I bought my first set of cheap digital calipers to measure batches of stripwood from a kit where all the rubber bands had failed. 

Glad you found my notes useful, they were a late post so I wasn't sure you caught them.

dave

Quote from: jbvb on January 23, 2026, 06:37:37 PMDave, I think it's one of those "I live out where the streetcars don't run" things - more than 3/4 of a tank.

I was thinking about the icon above the gas guage....

dave

The way that fits in its location, you'd never know it was a kit!

dave

It helps to use a roller or even paint bottle to roll over the back of the press-and-stick stuff while the backer sheet is still on.  But yeah, I know what you mean about the adhesive peeling off instead of the backer sheet.

dave

That's one of those icons where the meaning is not obvious.  Is it "A-hole driving" indicator? 

dave

Quote from: Orionvp17 on January 23, 2026, 12:05:39 PM

Quote from: deemery on January 23, 2026, 11:53:47 AMWell, Pete, this looks like a good year to not travel to Springfield.  Between the 'northern mitten' temps and the big snow Sunday into Monday, travel would be a PITA.

dave

Dave, add to that Family Rebellion (don't go, etc), possibilities of rampaging flu and the hip issues that scared me off from the beginning and you have the complete picture.  Hoping lots of people post lots of good pix, and that all stay safe!

Pete
in Michigan

Blaming The Weather relieves you of all the other concerns.  

dave

Well, Pete, this looks like a good year to not travel to Springfield.  Between the 'northern mitten' temps and the big snow Sunday into Monday, travel would be a PITA.

dave

Karl, did you see my notes on a curved trestle from Thursday's lounge?

dave

Cleaners come this morning, then I have to take wife to a dilation eye appointment.  I'll get some shopping done then.  Then it'll be pull out winter clothing to wear to Springfield tomorrow.  Sunday will be a disaster for the sellers at the show.  The snow starts late morning, and then the Patriots are playing in the afternoon.  The one good thing is the snow should end early Monday morning, allowing time for the plows to get to work so people can pack up and leave Monday.  

dave

Karl, my trestle/truss combination was curved.  Here's how I did it.


I started by cutting out the piece of spline where the bridge would go. If you don't have equivalent sub-roadbed, curve a piece of flextrack to the correct radius/shape, then lay paper over that and trace the curve with a pice of colored chalk.  Then flip that paper over, and trace the BOTTOM of the rail pattern.  That gives you a properly curved assembly jig, as viewed from beneath the bridge.

Then I decided/allocated the trestle bents along the curve.  You can use the centerline, or one of the two track lines. But you want to be able to draw lines perpendicular to the point-of-curvature for each bent.  My bents are on 15' spacing.  Draw the centerlines for each bent on the template.  Now use those to cut your stringers, from bent centerline to centerline.  The ends of the stringers will be angled (except at the two bridge end abutments.)  I did 2 stringers under each rail, and did some test sanding to make sure the joint looked good.  Here I did little splice pieces (prototypical) where the top of the trestle bents would go.


I used the track/stringer assembly to measure the trestle bent heights.  I laid down footers, then used the assembly in position to measure the height of the bents.


Now once you have the bents built, use the template that shows the -bottom- of the curve and double-stick tape, tape the stringers on the template.  Then glue each bent to the stringers aligning with the centerline of the bent location centerline.  The net result is a bridge constructed along the right curve, with the bents sticking up in the air. 


If you're using hand-laid track, you should probably lay down the ties on the inverted template, then glue the stringers to the ties. 

dave

Looking good, Tom!  When you glue the chimneys, make sure they're between the windows.  A couple of those temp positions look like they overlap windows underneath. 

dave

OK, I finally got the farm bridge ramps attached


Here's the approach that finally worked. 
1.  I put a piece of tape across the top of the span to hold things together.  I put the bridge on location, making sure it was correctly positioned (center was level, ramps touching the abutments.)
2.  Then I used a protractor to measure the two angles.
3.  I drew the bridge to scale on a piece of graph paper, including the two ramp angles.
4.  I measured the offset from the bottom of the truss to the top, the "batter".  I cut 2 pieces of wood that thickness.
5.  Then I laid the center span on one of the wood pieces, and clamped it to a 1-2-3 block to hold it into position and perpendicular/plumb.
6.  I put the other piece of wood aliong the angle of one ramp (measured in step 2, drawn in step 3.)  I glued the ramp to the center span, and after the glue was mostly set (about an hour for yellow wood glue), I moved the bridge back to location.  I made sure the bridge trestle bents were in position, the center span was level in both directions, and the ramp rested on the abutment on the scenery.
7.  After the glue was fully set, I carefully removed the bridge, and added the 2 diagonal pieces that go from the trestle bent to the joists under the ramp.  I -carefully- clamped those into position. 
8.  The next day, I did steps 6 & 7 for the other side....

Now all I need to do is add the railing on both sides of the bridge.  I've stained the wood pieces, I need to cut and glue them.

dave

Karl, on your trestle, it's interesting that the inner legs have 'batter' (slope off vertical.)  I've seen it both ways, where only the outer pair of legs have batter and the rest are vertical, and where they all have batter.  The last couple of trestle projects I did, I got lazy and did vertical inner posts.  

Off to PT in a bit, then I have to come back, change, and go to the store.  I hear that milk, bread and toilet paper are selling out in the Mid-Atlantic states in anticipation of the weekend storm. I used to wonder what people did with that stuff, but then I decided I didn't really need to know what they did the privacy of their own homes.  (But they should also buy water jugs, something I need to replenish.  The expired distilled water jugs get used for mixing plaster & Sculptamold on the layout...)

dave

It's the temporary thaw before the big freeze tomorrow, and then snow Sunday/Monday.  I've been checking my shopping list for Springfield. Don Tichy sent out a note he's cancelled because of the storm.  I don't blame him, he'll have to drive through the worst of the accumulation to get back home Monday.  But that's disappointing, talking to Don and stocking up on Tichy parts is one of my show highlights.

Back to the bridge today, I think I can lock in the 2 ramps today, and let that glue thoroughly set, before doing the railings.

dave

Tom, I was going back over your tutorial on dirt roads from RR-Line, and I just wanted to confirm something.  When starting from 'blank scene', you would do the road first, and then the terrain to either side?

dave