Thunder Ridge: A Freelanced Focus on Scenery

Mark Watson Apr 12, 2010

  1. Packers#1

    Packers#1 TrainBoard Member

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    Hey Mark, (I realize this is from page 31), but do you mind telling use how you made the dip and dive in the town? I've always wanted to include that feature, because it is common here in SC, but I've never really figured out how to pull it off.
     
  2. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    Lumber has been treated to protect from the elements, and will be ready to cut/assemble tomorrow. :D
    (OH NO! My beautiful scrap plywood stool! :eek: :p)
    [​IMG]


    I found an even more detailed source of inspiration which I'm going to mimic as close as I can by eyeball.
     

    Attached Files:

  3. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    Sure, my sub-roadbed is just foam core art board. If you look back to page 9 (here) you can see the two black support structures along the urban side (also foam core art board). I simply cut the tops of those supports with a wavy line instead of a straight one, then placed weights over the dips and glued the sub-roadbed so it held that shape.

    In hind sight however, I would recommend against the foam board sub-roadbed. Glueing fine things such as roadbed and supports are fine, but once you paint or glue large areas (for ground cover), the board warps, messing up a whole bunch of previously reliable trackwork! :tb-hissyfit:

    Larger thicknesses of art board don't warp as much, but still warp nonetheless. Hmm... Perhaps "pre-warping" both sides of the artboard would help? :rolleyes: (Hey, they're so much cheaper than luann, (and much easier to obtain here in SF), its worth a try. :))
     
  4. MC Fujiwara

    MC Fujiwara TrainBoard Member

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    Looks good so far, Mark! ;)

    When I built mine, I took a diagram for an Horribly Oversized A-frame bridge, reduced it with the copier, and then fit three together to make the "master" for my truss:

    [​IMG]

    Then you overlay it with wax paper (so the glue doesn't stick to the paper) and piece it together.

    [​IMG]

    Not as 100% accurate as a jig, but worked great for me: everything came out square(ish)!

    Looking forward to your progress!
    (don't get "bent" out of shape)
    (I always got a kick out of listening to Public Enemy's "Can't Truss It" while working on mine: beats Simon & Garfunkle's "Bridge over Troubled Waters" for energy!)
     
  5. greatdrivermiles

    greatdrivermiles TrainBoard Member

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    I am calling the pun police on you for that one mister.:tb-tongue:
     
  6. MC Fujiwara

    MC Fujiwara TrainBoard Member

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    That's funny: later on the same PE album is the song "911 is a Joke" ;)
    Ok: I deserve my pun-ishment!

    (sorry, Mark, for the digression: back to suspension!)
     
  7. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    God help us! :p :p

    Thanks for the tips MC! And here I was, thinking I'd just wing it! :eek:

    Now I'll run up to Kinko's (FedEx) tomorrow and print off this bad boy (PDF). Already to scale. :D
    My bridge comes in at just over 10" instead of the drawn 5. But I can just repeat a few crossbeams to fill in the gap.
     
  8. Packers#1

    Packers#1 TrainBoard Member

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    Why not just glue a couple sheets of foam board together? (it's what I'm using for my backdrop btw)
     
  9. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    The Wooden Deck bridge is coming along nicely and I'm having a lot of fun building it! :D

    Here's one side complete, the other in progress.
    [​IMG]


    Both sides complete and the ends glued on. Cross members are just set in place for the photo. I need to glue the diagonal cross members in place first. :)
    [​IMG]
     
  10. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    Yesterday I carpooled up to Sacramento with RBrodzinsky to the National Train Show. We had a great time and each found some goodies for our respective layouts. On the way up, we searched for TBX 3401 in Franklyn Canyon, but we didn't find it. We must have missed it by a few decades. ;)

    The major purchase I made was a Bragdon rock mold for the ridge! :D I always thought they were super expensive, but you have got to see these in person! They make the WS rock molds look like pebble molds. :p


    I cant wait to get some more rock work done, but I don't expect to get there until August, if then.
     
  11. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    WOO! All the wood parts of the deck bridge are glued together! All that's left is the tension rods and bolts/nails I'll be putting in too.
    Er.. well, then after that I have to figure out how to add a walkway. I think this turned out great. :D

    Here's the bridge, posed with the SP AC-12 so I can enter it in the SP photo challenge this week! :D
    [​IMG]
     
  12. Jim Wiggin

    Jim Wiggin Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Nice work Mark:thumbs_up:
     
  13. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    Looks great, Mark!
     
  14. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks Jim and Rick. :)



    Well.. with the closure of the Ridge line in order to perform maintenance on the bridge, Thunder Pass has been getting double the traffic these past few days.
    Things went from bad to worse when suddenly half a train ran aground! :tb-shocked:

    [​IMG]
    (Shown here is a dramatized rendition of the actual event). :eek:

    All clues point to a failure of the turnout that the caboose is sitting on, causing a pile up a little ways down the way after the cars string lined around the curve.


    (The actual event; the point rail broke free of its solder half way through the train. Only a few cars derailed, and thankfully noting plummeted into the depths, especially considering the loco (which happens to be a NEW addition to TR, but more on that later) was on the bridge at the time of derailment.)
     
  15. TetsuUma

    TetsuUma TrainBoard Member

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    NOOOOOOOOOOooooo!! Not the BREX Reefers!

    Andy
    Tetsu Uma
     
  16. YoHo

    YoHo TrainBoard Supporter

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    The Bragdon stuff is nice, We have a bunch of them at the club. A number of them are home made using the bragdon meathod. I once bought their mountain forming kit, but it actually expired before I could use it and then I realized that it was cheaper to just use stuff I could buy at Michael's/Home Despot/Loews.
     
  17. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Oh no, send out the big hook! What a mess!
     
  18. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    All lines are open!

    Construction crews worked double time today to clear the pass and repair the broken turnout.

    Meanwhile, the bridge crew cleared out and made room for the new bridge.

    Here's the first cut in the old line.
    [​IMG]



    Track removed, and terrain cleared.
    [​IMG]


    Here's the bridge, fit into place:
    [​IMG]


    I have a feeling this angle is going to be a favorite among the local railfans! Especially when the full scenery, including waterfall, is in place.
    [​IMG]
     
  19. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    Looking great, Mark! Fits perfectly
     
  20. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    That will be a fantastic view. Very nice result on the bridge!
     

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