The NEW Puddington Valley Division of the CPR

[Puddington]

"life" has slowed any progress on the layout but I did maange to finish the Atlas code 55 bridge and made custom bridge piles, shaved down the Chooch abuttments and have now got the structure ready to install, thus allowing me to lay the track on the corner module....

[MichaelWinicki]

  That looks pretty sharp.

[Scottl]

I agree, that looks very sharp.  Nice work.

[Dave V]

NICE!   

[wm3798]

I've been eyeballing that kit... sadly it's all wrong for the bridges I want to build.  I'm probably going to go with a passle of Central Valley bridges, and convert them to deck trusses.
Lee

[Puddington]

Thanks; y'know, I was kinda skeptical about the kit when I bought it but jumped in because my LHS had a sale. When I started to build it I was really surprised...no glue needed..... (took me back to the 7 year old "snap together" models) The entire thing can be snapped together quite securely which is "awesome" for maintenance, track cleaning, "oops" moments etc.... (in comparison to the Kato bridge which is damn near impossible to take apart)

While not a perfect match for a CPR bridge it is close to several used in the interior of BC near Kamloops so I'll take the pain an call it a match....

[davefoxx]

I think it looks pretty good, too, Puddy!  That's the first Atlas truss bridge that I've seen.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised at the appearance of Atlas' code 55 single- and double-track plate girder bridge, too.  They're practically snap-together, except for a few screws to hold the layers together.  Kit form allowed me to paint the different parts without masking before spending just a few minutes putting it together.  Kudos to Atlas.

DFF

[davefoxx]

Puddy,

What's your plan for under this bridge- just the single track?  If so, my concern is that the truss bridge would be a lot more cost to fabricate and maintain for the railroad than a much smaller plate girder bridge that would easily suffice. In other words, do you have too much bridge for the use?  One suggestion would be to shift the track to one side and place a road under there, too... or maybe there could be remnants of a former double track... or maybe a switch to a siding.

Hope this helps,
DFF

[wm3798]

Aye.  And if you make the Kamaloops line double track, you can use it for an interchange track to generate some extra revenue.  Take Esquire Dave's suggestion with the road as well, and build it up so  there's a clearance issue to justify the truss and you're good to go!

Lee

[Puddington]

You're in my head (and plenty of space there is too) - there's a road that will cross both tracks... I am considering a second track twant to see how it will work out at the switch first.... trial and error planning.

[Midniteflyer]

Love the bridge Mike. I started a mod that has 5 of those bridges end to end and 2 sets of them side by side. The other guys will have to finish the mod since it was in the group of mods i sold.

[Puddington]

Hey Mid; if y'all wanna send me that "little trestle" ya did a while back I'd gladly include it on the new layout.....(salivating at the thought)....you should post some pics of that beastie here; she's a beauty !

[Puddington]

Whilst the wind gathered fury I spent a few minutes in the garage applying a second coat of hydrocal to the pink foam rocks and roughed in some scenery in preparation for laying the bridge and track....

Here's the "second coat" of hydrocal...looking better and almost ready for the light steel brushing...



This is the overhead with the Atlas bridge in place and the abuttments installed... I may add a second spur under the bridge on the right hand side. The road way base has been installed....



Modeling and Sandy...strange bedfellows............

[Puddington]

We've made some progress....



The scenic shell work is coming along - trying to get to the areas that will be hard to get to when placed in the room corner. The wait now is for a bunch of hydrocal rock molds to harden...



The foam rockwork has a coat of grey wash and will now be coloured with tints and powders until I like what I see. The shell has a brown wash.



One the the "eye catchers" will be this little "A" frame cabin on the hill. The road leads up to a small plateau that will be surrounded on two sides by trees. The cabin, when finished will be a small cottage/home for a family (that obviously likes trains)

One question is what to do with the valley below.



I like the idea of a small industry down there, maybe a winery production facility or my existing "Cherry Sporting Goods" plant but getting rail service to it will require a fairly sharp turn - not an issue for 40's cars but still.... I'm concerned about clutter.... should I pull back the hill on the right to give it more space..... comments ?

[wm3798]

I'm a switching nerd, so I'll always be in favor of cutting in another industry.  Perhaps a 30,000 ft. view that lets us see the context all around it.  And maybe some notes about what kind of landscaping you'll be doing.  (i.e. if it's a winery, will you be contracting with MCFunkyMonkey to build you a vineyard?)

Me likey the progress.  And I'm getting the cold weather itch to start building something myself...
Lee