# homemade scratch built bridge



## Artieiii

I just completed my scratch built truss bridge. 








I realize that the beams are not true to scale but they were the smallest wooden square rods available at my local Home Depot. It looks blue in the picture but it is really painted in dark grey primer. I built it large enough to handle loaded double stack container cars and 2 tracks wide. I used those free paint mixing sticks to make the support joiners then once glued on I sanded them thinner with my belt sander. It was glued together with Elmer's wood glue. I plan on using it for my ceiling train. Now I have to try my hand at adding some rust/weathering. 
-Art


----------



## lears2005

Looks good keep it up


----------



## Artieiii

It costs me about $7.00 in wood. The paint mixing sticks were free. I had the grey primer in the garage and already had the Elmer's glue. All told I spent about 6 hours of work. I saved the template so If I decide to make another I could do it in about 2 hours.


----------



## gunrunnerjohn

Looks great, I have a similar idea planned for one section of my ceiling train. I'll have to make it to accommodate dual O-scale tracks, so maybe the square rods at HD will be the right size for me.  If not, I have a table saw, band saw, and a router table to shape them.


----------



## Artieiii

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Looks great, I have a similar idea planned for one section of my ceiling train. I'll have to make it to accommodate dual O-scale tracks, so maybe the square rods at HD will be the right size for me.  If not, I have a table saw, band saw, and a router table to shape them.


Gunrunner 
Yes I think the size would be perfect for O scale. They are a tiny bit smaller than the bridge structure supports on my Lionel Bascule bridge. The wood structure is plenty strong. I bet it would hold 20-30 lbs. The tools I used were staple gun loaded with brad nails to hold the pieces together while gluing to my template board. I also have a chop saw used to make the 45 degree cuts. A dremel to round the supports and the belt sander to thin the support joiners.
-Art


----------



## gunrunnerjohn

Well, I'll probably consider something a bit more "robust" for the support, since several of my locomotives alone weigh about 8 pounds. I like a large margin of safety.


----------



## Massey

Nice looking bridge. I am thinking of doing a bridge on my ceiling layout as well but I was going to build a variation of a bridge I did for my room layout. Here is a pic.










Do you have enough cross braces underneath? That is the area I would get nervous about. The rest looks like it would hold up great.

Massey


----------



## Artieiii

Massey,
There are support gussets on all the cross supports at the base of the bridge. Plenty of gluing surface area. I guess I could add diagonal supports but it seems over engineered the way it is (the beams are about double the thickness they should be for HO scale). Thanks for the criticism, that's why i posted here.
-Art


----------



## Massey

I just remember seeing more supports under the bridges I see around here. Maybe I am seeing the structures that carry the rails and not acutal bridge supports.

Massey


----------



## Artieiii

Massey,
You are correct, there is no diagonal bracing on the top or the bottom. For my purposes, my original design will be plenty strong but for a "real" bridge it would defiantly have diagonal braces. I think I will need to add them as you suggested. Back to home depot for more wood (haha "more wood").
-Art


----------



## Big Ed

Artieiii said:


> Massey,
> You are correct, there is no diagonal bracing on the top or the bottom. For my purposes, my original design will be plenty strong but for a "real" bridge it would defiantly have diagonal braces. I think I will need to add them as you suggested. Back to home depot for more wood (haha "more wood").
> -Art



I save my chop sticks when I order Chinese food.

Besides mini paint stirrers they come in handy for projects. 

Though they are tapered I think you could cut them to make some nice support brackets. You don't need real thick pieces for them, a smaller size would look good.


You feel like Chinese food? Just make sure they give you extra chop sticks. I always get extra's price free.:thumbsup:


----------



## Artieiii

*More supports*



Massey said:


> I just remember seeing more supports under the bridges I see around here. Maybe I am seeing the structures that carry the rails and not acutal bridge supports.
> 
> Massey











Massey,
Ok I took your suggestion. Here is the bridge version 2.0  LOL
-Art


----------



## Massey

That looks more like what I see. Personally I like the top open but the bottom braced. either way it looks good! Now lets see it on the ceiling with some trains on it.

Massey


----------



## tjcruiser

Art,

Very nice job on the truss bridge. Your proportions of the trusses / triangle / etc all look very realistic. It'll be fun to see that thing with 2 track and trains running side by side.

(Massey -- Good call on the cross-bracing.)

