The last portions of track to lay on The Hills Line are for the variety of bridges on the layout. In the past I would cut in standalone bridge track where appropriate, but this time I wanted to try to integrate the flex track directly into the bridge decking. That way I avoided the inevitable joint between the two types of tracks as well as not having to hide feeder wires inside and underneath a bridge.
Fortunately the Walthers Trestle kit I used for both the Ralston Creek bridge and the Iowa River flood plain includes decking with built-in tie plates to properly gauge the rails. I removed the ties from a section of flex track…
…then ran a bead of Loctite Super Glue down the bottom of each rail.
The rails were lined up with the tie plates on the decking, weighed down, and allowed to cure for 24 hours.
The same technique was used for the CIC Iowa River bridge deck. The Central Valley track pieces were much easier to align the rails on, but the extended length of the bridge caused me to double and triple check the gauge. Last thing I want is a derailment inside a lattice truss span.
The only place that I used honest to goodness commercially-made bridge flex track was on the IAIS Iowa River Bridge. I plan to wire up the short piece of ME Bridge Track so I can poise an Iowa Interstate ES44AC with lights on for the classic over-under shot.
The Hills Line 
Great progress James
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That’s a neat idea, James to add realism economically. I will try this on my next railroad.
Barry
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James, That is a great idea, I just wish I had though of doing the same thing on my layout when I laid the track on the two bridges. It is so great to see you making progress on your new layout.
Tom
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Thanks Tom. I assume the technique would work on any material you’d want to use for bridge decking. The Walthers and Central Valley product have the advantage of including tie plates that keep the rail in gauge.
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