New Bridge From Central Valley!!!

[SkipGear]

Walthers lists them for the end of September the last I checked.

[chuck geiger]

I remember the heat I flamed here about the BLMA bridge being a couple of skins and
thought Atlas bridges kitbashed were just as good. Everyone said, you will never see
a true bridge component for under 100 that looked good. 30 bones - This is grand and
it looks great. Looks like Walthers are never going to produce their bridges in N. Their
products in HO were nice and so was the 25 dollar Noch bridge. Brass bridges for 200
clams please Alex - and the answer is save money.

[wm3798]

Having built a couple of copies of the HO CV bridge, if the N version is anywhere close, it'll be a show stopper.  That said, it's not a particularly easy build.  The diagrams look like the N bridge will be a bit easier, but we shall see.

The Train Cat and BLMA bridges (Train Cat being a kit, and BLMA being a built up) I think do warrant some additional cost being as they can achieve a level of detail that might still be out of reach in plastic, plus Bob's are very unique, with several available.

I'm still waiting for a good deck truss to be done, though.

Lee

[AlkemScaleModels]

I remember the heat I flamed here about the BLMA bridge being a couple of skins and
thought Atlas bridges kitbashed were just as good. Everyone said, you will never see
a true bridge component for under 100 that looked good. 30 bones - This is grand and
it looks great. Looks like Walthers are never going to produce their bridges in N. Their
products in HO were nice and so was the 25 dollar Noch bridge. Brass bridges for 200
clams please Alex - and the answer is save money.

A few years ago I developed a brass bridge kit based on a prototype double track, through truss bridge. I designed it with parts so that it could be built in two ways, square or skewed. The pilot model  won an award at the N Scale Chantilly show.   After assembling it and thinking it over, I came to the conclusion that the market for such a kit in N Scale wasn't there at the price it would cost to produce.  Basically Chuck's comment above reflects my own assessment, so this project got canceled.  The mill brick building I developed and will be featured in Marty's book may go the same route.  Unfortunately, I have found that the N scale market really isn't well suited to craftsman style short run kits.

[sizemore]

 Unfortunately, I have found that the N scale market really is well suited to craftsman style short run kits.

Bernie,
I like it and I'll take one of those mills if they ever make it in kit form!

The S.

[Mark5]

Back to the bridge, I was hoping this might lead to a double tracker but I see they only make the single in HO:

http://www.cvmw.com/1900/index.htm

Cool bridge nonetheless, hope I can work one into my next layout.

[160pennsy]

A few years ago I developed a brass bridge kit based on a prototype double track, through truss bridge. I designed it with parts so that it could be built in two ways, square or skewed. The pilot model  won an award at the N Scale Chantilly show.   After assembling it and thinking it over, I came to the conclusion that the market for such a kit in N Scale wasn't there at the price it would cost to produce.  Basically Chuck's comment above reflects my own assessment, so this project got canceled.  The mill brick building I developed and will be featured in Marty's book may go the same route.  Unfortunately, I have found that the N scale market really isn't well suited to craftsman style short run kits.

If the price tag of this mill kit comes close to the current offerings from other vendors of comparable quality, size & materials, then add my name to the list. Seen that style stone foundation & brick building on many trips to New Hampshire (Manchester area)...you really nailed that New England look. Also has some resemblance to some of the Walthers Dairy complex buildings, which I missed out on during their flyer sale.

Regarding the Central Valley bridge kit...hopes this flies off the shelves for them so we also get the rest of their HO product line available in N.

[AlkemScaleModels]

If the price tag of this mill kit comes close to the current offerings from other vendors of comparable quality, size & materials, then add my name to the list. Seen that style stone foundation & brick building on many trips to New Hampshire (Manchester area)...you really nailed that New England look. Also has some resemblance to some of the Walthers Dairy complex buildings, which I missed out on during their flyer sale.

Regarding the Central Valley bridge kit...hopes this flies off the shelves for them so we also get the rest of their HO product line available in N.

I don't have a firm estimate, but this kit was going to cost about $100 mostly in laser time.

I had hoped to have the tower turret cast in resin, but the guy I had planned to use got the master and then went out of business. I never heard back from him and he has the master.

I may simplify the project and only do the main building and tower. That might keep the costs down. The coolest part of the idea is that the bricks come pre-painted. No need to try to paint the grout lines.

Maybe I'll do it as a special order and only do as many as people want. I need to think about that.

BTW the kit is based on an actual prototype building in Charlottesville, VA. There is a website devoted to it. http://www.historicwoolenmills.org/
This style was common not only in New England, but up and down the east coast.

[AlkemScaleModels]

Bernie,

That is the main reason I have shifted directions and gone towards special bridges (Like JD's).

I always wondered how you got enough sales to justify what must be outrageous development costs for those bridge projects, especially in time invested. How is JD's bridge coming along? I did a lot of preliminary work on his bridge, but my estimate for the project was too high for him.

As for brass kits, it is unfortunate, but when most US model RRers' see a brass kit, their eyes glaze over and think that it is impossible to build. The truth is that teenage girls in China and other Asian countries have no trouble building these brass kits. If they can do it, just about anybody can.  I run a clinic that tries to show folks how easy it is to build a well designed brass kit, but that is grossly insufficient to break the popular misconception. It's too bad really because there are lots of limited run models that could be done in brass if the modeling public was willing to build them.  BTW the next clinics I will be running are in October at the Ft Wayne NMRA regional meet.

[Chris333]

So the bricks are laser cut? Guess that would take time/$.

[AlkemScaleModels]

So the bricks are laser cut? Guess that would take time/$.

Yes, laser cut. That makes things like arches and circular windows much more accurate. I though about printed brick paper, but always got hung up on the those architectural features.

[Chris333]

So what is a JD bridge?

[John]

Wow .. JDs bridge is one cool thing .. how big is his layout?

So, let me tell you another reason why brass bridges might not sell .. in my case, my modeling skills suck .. so to do it the justice that a high scale bridge would need, I would need to hire Bernie to finish my layout ..

It just makes no sense to invest 100-200 in a nice brass model, when the surrounding scenery looks like a 3rd grader did  it ..  no offense to 3rd graders intended ..

[wm3798]

Don't sell yourself short, John.  It's not that your scenery is bad, it's just that there's so much of it!  It takes to flesh things out with details and what not to really make a scene  work.  You're still laying out parts of your track plan and working the kinks out of operations.  It'll come.  I would suggest that if you really want to push yourself, take a couple of lineal feet and start really working on it scenery wise.  I think you'll surprise yourself with what you can do.

Lee

[John]

Wow .. JDs bridge is one cool thing .. how big is his layout?

2600 sqft John.

BTW Bernie, The rock work you did @ JD's was incredible. Very realistic.

N Scale?  Are there pics somewhere?