I'm proposing a 5 foot (435 scale foot) double-deck suspension bridge. Trains on lower deck, cars on upper deck (removable for track access). Has anyone even attempted this? I haven't either! I already realize how impractical this is, but the layout's big enough to support it, and besides, it would be a cool focal point. My first question is: How should I do the cables? Then: How to do the towers? I can do the deck. Thanx
Although it is very impractical it is very possible to do it even though it would probably look out of place seeing as how not many railraods have them if any. Another problem would be getting it to look right while having the proper clearence to run tall cars and engines. i have built a plain suspention bridge for a school project but it did not come out that well however in my tech ed class i have seen smaller ones built. The most practical way to do it would be to break the bridge dowm into 5, 1' sections with a main middle section. You could iether build it from styrene or balsa wood i would use plastruct chanelling. the most time effective way to do this would be by building a jig for each of the pieces and gluing the pieces together using the glue used to connect pvc pipe.
phatkat> go to www.northlandz.com they have many bridges on their giant layout . I have seen it in person and it is huge with many bridges. Hope this helps.
If you can find the back issues of Railroad Model Craftsman for months of Dec. 1999, Jan. 2000 and Feb. 2000 you will find good long articles on railroad bridge design. They are parts I,II and III of a series. A still better source is a book, 'Bridge and Trestle Handbook' published by Carstens. I used this book to make two long span bridges for my layout, one 4' and a 6'. The book doesn't recommend using suspension bridges for railroads, too much sway. Only one North American railroad suspension bridge was ever used, the Niagara River cross for Grand Trunk in 1851. Be sure to add up your cost before building. I started building using very nice plastic beam and girder kits and found out it was becoming too expensive. Switched to wood. ...Eddie ------------------ Eddie Delozier PRR N-scale deloziers.com eddelozier@yahoo.com
