“Just when he thinks he can lay down and roll
He’s seen the place he’s looking for coming up the road”
-N. Ashford/V. Simpson-
On this Thanksgiving Eve, I know I’m supposed to be grateful for the truly-important things. Good health, good family, good fortune. But to be honest this year I find myself grateful that this d@#n bridge is done.
Lattice truss bridges were typically much more “lighter” in appearance than other truss-style bridges. The biggest challenge in trying to replicate the prototype was duplicating the ultra-thin top bracing of the bridge. I ended up using simple styrene strips to match the actual arrangement.
The rest of the bridge was taken almost exclusively from the Central Valley Truss Bridge kit, with some additional Evergreen styrene angle iron added in place. The superstructure itself is not attached to the deck so that I can clean track and, in extreme cases, rerail cars.
Also complete is the small wooden trestle over the flood plain approach to the bridge. The safety catwalk on the trestle and the bridge is from Tichy Train Group, built as is and attached to the deck with superglue.
Not all sins were hid with paint, but Rustoleum Camouflage Earth Brown does wonders in replicating the look of rusted iron and steel.
Like I said before, this is not a masterpiece. But at this point it’s satisfying to know that it’s probably not something you’ll see on a lot of other layouts. That alone is something to be grateful for.
My best to you and yours for this Thanksgiving holiday.
The Hills Line 
I think that you accomplished your goal with the lattice bridge. I don’t believe that the Santa Fe used this design; but, it makes for an interesting scene.
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I ran trains over a similar bridge on Stampede Pass, (old Northern Pacific, now BNSF). As the train passed over the bridge the side angle bars would ‘clap’ together and bang off each other. It was always slightly unnerving to watch the first few times. I saw your finished bridge and immediately my memory came back to those first few trips.
Craig
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Beautiful work but perhaps more important it does a great job of giving the feel of your prototype
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Very well done!
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This is a distinctive looking bridge, and it will surely contribute to a sense of place in the finished scene that would be impossible with a generic kit. Nicely done!
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