Between a Rock and Open Air

Well what do you do when yo need to bridge a 6 foot gap? You build a bridge of course. but in this case we didn't want just a run of the mill bridge like you see on most layouts. We decided to build a arch bridge that had the same curvature as the doorways in the house and like I said it was going to need to be 6 feet in length. Also I decided to hand lay the track across the bridge which is something I've never done before.

The first step was to get a measurement of the needed distance for the bridge. We needed to make sure it was level and straight. We then went and made a template for the curve of the arch. We cut up some 1/8" X 5/16" X 7' pieces of oak and glued 3 pieces together and then clamped them to the template. We then waited a couple of days for the glue to set. We then glued up the second arch.

Now it was time to build the sides of the bridge one piece at a time all 26 pieces were fitted then sanded then fitted again. in most cases 4 to 5 times before they were right. Once one side was done we did the second side. Then we added the cross pieces between the 2 sides after this we added the 2 sides I added the 44 hand cut gussets to the bridge and fitted the 3 beams that would support the crossties.

While waiting for the bridge to dry I hand cut over 200 bridge ties out of popular wood sanding each one. By now the bridge was dry so I took a piece of code 83 flex track and marked each location for the bridge ties. I then started gluing down the ties. Once I had about half the length down I started laying the rail nailing ever other tie. But now I needed to go to work so I had to stop work on the bridge.

When I got back from work it was Thanksgiving so we moved the bridge up out of the way. That was a big mistake! The next day my Father in Law was going out the door when my wife and I heard a crash! The bridge had just fallen 8 feet to a tile floor. It was TRASHED! The only saving grace was the weight of the track had caused the bridge to land on the track side. The bridge sprung just about every one of its joints, I think the gussets caused the bridge to semi stay together. So I picked up the pieces, a bottle of glue, a rotary drill, and a crap load of nails. I then glued, drilled, and pinned every single joint again. once that was done I started relaying the track all over again.

Once the bridge was done this time I again had to go to work for 2 weeks. when I finaly got home it was Christmas and everyone was busy for the season. Today my Father in Law and I stained and lacquered the bridge and hung it. Next move lay the track to it but there seems to be a village in the way.