The Little Rock Line

Allen H Dec 31, 2011

  1. Tad

    Tad TrainBoard Supporter

    1,270
    662
    37
    That looks good, Allen.
     
    tonkphilip, BNSF FAN and Allen H like this.
  2. Joe Lovett

    Joe Lovett TrainBoard Member

    1,608
    4,575
    62
    Your trestle passed the load test. Nice job. Trestle projects are fun to build, I'm working on one now for the supports under a coal mine that are similar to a trestle.

    Joe
     
    tonkphilip, BNSF FAN and Allen H like this.
  3. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

    1,509
    2,454
    55
    Thanks! Neither can I!

    Thanks Tad.

    Thank you.
    This one would have been more fun if I would have had the forethought to install it ahead of time. :whistle:
     
    Joe Lovett and BNSF FAN like this.
  4. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

    67,560
    22,735
    653
    Not sure if anyone answered this question?

    A "bent" is a single set of pilings, (usually five), it's cross bracing and cap timber. The stringers (horizontal) sit atop these. Atop the stringers are your ties and rails.
     
    tonkphilip and BNSF FAN like this.
  5. BigJake

    BigJake TrainBoard Member

    3,259
    6,173
    70
    The structural term "bent" is used (and may have originated) in timber-frame building/barn construction to describe the primary vertical structures composed of posts, beams, rafters and braces, that are erected and then tied together with braces, girts, purlins and ridge beam to complete the building's structural frame. The bents are usually assembled horizontally on the ground and then erected into place.

    This is similar to the way the railroad trestle bents are constructed and erected, unless the posts are pilings, in which case they must be assembled/erected one stick at a time, pilings first. Note that the pilings are generally driven into the ground to a given resistance level (with a known weight/force driver, how far one blow sinks the piling.) When the distance per blow gets down to the maximum limit, calculated per the load rating on that piling) it is cut off to the specified height above ground. Only then are the cross members and braces attached.
     
    badlandnp, muktown128 and tonkphilip like this.
  6. tonkphilip

    tonkphilip TrainBoard Member

    244
    306
    18
    Big Jake, You provided great information on pile-driving trestle piles, cutting to length etc, many thanks!
     
  7. tonkphilip

    tonkphilip TrainBoard Member

    244
    306
    18
    ***
    Bendtracker, Beautiful bridge and I think that you win the contest for productivity and getting it done! - Tonkphilip
     
    Allen H likes this.
  8. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

    1,509
    2,454
    55
    Thank you.
    To be honest, it wasn't all that much effort in building this bridge.
    It took more time to make sure things went the way I planned beforehand.
    It took me less than an hour to cut all the parts.
    Another two hours or so to assemble the bents, thanks mostly to MEK.
    Painting took less than an hour.
    Gluing the bents to the stringer was another 45 minutes or so.
    Unfortunately, that was just the building of it.
    Trying to get it cut into place and get things lined up so stuff runs smoothly may take a bit longer.
    I wish I had done this before I ballasted the track in this area.
     
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2022
  9. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

    1,509
    2,454
    55
    One step forward, two steps back....
    That's about how I feel right now.

    Originally I had somewhat planned to carve things out but I was just having a hard time trying to see a clear path going that route.
    So after several restless nights I decided to start with a clean slate, well kind of.

    I did manage to get a section removed but this is where I stalled out at.

    [​IMG]

    So this is what I decided to do. Remove everything within the blue boundaries.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Laid in a layer of cardboard and 1/2" foam

    [​IMG]

    The bridge is taller than I need and I still need to add another layer of foam under 2/3rds of the bridge, so I'll be doing some trimming as move forward.
    The creek will be painted on this layer of foam and I can build up the creek banks easier than I could have carved them out.
     
  10. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

    67,560
    22,735
    653
    As I have been daydreaming of a tiny stream on an upcoming T-Trak module, I am finding this project to be quite interesting!
     
    Allen H and BNSF FAN like this.
  11. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

    22,015
    27,413
    253
    This trestle scene is progressing nicely.
     
    Allen H and BNSF FAN like this.
  12. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

    1,509
    2,454
    55
    Thanks Hemi!
    Once the bridge is installed, the rest should be a breeze.
     
    BNSF FAN likes this.
  13. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

    1,509
    2,454
    55
    Start of the creek bed

    Last week I picked up some 2mm & 5mm thick brown craft foam to get started with the formation of the creek.

    [​IMG]

    After a little bit of doodling I cut some to form the banks of the creek and test fitted the bridge to make sure three of the bents were going to sit in the water. Then glued the foam in place.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The area in front of and under the bridge will be at this level: 7mm above the creek surface. Most of this area will be covered by tall static grass pretty much right up to the water's edge as per the prototype. Before the grass goes down I'll add some sculptamold to the make the surface a little more uneven in front of the bridge.

    [​IMG]

    Once the foam was securely in place, I started cutting the bottom of the bents to match the landform by removing 7mm (thickness of the craft foam) off the bottom of all the bents (except the three that would be sitting in the water). I sliced some tape to 7mm and applied it to the bents as a cutting guide. Using thinner strip of tape, I removed another ~1/8" from all of the bents so the bridge would match the height of the existing tracks.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Next I mixed up some Ground Goop and added it the edges of the craft foam to form the creek banks just under the bridge, for now. I'll add the rest when I get the thicker foam set in place that will form the main banks in this scene. For now I'm trying to gets things prepped so I can install the bridge and track next.

    [​IMG]
     
  14. Tad

    Tad TrainBoard Supporter

    1,270
    662
    37
    Nicely done, sir!
     
    hawkdriver and Allen H like this.
  15. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

    22,015
    27,413
    253
    Nice work! I never considered using this squishy foam for scenery--I'm interested to know how it works for you.
     
    BNSF FAN and Allen H like this.
  16. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

    1,509
    2,454
    55
    Thanks!
    Yeah, me neither Hemi. I had a hell of a time trying to find some thinner extruded foam without having to sand it thinner.
    I suppose I could have used some balsa sheets or thin plywood?
    My goal here was to keep it as flat and level as possible so when I went to cutting the bents, I could cut them even.
    Plus it was pretty easy to cut it shape the creek.

    I think it'll be stiff enough the way it is?
    I did put a coat of latex paint on it that I use for earth brown, between that and the glue, it feels pretty solid.
    If I push down real hard on it I can feel it give a bit.
    We'll see how it works.
     
  17. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

    1,509
    2,454
    55
    I finally started Terrafoaming the creek scene.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]

    The rest of the story can be found on the blog.
     
  18. BNSF FAN

    BNSF FAN TrainBoard Supporter

    9,899
    29,182
    148
    That is coming together nicely sir. (y)(y)(y)
     
    Allen H likes this.
  19. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

    67,560
    22,735
    653
    I really like seeing how the stream bed wanders.
     
    Allen H likes this.
  20. Tad

    Tad TrainBoard Supporter

    1,270
    662
    37
    If you want to make it look realistic for that area, the first layer of the finger inside the bend of the creek looks really good.

    The second layer should end about where your trestle starts and should be sloped down lmore smoothly than you have it at the far end.

    It would then look like a South Arkansas creek bottom.

    When that creek floods, all of that terrain disappears.

    I grew up not very far from there and I have hunted in that bottom.
     
    badlandnp and BNSF FAN like this.

Share This Page