Perhaps this page should be called 'Bridges and Buildings', but we'll leave it the way it is. First off, I like bridges. Lot's of bridges. Flat scenery just begs to be cut up to form hills and valleys so one can build more bridges.
I built two Nn3 onetrack modules and I had to build bridges on them, one module featured a truss bridge and a wood trestle, both crossing a small stream. The first bridges to be built on my home railroad were in my fictional town of Durango. They range from this horse bridge that you couldn't pay me to cross, to this gallows turntable(It's a bridge, well sort of.) This rickety old bridge leads from the turtable to the engine house. The K-27 rolls over it just fine, the K-37 rubs on the fragile timbers as it barely squeezes through. Sorry Ted, your Mallet would destroy this bridge and end up wedged in the gulley!
The next bridge to be built is out by the logging camp. It's a wood trestle similar to the West Side Lumber Company's river bridge. This bridge crosses an automobile bridge instead of a river. Once you pass the logging camp, the track curves out over a 120' high steel trestle. This bridge was built from some cheap Atlas deck bridge parts and some Micro Engineering steel bridge towers. After climbing a three percent grade, the track wraps around a mountainside known as 'the slide' , crosses a timber truss/stone arch bridge and then descends into the tunnel leading to Ridge Crest.
Now, for the buildings part of the page. Most of the completed structures are presently in Durango, mainly because the scenery on the rest of the layout needs coloring and ground cover. This building, on the edge of town, is built from Gloor Craft Models' store and warehouse kit #2003. I scratchbuilt the platform using scale 2x6's and 2x8's randomly for flooring. I also changed the front by adding a Grandt Line front door to give the store a more updated look. The shingles on the two story part of the building are Republic Locomotive Works RLW1000N random cut cedar shingles. I rubbed them with a VERY LIGHT coat of Minwax 210B golden oak stain while they were still on the sheet. After they were applied to the roof, I gave them a light coat of Testers Dullcote followed by a wash of india ink/alcohol and then a sealing coat of Dullcote. Here's another view.
The next building is Gin's Dry Goods. I used this building to fill in space on one of my Nn3 onetrak modules, but it's been mounted permantly in Durango. This is a complete scratchbuild using modified grist mill plans found in an old Model Railroader magaziine. The platform is all built with scale lumber and so are the stairs. I've been using RLW lazer cut stairs on my latest projects and they are much easier to build. Here's a shot of the rail side of both the warehouse and Gin's Dry Goods.
After switching cars at the warehouse and Gin's, the train crews frequently stop at the Wilson Saloon. This is another scratchbuilt structure. Here's a look inside. The only "facilities" available require you to cross this obstacle to get to them.
Home Locomotives Rolling Stock Trackwork Structures Scenery New Layout Prototype Photos Interchange Track