TJ


----------



## Artieiii

TJ,
With the success of my truss bridge, I started working on a container crane. I am modeling it after the Heljan crane (http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-89001)
It won't need to be too detailed because it will sit on my ceiling shelf and not completely visible from ground level.
-Art


----------



## Massey

Walthers used to offer a Mi-Jack crane that was very similar to that one. ALOT cheaper tho I think I bought 2 of them for $50.

Massey


----------



## Artieiii

Massey,
I was going to buy one of those Walther's Mi Jack's but I figured I would try my hand at scratch building one first. Walther's still makes them, in fact they are on sale for about $25. I have plenty of wood scraps in my basement. I should be able to do it for the price of a can of spray paint.

Thanks for the words of encouragement.
-Art


----------



## Artieiii

Last night I decided to add lights to my truss bridge. I used these bulbs from Radio Shack and wired them in parallel. The wires are hidden on the top of the bridge supports and will be hidden on my planned shelf layout. These bulbs are incadescents but they are rated for 10,000 hours. My plan is to run them from and old Bachmann power pack I have from my son's old cheap christmas train like this one:







. I plan to wire it to the variable power side of the controller so I can turn the power down to preserve the bulb life. I'll take some pix when I get done with work today. This should be a nice addition to my shelf layout.
-Art


----------



## tjcruiser

Hey Art,

Bring it on! Sounds great. Looking forward to the midnight pics!

TJ


----------



## Artieiii

TJ,
Just about ready to make my shelf layout. I've been busy making things for the layout so that I can make it once. Got my NCE Power cab, converted most of my small fleet to DCC with sound. Maybe next paycheck I can buy the wood and get started on the build. I will need plenty of flex track and a bunch of wire for my bus wires. That bridge is gonna look SWEET!
-Art


----------



## norgale

Nice looking bridges guys. One thing I didn't do on my bridge was put some longitudinal planks down across the cross braces. I notice now that altough the cross braces are only a few inches apart the track sags between them. I'll have to add some support under the track one of these days. Pete


----------



## Artieiii

Forgot to post the link to the lamps I used:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103780
-Art


----------



## Artieiii

Here she is with mini lamps from Radio Shack. This is gonna be nice on my shelf layout. I tried to wire the bulbs in series but that made them way too dim so I had to rewire them in parallel which took allot more time.








-Art


----------



## norgale

Now that looks super. Good job. Pete


----------



## Artieiii

*Bridge 2.0*

I had so much success with my first bridge I decided to make another one. Here is the first stages. 








I took a flat board to hold the sides in alignment. Then I held the upper supports over a tea pot to steam the wood so I could bend it. I secured it to my board with brad nails so it would hold it's shape. The staple gun in the first picture can dispense brad nails. When I was happy with the curvature I attached the other pieces to the board with brads till the glue set up. I traced the contour on the board so I could repeat the process for the other side of the bridge. When all the glue dried I glued connecting supports between the bridge sides and this is the result.








Next some cross braces, some sanding, some paint then some more lights from Radio Shack.
-Art


----------



## tjcruiser

Artieiii said:


> Then I held the upper supports over a tea pot to steam the wood so I could bend it.


Spoken like a wooden boat builder!

Bridge looks fabulous. You have a good eye for "truss" proportions.

TJ


----------



## mr_x_ite_ment

Art...those bridges look amazing! Nice work!

Chad


----------



## Artieiii

tjcruiser said:


> Spoken like a wooden boat builder!
> 
> Bridge looks fabulous. You have a good eye for "truss" proportions.
> 
> TJ


I guess you are right, because I built it all by "eye". No real plans just by the seat of my pants. This one has a bit more style compared to bridge 1.0. It came together very fast....2 evening's work so far. 
This was the picture i used a a rough prototype.








My wife was impressed 
-Art


----------



## gunrunnerjohn

I like the style of this one, very neat.


----------



## Artieiii

gunrunnerjohn said:


> I like the style of this one, very neat.


HaHa Gunrunner....I call it "Art-deco" LOL
-Art


----------



## Robstar

Very nice, great style and build.


----------



## gunrunnerjohn

Artieiii said:


> HaHa Gunrunner....I call it "Art-deco" LOL
> -Art


GROAN!


----------



## Massey

This one is my favorite of the 2, good job.

