Buffalo Canyon Mining Company in On30

[friscomike]

Good afternoon, folks,

Rick, Philip, Karl, Jeff, and Larry, I certainly appreciate your comments.

I'm calling this one mostly done.  I still need to add track and mount the bridge on the abutments. I'll work on those items as side projects.  

I thought I was finished yesterday, but the abundance of NBWs from the kit made me wonder what I forgot.  Alas, I forgot the inside and outside NBWs on the four end posts.  So today I drilled the holes and mounted the NBWs.



Here is a photo of the bridge without the track and tie stringers.


While far from a contest entry, I think it's a decent build.  I heartily recommend Hunterline Kits.  This one was fun to build.

NEXT: I decided to work on the water tower for the next structure and a few other smaller projects.  I plan a stone base, and a flat top tower.

Have fun, and thanks for stopping by.
mike

[deemery]

Very well done, Mike!  The angles are nice and tight, you've included both vertical and horizontal tension rods.  Coloring is spot-on.

(If you still have lots of NBWs left over, could they be for the stringers to the lower beam?)

dave

[Jerry]

An a beautiful build it is!!

Jerry

[friscomike]

Very well done, Mike!  The angles are nice and tight, you've included both vertical and horizontal tension rods.  Coloring is spot-on.

(If you still have lots of NBWs left over, could they be for the stringers to the lower beam?)

dave

Thanks, Dave,

Indeed, the NBWs could be used on those floor beams.  The instructions didn't show them, but it makes sense to me. That will probably be a side project, along with walking floor boards along one side. 

The bridge will be one of the first things folks will see when they walk into the room, so I'd like for it to be showy.  

Have fun, mike

[friscomike]

An a beautiful build it is!!

Jerry

Jerry, thank you, kind sir!

[IWannaRetire]

Very nicely done!  Congrats.

I've been following your bridge build closely since I first ran across it, as last winter I also started a timber deck truss. I was scratch-building it from old Model Railroader plans drawn by Jack Work.  Plans are for a 74' span.

I couldn't help but notice back on post #236 you choose an S scale model for your On30 layout. I also model in On30. 

After I built my first side truss, I placed it next to my small rolling stock (18' to 24' cars for the most part) and no matter how many times I looked at it, it looked overbuilt and out of place, so I paused the build.  I was contemplating just re-sizing some members until they looked good to me, but simply reducing the scale would save a ton of guesswork.

I'll be very interested to see pictures of your bridge with finished tracks and if I might ask, a picture of rolling stock on the tracks? 

[Rick]

Mike, it looks like contest quality to me.
Great job!

[friscomike]

Very nicely done!  Congrats.

I've been following your bridge build closely since I first ran across it, as last winter I also started a timber deck truss. I was scratch-building it from old Model Railroader plans drawn by Jack Work.  Plans are for a 74' span.

I couldn't help but notice back on post #236 you choose an S scale model for your On30 layout. I also model in On30. 

After I built my first side truss, I placed it next to my small rolling stock (18' to 24' cars for the most part) and no matter how many times I looked at it, it looked overbuilt and out of place, so I paused the build.  I was contemplating just re-sizing some members until they looked good to me, but simply reducing the scale would save a ton of guesswork.

I'll be very interested to see pictures of your bridge with finished tracks and if I might ask, a picture of rolling stock on the tracks?

Howdy Mark, several people,  including Hunterline, suggested S scale instead of O.    Scratch building a Howe Truss would be a huge challenge. 




Good luck with your build.  

Have fun, 
mike

[friscomike]

Rick, thank you again for the many kind comments.  ~mike

[Philip]

Sweet.

Looks like Larry is the forum 'Lone Ranger' now? 

[Larry C]

Sweeeeeeet!!!!!!!!!

[Philip]

I didn't realize that was S scale.   My 2 MDC Shays have Wiseman S scale cabs.

[friscomike]

Howdy folks,

Philip and Larry, thank you for your comments.

Yesterday, I shifted focus to the layout and installed all the turnouts in Phase I.  Today, the glue (Aleene's Tacky Glue) is dry, so I'll begin connecting the track. First, I need to solder power leads to each three-foot track section. 

I am spraying the track with Krylon Camouflage brown paint.  I like the color for both rails and ties, and it is easy to weather.  To remove paint from the top of the rails, I wipe them with Homasote blocks while the paint is still wet.

Here are a couple of quick photos of turnout progress.




Have fun,
mike

[deemery]

FriscoMike said Scratch building a Howe Truss would be a huge challenge.    I'll say from experience it's a challenge.  The key is to have very precise drawings, from which you can cut the precise angles for the various diagonal members. The Ultimation Sander/Repeater is a great tool for this.  (https://handlaidtrack.com/product/ult-sa-re/?v=0b3b97fa6688 )

If you remember BurleyJim from Railroad-Line, he 3D printed the (cast iron) shoes at the top and bottom of my diagonals.  His help is gratefully acknowledged.  (And if you look carefully, you can see the bridge is level, but the track is sloped.  I talked to a civil engineer about that, he said "that's the way to do it" rather than having the bridge itself parallel the slope of the track.)

dave

[Rick]

Mike, it's exciting seeing track being laid.