Tuesday, July 21, 2009

The "bridge" in place

Well, as I've predicted, what you put on a drawing and seams "perfect" .... when you realize in reality ... never happens ( at least on my construction!).
I must confirm again... this part of the hobby is not my job.
The previous mentioned bridge between the two peninsulas was planned as a swing bridge, as the initial shape was a rectangle. During the development of the plan, given the easements and enlarging the curves to obtain a better realistic tracking for 80' passengers cars, the bridge shape was changing to ... an "L" ? See the previous pictures above.
That said... it was hard to plan an hinge in an appropriate position!
So, I just shift to a "shift bridge" , or better to a removable module. In fact, discussing with some of the future crew, the need to open the bridge was only to entry to the Dispatcher table at the beginning of the Op session .... and for him.... to reach the bathroom "occasionally" !
Anyway, here are the hard work steps in the construction, for the few "carpentry lovers" here around.
Cover the Spiline with plywood: I put some paper (recycle some paper roll already printed on one side from the office?) on top of the Spilines , follow with a pencil the border, then cut the paper and position on the plywood to optimize the wood cut.
I start with the bridge section, ending where the bridge will "presumably" end:
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Then shape the sections immediately near on the curve:
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Here I'm cutting the bridge at the end:
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The final removable section in place!
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Next ... "Up to the stars ... to the infinite"
Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine - Totally electronic, totally interactive, totally free - Premier issue: January 2009