Massey


----------



## Artieiii

*Catastrophic bridge Collapse*

Over the weekend I was looking at my bridge and it developed a bit of warpage. I wet the wood structure then put some paint cans on the top to try to straighten it out. The next day I heard a crash and my bridge was in pieces. I spent the next day gradually gluing the structure back together. Very few of the pieces were broken only the glue joints separated. Someone once told me "Perfection is the enemy of good" LOL. Live and learn. The bridge will be ready for some more paint when I get home from work today. Next step will be adding the lights. I wish I could find a blinking red bulb for the top but I have not been able to find one at radio shack.
-Art


----------



## norgale

Art what kind of glue did you use on the bridge? When you wet the wood down it must have caused the glue to let loose. Pete


----------



## Artieiii

norgale said:


> Art what kind of glue did you use on the bridge? When you wet the wood down it must have caused the glue to let loose. Pete


Elmer's glue....that could have done it.
-Art


----------



## gunrunnerjohn

You can find blinking LED's in many popular places, Mouser and Digikey are two of my favorites.


----------



## Gansett

Art, 
Gorilla glue or Tite Bond III, Gorilla is water resistant, Tite Bond water proof.


----------



## Artieiii

JackC said:


> Art,
> Gorilla glue or Tite Bond III, Gorilla is water resistant, Tite Bond water proof.


Yeah JackC, 
live and learn. I never thought the bridge was gonna see water in it's lifetime (till I tried to fix it). The good thing is that it broke at the glue joints so I just had to reassemble it not reconstruct it. This is why I am not an engineer.
-Art


----------



## norgale

I'm no engineer either Artii but I use TiteBond lll in building all my boats and they do go in the water. Never had one come apart yet and the joints are very strong as well as waterproof. Tack that bridge down on a flat board or surface until you are ready to use it so it won't warp again. That's a common problem with any wood project like that. Looks great. Pete


----------



## Artieiii

I think I will reinforce the corners with those free paint sticks from Home Depot like I did on my first bridge. That one held it's shape better than this one. I did not think I needed the extra support (still don't think so) but it will help keep the structure from warping. Plus those supports look like the prototype.
-Art


----------



## tjcruiser

Hey Art,

For sure, the "gusset plates" at beam intersections add a sense of extra realism, and help to reinforce beam-to-beam connections.

In addition, in real life, they were used to distribute a joint rivet pattern, with sufficient number of rivets to sustain the associated shear force stresses.

TJ


----------



## norgale

No matter what you do to that bridge it will most likely warp again unless you tack it down on the layout or on a smooth surface till your ready to use it. The warping is coming from the top bows because they were bent into that shape and not sawn into that shape. The bows will always tend to straighten out for a long time and maybe forever. The real bridge was made of metal and the metal was shaped into several pieces for the top spar and therefore wont warp or bend but they will move with the temperature and the load on it at any given time. So add to it as you want but you still will have to tack it down to keep the shape straight. Pete


----------



## Artieiii

norgale said:


> No matter what you do to that bridge it will most likely warp again unless you tack it down on the layout or on a smooth surface till your ready to use it. The warping is coming from the top bows because they were bent into that shape and not sawn into that shape. The bows will always tend to straighten out for a long time and maybe forever. The real bridge was made of metal and the metal was shaped into several pieces for the top spar and therefore wont warp or bend but they will move with the temperature and the load on it at any given time. So add to it as you want but you still will have to tack it down to keep the shape straight. Pete


OK will do that. Thanks for the suggestions. Once the shelf layout is done, it will be secured with glue/brads to keep it level.
-Art


----------



## Artieiii

*Added LED's to bridge*

I wired LED lights for my bridge. Here is what I used:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3060980
These are highly directional so they shine like spot lights on the track below.
I added 1K ohm resistors to each LED and added a blinking red LED for the top with a 450 ohm resistor. 
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062553
I wired them in parallel and hooked them to my Tek 4 DC transformer. A quick video of the blinking light/bridge to follow.
-Art


----------



## gunrunnerjohn

You can sometimes make "directional" LED's less directional by sanding the surface of them to defuse the light.


----------



## Artieiii

Gunrunner, Norgale and TJ,
Here is a crappy cell phone video of my bridge with LED's. I added a blinking LED on top, white LED's facing down on the tracks and red and green LED's for the track traffic.
-Art
http://youtu.be/u81n_1iuE_4
Maybe someone can help me to embed a video....it tried everything I can think of and no luck.


