# Source for bridges



## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

I'm searching for a domestic source (U.S.) for N scale bridges that are relatively long. I'm looking to span a river that will be at least 10" wide with rail beds along both sides of the river... So total span of about 16 inches.

I see a lot of options from Faller, but everything I find for sale is in Europe with huge shipping costs to get it over the Atlantic. I could fabricate one, but would rather buy a kit.

Anyone have a source you can point me toward?


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Shipping from Modellbahn Shop-Lippe is flat rate
€27,99. Takes 4-5 days to your doorstep. UPS Global Express Saver.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

He said he wanted U.S. sources.....


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Doesn't sound like the US offers very much or he would not have mentioned Europe.


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

I can find a lot of nice long bridges from Faller and Walthers that are in stock over in Europe, but by the time you add in shipping to the U.S., it doubles the cost. I'm trying to find a US based source to save shipping costs.


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

Atlas N Scale Structures | N Scale Model Trains | Fifer Hobby Supply


Atlas Code 55 Single Track Truss Bridge Kit CD 55 Black Part # ATL-2070 $21.99 Click to order Atlas Code 55 Single Track Truss Bridge Kit CD 55 Silver (Black pictured) Part # ATL-2071 $19.99 Click to order Atlas Code 55 Single Track Bridge Part # ATL-2080 […]




www.fiferhobby.com





a friend from another forum....


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

MichaelE said:


> Doesn't sound like the US offers very much or he would not have mentioned Europe.


Well, from his first words....


> I'm searching for a domestic source (U.S.) for N scale bridges


He only mentioned Europe to complain about the high shipping costs from there....


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## Mixed Freight (Aug 31, 2019)

Hi JeffHurl. Some bridges on an unfinished portion of my N-scale layout....................















From front to back, in both pictures:
1. Walthers Double-Track Truss Bridge (Made in America?).
2. Central Valley Single-Track 150' Truss Bridge (Made in America).
3. Atlas Single-Track Truss Bridge (Made in China).

For longer spans than the bridge itself, you'll need to do what the real railroads do - use multiple spans of various types of bridges sitting on concrete bridge piers and bridge abutments.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

JeffHurl said:


> I'm searching for a domestic source (U.S.) for N scale bridges that are relatively long. I'm looking to span a river that will be at least 10" wide with rail beds along both sides of the river... So total span of about 16 inches.
> 
> I see a lot of options from Faller, but everything I find for sale is in Europe with huge shipping costs to get it over the Atlantic. I could fabricate one, but would rather buy a kit.
> 
> Anyone have a source you can point me toward?


There are dozens of kits out there in N scale, all sold by US sources (Hobbylink, Walthers, Modeltrainstuff, Trainworld). So I must be missing something here. Are you saying you're only interested in ones that are actually MADE in the US? Good luck with that.

Or is it that what you can't find is a bridge with a sufficiently long span? Real railroads generally avoid long spans because of the weight limits. Put a pier or two down in the middle of the span, and joint two shorter kits together, just like a real railroad would do.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Old_Hobo said:


> Well, from his first words....
> 
> He only mentioned Europe to complain about the high shipping costs from there....


He wouldn't have mentioned Europe at all if what he could find was here.


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

I like this Faller bridge, but can't find it already in the U.S.








It is 16" in length. I would like to join 2 kits to span about 3 feet.


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

Ok, I ended up buying 2of those Faller bridge kits from a source in the U.K. with a total landed cost of right around $70USD.

Earlier today, they showed not available. Just a few minutes ago there were 2 available so I snatched them up. Hopefully it all works out.


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

JeffHurl said:


> I like this Faller bridge, but can't find it already in the U.S.
> View attachment 559916
> 
> It is 16" in length. I would like to join 2 kits to span about 3 feet.


Ironically, Atlas used to make that....


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

Are the Kato bridges only used with their Unitrack?

Looks like they are the same lengths as the regular straight pieces and already have track in them. Their Truss bridges seem to be everywhere, but will they work with Peco Flex track?


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

JeffHurl said:


> I'm searching for a domestic source (U.S.) for N scale bridges that are relatively long. I'm looking to span a river that will be at least 10" wide with rail beds along both sides of the river... So total span of about 16 inches.
> 
> I see a lot of options from Faller, but everything I find for sale is in Europe with huge shipping costs to get it over the Atlantic. I could fabricate one, but would rather buy a kit.
> 
> Anyone have a source you can point me toward?


JeffHurl;

One solution that real railroads use to cross a wide gap is a steel trestle. (see photo 1) This is normally used when the gap to be crossed is both wide, and high.
For a bridge lower down, a series of deck girder bridges, or truss bridges, or a combination of both, may be used.
Photo 2 shows several deck girder bridges, two of which, in combination with an intermediate supporting pier, are used to carry the rear, longer, curved track over the river. This is a small, simple, example of the multiple spans on piers idea that CTValley suggested.

