Do Over, Part Two

Despite a tendency to “break every bone in its body” when attempting to build something for The Hills Line, even I occasionally have moments of mild success in constructing something from scratch. For the lattice-truss bridge over the Iowa River I have the advantage of having done it once before.

I left the deck in place from the first version since replacing it was unnecessary. Plus, it allowed me to use the exact dimensions for the outer frame of the bridge from the kit, speeding construction.

My friend and fellow Iowa Interstate modeler Scott Thornton then shared the diagram he designed for the lattice truss bridges on his Milan Branch layout. I took that image and overlaid it on the Central Valley truss diagram.

From that, I could notch the main trusses to support the internal and external bracing. The Central Valley kit is designed to be cut and trimmed after the fact, making customization a relatively straightforward process. That’s one of the reasons you see it in use on so many layouts.

It then became a game of connecting the dots, or more accurately, connecting the lines. I used Evergreen Scale Models and Plastruct components to replicate the trusses and bracing. With some judicious use of Tamiya cement, the rather intricate arrangement went together much faster and cleaner… the second time around.