Buffalo Canyon Mining Company in On30

[Rick]

Mike, nice and neat job on the ties and stringers.
324 NBW's! WOW!
Have fun with that. 

[friscomike]

Very nice Mike.  I see your building the 1:64 scale bridge a good choice for ON30.

Jerry

Howdy Jerry, the vendor and Ron said the 1:64 was perfect for On30, and I agree.  The 16" long bridge is perfect for my layout.  Have fun, mike

[friscomike]

Howdy folks,

Thank you, Rick and Jerry, for following.  

I drilled 44 holes for the NBWs on the tie protector strips and glued in the NBWs.  Here are a couple of photos of the stringers and ties.  The rail and fire barrel will be added later.  This assembly is 16 1/8" long.





Today I am working on the bottom cords of the bridge. I am waiting on the stain to dry before proceeding.

Have fun,
mike

[friscomike]

Howdy folks,

The bridge kit is not that complicated to build, yet.  The instructions and templates make it easy.  I think the most difficult parts are coming up. 

Over the last few days, I completed the end posts, top, and bottom cords.  Four beams compose each cord, separated by spacers.  The following photos show the technique.

This photo shows the final assembly of the end posts by stacking the beams with spacers. Here, glue is applied, ready for the final beam.


The individual end beams with spacers are ready for assembly.


Tomorrow, I plan to stain the chords and ends with a grey barnwood stain to give them an aged look. I know some items will have more creosote and will be darker brown/black.  Then I will add the angle blocks and start the assembly of a side. 

I need to stain all the connecting rods (there are many) with a chemical blackener.  I've had my batch for about 25 years, so I hope it still works.

Have fun,
mike

[Rick]

Looking good Mike.

[Jerry]

Great start Mike.

Jerry

[PRR Modeler]

Excellent looking modeling Mike.

[ACL1504]

Mike,

Wowser. what great looking brick work. It looks better than some rubber molds I've seen.

Tom 

[friscomike]

Howdy folks,

Rick, Jerry, Curt, and Tom, thank you for the comments and support.  

Today, I finished the angle blocks for the braces and drilled holes for the metal rods that connect the top and bottom cords.  Tedious that!  I set up the Dremel drill press to ensure the holes were plumb and aligned properly.  I think it took more time to set up the drill press than to drill the holes.  I think there are about 90+ holes, thus connecting rods.

Top and bottom cords with angle blocks for the braces.




Next up is staining them grey and blackening the tie rods.

Have fun,
mimke

[deemery]

Were the angle blocks pre-cut in the kit?  A drill press is a huge advantage for bridges like this.  

dave

[friscomike]

Were the angle blocks pre-cut in the kit?  A drill press is a huge advantage for bridges like this. 

dave

Howdy Dave, indeed, the angle blocks were cut in two sizes, large and small.  The large is for five rods and the small for three rods.  I would have had rods going in all directions without the ole' drill press.  Have fun, mike

[deemery]

Were the angle blocks pre-cut in the kit?  A drill press is a huge advantage for bridges like this. 

dave

Howdy Dave, indeed, the angle blocks were cut in two sizes, large and small.  The large is for five rods and the small for three rods.  I would have had rods going in all directions without the ole' drill press.  Have fun, mike

That would save a lot of time.  On the truss bridge (similar design, much smaller) I did, those blocks were metal, and a friend 3D-printed them for me. 


dave

[friscomike]

Were the angle blocks pre-cut in the kit?  A drill press is a huge advantage for bridges like this. 

dave

Howdy Dave, indeed, the angle blocks were cut in two sizes, large and small.  The large is for five rods and the small for three rods.  I would have had rods going in all directions without the ole' drill press.  Have fun, mike

That would save a lot of time.  On the truss bridge (similar design, much smaller) I did, those blocks were metal, and a friend 3D-printed them for me. 


dave

Howdy Dave, nice bridge!  3D printing is a great idea.  These blocks were two pieces, but the whole process was easy.  The printed versions with dimples of holes would be the bomb!  Have fun, mike

[Jerry]

Nice job Mike.  Lots of holes to drill there.

Jerry

[deemery]

On my truss, you can see the two longer outrigger pieces, that's for the diagonal sway bracing from the end of the outrigger up to the top chord of the truss.  That's necessary because this is a pony truss, there's nothing connecting the top chords of the trusses across the track.

dave