Building this highway overpass and need a pointer

[chuck geiger]

This is the Ashland Ave. overpass (over) the now UP, former SP yard throat in Fresno. I have it built and I am adding detail. How do I build the "suicide prevention inverted fencing" or SPIF? The mesh is easy, the inverted fence posts look tough. Sorry this should be in scratchbuilding

[3rdrail]

Looks to me like you're goning to have to bend a sizeable number of brass posts to a sort of "hockey stick" shape. Then, tape the top pipe (wire) to a surface that can take heat. Tape the "hockey sticks" to the surface touching the top with the long end in the air. Solder them together. Place some damp paper towels over this and solder the pipe (wire) at the break to the posts. Then, use whatever you use for cyclone fencing to finish the job.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

If you could find a suitably sized etched mesh, you could go that route and then just bend it with a straight edge.

Then add in the posts as an overlay.

[Zox]

That fencing doesn't look all that different from what I did for Area 53:



The biggest difference, of course, is the horizontal pipes between the posts.

I'd try using gray or silver thread for the horizontals, glued on after the chain-link is applied. Stretched taut and spot-glued to the posts, it should look pretty much like pipe.

[chuck geiger]

Every 10 scale feet, I drilled a small home in the bridge wings and CA'ed small wire posts bend (like a hockey stick) with an "L". Going to use the idea about thread for pipe glued on after the mesh. Wal-Mary fabric deparments sells a small grey bridal veil mesh, I have hundreds of scale feet for 35 cents a yard. Pix tomorrow. Thanks for your input.

[chuck geiger]

Progress on overpass as of Saturday night:


.

[wm3798]

Nice work, Chuck.  What did you use to make the highway signs?
Lee

[chuck geiger]

Lee try this program on-line it is awesome:

http://www.kurumi.com/roads/signmaker/signmaker.html

[chuck geiger]

Ed is right, a stronger, smaller mesh than the bridal veil material bent with a straight edge would have worked better than the veil. It's really hard to attach to the wire posts with CA. I might look for some brass mesh and cut it into the prospective sections and bend it. I noticed the fence on the bridge today is only on one side. Guess if you cross the highway, you can still jump or throw crap on the trains. And the material is black. It really hard to paint this small holed material, the holes catch the paint and you have to use a hair dryer or blow (i am a blow hard) to pop out the bubble. I'm going to create stencils or use paint masking tape to  creae the lines, free hand or dry transfers suck.

[Zox]

Ed is right, a stronger, smaller mesh than the bridal veil material bent with a straight edge would have worked better than the veil. It's really hard to attach to the wire posts with CA.

I used chiffon for my fence material, spray-painted gray. It's got a much finer mesh than bridal-veil material--in fact, as far as I can tell it's just about scale-correct for chain-link.

You can see the R&D process for my fence in this old thread:

http://therailwire.net/smf/index.php?topic=11271.0

[chuck geiger]

Lord Zox - Good stuff...This is closer to the fence material used in overpass fences. It is smaller than chain link to keep "jumpers" and "hoodlums" from climbing on it. BTW - The veil material comes in different colors including grey or silver at Wal-Mart!

[asciibaron]

what year are you modeling?  this bridge looks to be within the past 25 years.

-steve

[DKS]

Here is grey bridal veil material that has been colored with brown sharpies to simulate a very old and rusted cyclone fence. The material was cut in a diagonal strip and CAed to stanchions from an old Alloy Forms fence kit. The barbed wire is just solenoid wire.

[Pomperaugrr]

Wow.  That is a great shot.  I really like the vine growing along the barbed wire.  It looks very convincing!   

Eric

[DKS]

Wow.  That is a great shot.  I really like the vine growing along the barbed wire.  It looks very convincing!

Thanks! Here's a slightly wider angle of the same view.