A neat detail on this bridge is the
small pieces of metal foil laid over the top edges of the bents to represent the pieces of tin used on prototype trestles to reduce the possibility of fires caused by sparks and ashes from the engines. The metal pieces were cut and formed into shape, then blackened by soaking them in printed circuit board etching and gun bluing solutions. The different soakings turned the metal to a nice weathered color.
The reason for the Bloody Gulch name is because of a nasty event that occurred while the trestle was being fitted into place. When I was cutting away a small piece of stripwood to make things fit better, I hit my finger with the point of the No. 11 knife blade. Nothing red dripped onto the scenery, but I did say a few bad words to myself for being so careless. To com- memorate the event the place was named Bloody Gulch.
Vista Grande Trestle I added a short, curving trestle at a location at the lowest elevation of the C&TT’s mainline. It’s on a 30″ radius curve directly in front of a sheer rock bluff just before the track enters a con-
crete tunnel portal. There’s nothing special about the timber bent trestle other than it is located inside a small window installed in the wall of the lay- out room. Again, this bridge was glued and pinned together out of stripwood cut and colored prior to construction. The structure spans a deep canyon and is designed to be lifted out of the way to protect it from damage while doing scenery work. As with most of the oth- er timber trestles on the layout, this one features a couple of safety retreats for workmen and also includes water barrels to extinguish fires. A double row of 2″×12″ planks is laid end to end on the ties to provide a walkway for track crews when they cross the tres- tle. This is a “spindly looking” model,
but it looks great when viewed through the window since it is set against the vertical rock face.
The “No Name” Trestle at Tall Tim- bers
There’s a small ravine at the head end of a spur in the community of Tall Timbers. I created it after getting tired of seeing the flat track leading off the mainline towards an old depot. Since the track is sitting about 10″ above the tablework, I was able to remove the fas- cia board and cut the particle board sub-roadbed and Homasote®
to create
enough space for a ravine. Scrap pieces of wood were glued to the bottom of the remaining particle board on each side of the cut to serve as mounting sites for the timber abutments.
Simplicity describes the No Name Bridge (above) over this dry creek bed. It is noth- ing more than a couple of large square beams resting on timber cribbing for the short span. It was built (above right) with the rails remaining in place. The beams and crossties were slid in between the rail and the top of the abutments. Heavy tim- bers (right) make up the abutments.
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN 79
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