The deck girder bridges in these photos are on my N-scale layout. The actual model kits are sold by Micro Engineering, a US company. The trestle is also made by Micro Engineering. They call it a "steel viaduct" and they make N-scale, and HO-scale, versions.

My own trestle is heavily "kitbashed" with several N-scale deck girder bridges atop some
HO-scale towers. The reason I used the HO towers is that they have the cross-laced box girder detail, which I wanted, since it was used on my favorite prototype railroad, the Milwaukee Road. That railroad crossed five mountain ranges along it's pacific extension, and had dozens of such trestles. I modified the towers to get the HO components closer to N-scale. I also cut out the horizontal bracing, since the Milwaukee used only diagonal bracing on their trestles.

Another American company, Central Valley, makes beautiful models of steel truss bridges in HO and N-scales. These Micro Engineering, and Central Valley, bridge kits are based on the two most common prototype bridge types used in North America. They would be right at home on any layout set in any time period from the early 20th century, right up to today.

It's also possible (and fun) to scratchbuild bridges. The third photo shows a wooden deck truss bridge that I scratchbuilt using basswood & brass rod. The plan was in an old Kalmbach book called "Bridges & Buildings for Model Railroads."
Notice that this bridge carries automobiles over a railroad, not the other way around. Such a wooden truss bridge would not normally be used to carry a railroad track. It would not handle the massive weight of most 20th century trains. Wood bridges, of various types, and sizes, were commonly used on early railroads, when the locomotives, and cars, were much lighter.
Low wood trestles can still be seen in use today though. They are often used as approach spans for steel bridges that cross a very wide waterway. A wood, pile driven, trestle is often the bridge type of choice for crossing swampy, shallow water.

The fourth photo shows a small wood frame trestle used to unload coal from hopper cars. The deck truss span incorporated in this structure, lets trucks pass beneath on a driveway. This is another scratchbuilt structure made of basswood, & based on plans published in Model Railroader Magazine.

If you would like to learn more about railroad bridges, both prototype & model, there are several good books on the subject available from Kalmbach Publishing, and Amazon.

Good Hunting; & Have Fun; Please post a photo of your bridge when you can.

Traction Fan 🙂


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## Steve Rothstein (Jan 1, 2021)

JeffHurl said:


> Are the Kato bridges only used with their Unitrack?
> 
> Looks like they are the same lengths as the regular straight pieces and already have track in them. Their Truss bridges seem to be everywhere, but will they work with Peco Flex track?


Kato bridges come with their unitrack built in. But they do sell adapter pieces to end the unitrack and allow you to join flex track to it. You can also modify the end of the unitrack to go right against the flex track and its roadbed.

One of the neat things I like on the Kato bridges is that their double track truss bridge comes with a piece that snaps into place to join two bridges into one longer bridge. You would need to buy a pier set to go with it for support, but you can make them look as long as you want that way. I do not remember if the single truss bridge also has that peice.


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## Mixed Freight (Aug 31, 2019)

shaygetz said:


> Ironically, Atlas used to make that....


Hmmm, I didn't know that.

But even so, I'm not surprised. Atlas has probably sold every train manufacturer's products in their (Atlas's) own packaging at one time or another in the past.


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## kflorian (Dec 6, 2019)

CTValleyRR said:


> ,,,Put a pier or two down in the middle of the span, and joint two shorter kits together, just like a real railroad would do.


Here’s a video made by an active engineer showing exactly what CT’ describes.


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## Railtunes (Jun 19, 2012)

JeffHurl said:


> Are the Kato bridges only used with their Unitrack?
> 
> Looks like they are the same lengths as the regular straight pieces and already have track in them. Their Truss bridges seem to be everywhere, but will they work with Peco Flex track?


Yes, you can attach the Kato bridges to regular Peco code 80 or code 55 flextrack. The Kato bridges have code 80 rail installed, but the bridge track does not have the molded ballast on it that the other track sections have.
Simply remove the Kato Unijoiners and install a regular metal rail joiner on the Kato rails. Depending on whose joiners you use - e.g., Atlas or Peco, you may have a bit of a tight fit on the Kato rail base. Simply either spread the joiner a bit by sliding it onto a piece of Kato rail or file the Kato rail base sides a little to get the joiner to slide on.
You may find that there is a very slight difference in the rail hieight, but a few stokes with a file on the railhead at the joint will fix that easily enough!
The long Kato truss bridges are 248mm long (just under 10 inches) - same as their long straight track sections.
- Railtunes (Paul Ingraham)


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