# putting in bridges after the fact



## MrDuane (Oct 21, 2011)

so, how hard is it once I have my road bed in, and my track on top, to carve out a ravine beneath it and put in a wooden bridge? or should I have that done first?


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

MrDuane said:


> so, how hard is it once I have my road bed in, and my track on top, to carve out a ravine beneath it and put in a wooden bridge? or should I have that done first?



Take up the track and add the bridge & ravine.
Yes it would have been better to do it first as you were laying the track.

With a little demolition it should not be that hard to add.

You can try it with the track in place.


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## sawgunner (Mar 3, 2012)

all depends on how your track and roadbed are down. i have my latexed down so with a steady pull up it all comes and doesn't hurt anything


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## MrDuane (Oct 21, 2011)

> With a little demolition it should not be that hard to add.


cool, plenty of TNT in the mining shack.


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## MrDuane (Oct 21, 2011)

so, is it best to lay the track and fit the bridge underneath it? or is the bridge/track a unit that I have to splice in?


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Do you have the bridges yet?
Are you building them?

If you have some what are they Pony truss?

I would work the bridge in then set the rail on to it.

What is going under the bridge? Water?
It might be better to do some more work under the bridge before you install the bridge.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

You never place the cart before the horse. So the track comes after. It is marked first so you can say it is first but is installed after the bridge. Plan first.
Interesting question. It is always best to lay out the track so you see how it all works together. From there you build up.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Check out some of these bridges, David is a member here.

http://www.bonanza.com/booths/David_Stockwell

He will build to your dimensions, maybe two of these there would be nice, $75 bucks shipped.
Check out his other bridges too.

Tell him big ed sent you.


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## MrDuane (Oct 21, 2011)

oh, lots of work to be done. I was going rocky gorge with a stream, and a small rapids or waterfall for a small drop. I don't have a bridge yet, man, David can sure build them. aye carumba, still carving and mtn building at the moment, getting the lay of the land. feels good so far, I was unsure of this end till i put knife to foam, er, spade to dirt. unsure weither it's a pony truss or the one with everything down below it, it's pre diesel era, so no metal.


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

More than one way to do this in fact and all are good in my mind.It is dictated by working method,set goals and priorities.Working with foam,however,removes the emergency to build bridges right away.

I'm actually building my layout and I'm not installing a single bridge for the moment.The tracks will be supported with foam on their entire lengths with carved openings where tracks will cross another one.My primary reason is to have trains rolling a.s.a.p. and when bridges get installed I'll have a very precise idea wich model and size will fit best.My bridges will be trestles that need to be custom fit...no two alike.


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

I laid the track first and then cut-out the sections for the bridges. Here's a good example

Before:




















After:


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## MrDuane (Oct 21, 2011)

yes, trains rolling a.s.a.p. , however, grandson came over today, he liked the huge G scale battery operated run on floor way better, lol, but he did like the layout so far. just not as much as hands on. ^_^


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## Carl (Feb 19, 2012)

Not a major problem (also not a bad idea to lay the track to get a n idea of where to place the trestle and how it might look). After everything is to you liking, cut the track where the trestle will be (maybe 2 to 3 inches longer on each end), set the trestle, place the track on top of trestle. With some track cutting, you can make the track hole by using those small little track joiners (may have to cut a few ties free of the track for the joiner to move between the track sections).

Hope this helps.


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## joed2323 (Oct 17, 2010)

I actually did the same thing brakeman jake and sstlaure did. I put the track down got my trains running around the main line and now im cutting out sections for where i want my bridges to go. Im also carving out/cutting foam or plywood for where my river will flow at. 

This way seemed easier to know where my track will be positioned before i started cutting holes. Nothing a dremel cant handle. Im just gonna cut out the section where my bridge will go. They make all different length bridges so im just gonna find one i like thats close to what i need and i can modify the bridge if need be or vice versa.


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## waltr (Aug 15, 2011)

I am also forming the foam for the grade and putting down the sub-roadbed and track before carving the gorge. My rational is to ensure the track on each side of the bridge will line up in both direction and grade (and to get trains running since my bridges will be custom built). I will lay the roadbed, ties and spike track across where the bridges will be. Later I'll carve the gorge which will then determine exactly where the bridge ends will be. Once the bridge is built I'll just cut out the un-need section of track to install the bridge.


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