but cheaper product: Spectracide for weeds, but these vines are immune to anything but cutting them at the ground.
Maybe Agent Orange would do it.
Highly recommended around here
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Me too! Freaky! Eewww!
Thanks for taking the time to respond Stan. That is quite the robust process and it certainly shows! I’ve seen a few Mainline examples in my searches for great, realistic bridges, and everything they’ve done looks top notch. Good advice on bents and rail laying.
Your photo, in particular, caught my eye as my visit to Skagway with my young family earlier this year is what inspired me to add a layout to our small back garden in the first place!
Best,
Ryan