----------



## tjcruiser

The mid-span blinky is a nice touch!

TJ


----------



## Big Ed

Artieiii said:


> Gunrunner, Norgale and TJ,
> Here is a crappy cell phone video of my bridge with LED's. I added a blinking LED on top, white LED's facing down on the tracks and red and green LED's for the track traffic.
> -Art
> http://youtu.be/u81n_1iuE_4
> Maybe someone can help me to embed a video....it tried everything I can think of and no luck.



Can I look at the video too?


----------



## gunrunnerjohn

Looks great, the blinking LED was a nice touch.


----------



## Big Ed

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Looks great, the blinking LED was a nice touch.



The blinking light looks like it is not centered.

I like the blinking though.:thumbsup:


----------



## Artieiii

big ed said:


> The blinking light looks like it is not centered.
> 
> I like the blinking though.:thumbsup:


That is true BigEd. I made sure the white lights were centered and in a line. The Blinky on the top had to be placed in a different hole so that the wires would not touch the wires for the white light. I dont think it will be that noticeable on an overhead shelf layout. Last nite I installed the same lights on my rounded bridge 
-Art


----------



## Big Ed

Artieiii said:


> That is true BigEd. I made sure the white lights were centered and in a line. The Blinky on the top had to be placed in a different hole so that the wires would not touch the wires for the white light. I dont think it will be that noticeable on an overhead shelf layout. Last nite I installed the same lights on my rounded bridge
> -Art


Too bad you couldn't have mounted it in the center, on some kind of pole like a mast. 
Maybe you need one more blinking on the other side to make it look equal?
Put one on the other side blinking when the other blinks out? Alternating?
Just some thoughts that ran through my mind.

All said, I like the blinking.:thumbsup:


----------



## Artieiii

big ed said:


> Too bad you couldn't have mounted it in the center, on some kind of pole like a mast.
> Maybe you need one more blinking on the other side to make it look equal?
> Put one on the other side blinking when the other blinks out? Alternating?
> Just some thoughts that ran through my mind.
> 
> All said, I like the blinking.:thumbsup:


BigEd,
Alternating blinking will not work with these LED's they would blink at their own rate. That would require a circuit board and there is no room for that. It's not "perfect" but close enough for me. I thought about the mast idea but it just doesn't seem prototypical to my eye.
-Art


----------



## ED-RRR

*My Mini Truss Bridge:*

Due to my layout configuration,
I got stuck having a bridge on a "curve" at a "short" bridge crossing..
So I built my own custom bridge (many years ago)..
This procedure made the bridge much "wider"..

Special Note:
- Some of the items I used may "no" longer be available..
- Use the same procedures to build a "wider" short span bridge
for a dual (x2) straight through train tracks.. 

Hardware Used:
- Atlas --> 65' Deck Truss Bridge Kit 884 (x2) 
- Kappler --> Real Wood HO scale Lumber
- Tichy Train --> Small mounting Bolts
- AIM Products --> #110-100 Bridge Abutments (Walls)
- AIM Products --> Bridge Support Mounts (4)
- Track --> Safety Track Rail 

Procedure:
- I only used the bridge frame work 
and mounted (x2) Atlas Deck Truss Kits together..
- I removed (x1) "outer" side support from "each" bridge frame..
- Glued the (x2) units together with the (x2) bridge supports
on the outside faces.. 

- Mounted "square" wooden (track ties) across bridge..
- Mounted "square" wooden outside support edges (x2) across bridge..

- Added little mounting bolts for extra detail..
- The track on the bridge has the manufacture railway ties "Removed"..
- The track is mounted onto the bridge with glue..
- Added the (x2) the custom made extra internal tracks,
seen on all bridges, with glue..

......


----------



## MtRR75

Nice job and a clever solution. However, it looks like you need to shore up the rock work behind the two bridge abutments.


----------



## ED-RRR

*Bridge Abutments*



MtRR75 said:


> However, it looks like you need to shore up the rock work behind the two bridge abutments.


Thanks for your reply..

The (x2) bridge abutments still require minor adjustments..
This whole area will be covered with hydrocal (sculputure material)
using many different rubber rock molds..
The hydrocal will support the (x2) bridge abutments..
......


----------

