Hawks NEW "MHO Junction" layout


Thanks everyone, much appreciated

Last night I started work on my covered bridge.
Here's a plan I found on the net which I'll be using:

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This might take a while, but I'm in no rush

Thanks for dropping by
 
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That sure looks like an ambitious build. Could be more difficult than a trestle. I do like it though. Don't forget to post photos and updates. Thumb up.gif
 
Always thought of doing a covered bridge, would take ooddles of strip wood for sure.
 
Yes it's a big project Chet, but it's been in my head for just over a year while building my first layout. I've been testing on methods, size, etc, now I'm testing paint. I want it to look very old (lots of weathering), rotting wood and of course it's got to be a RED covered bridge.

Thanks KB02, already have those pictures and about 30-40 other
Lynn, yes lots of strips. I've been building it out of Balsa wood (have plenty). When studying to become an architect (which didn't happen), we use to build all kinds of buildings with Balsa, so I've gone back in time to what was a passionate hobby of mine..... building stuff out of Balsa. I remember building a house with full joists, beams, truss, even carpet and wall paper...lol

I've been filming every step of the build for posting when done. I'll post pictures later.

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Lloyd,

Looking very nice and I like the staining you have chosen as well. A covered bridge will certainly add more interest and character to the layout.
 
Another update.
This week I've been working on my covered bridge and some roadbed. The covered bridge roof, walls and track platform are done, but not without a major problem found just in time. Nothing is assemble yet, that's why I build a little jig so that the walls could hold in place. Everything fit perfectly, checked the inside height with a locomotive and some freight and everything was ok......... until I tried a car carrier....... OH NO, I need to raise the roof by 1/4 inch, glad nothing was assembled. I was able to add an 1/2" extension which fits very nice.
What's next for the bridge, front and back top wall, touch ups, paint, weathering and then assembling.

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As for the layout, all I did was installing more roadbeds. For the coming week, I'd like to finish the roadbed and elevation work on the sub roadbed just past the village (before the peninsula). I also want to start work on my next bridge which is a trestle bridge. The covered bridge is for the passenger train while the trestle bridge is for freight.

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Later
 
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That's really nice Lloyd . You don't see a lot of those on layouts .The construction is very neat and clean . I really like the way you weathered the end of the board in post 66 . Keep the pictures coming !!
 
You seem to work fast with wood. I take my time and still have my father's lack of carpentry skills.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
 
This was one of my test
I soaked the sample in watered down paint (1:4) for about a minute.
Since it's Balsa wood, it's very porous and you can see the wood drinking, giving it it's color.
When I take it out, the wood is very soft (you can tear the wood), but I use a utility knife to chop at the bottom and tear it off.
I then re-soak for 10 sec

Once dried, I use chalk to weather, making darker at the bottom and top

Hope all this makes sense
 
Did a bit more work on the covered bridge
I decided to put some sort of mesh on the side of the bridge and on the extension for the height of the roof.
The mesh looks like a trellis. The reason for this is that I want all the people in the passenger train to be able to look out of the bridge and it also makes the inside of the bridge bright and clear.

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Did some work on the elevation and roadbed all the way to my village. What you see here is my container yard which will be on the left and top right is the main line for the passenger train.

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This is my testing room, I wanted to see how my layout "roof" would look like and if the angles would be enough to support it. Nothing will be on top, the only thing is going to be a LED strip right under. What do you think?

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Later
 

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Bridge turning out really nice. The brackets are too small to support the shelf, however. A larger bracket, maybe placed above the shelf wouldn't get in the way of your backdrop.

I know you are a ways out from trains but that is what I am anxiously waiting for!
 
Thanks David, trains..... hope to see some running by the end of March.
I'm not worried for the backdrop, there's going to be a 3/8" x 3" at every 32" spacing for the backdrop, so were I'm going to brace the shelf I could put a larger bracket as long as the thickness is no larger than 3/8".
Was wondering if I was to build a frame and screw it in the wall with 2 1/2" screws would be strong enough. The only weight is the frame itself and the widest part is about 12". I don't need any wider because the LED strip shoots light at 120 degrees.
I'm still in the testing phase, I should be getting the LED strip around the 20th of January.

Thanks
 
I am assuming you are referring to the rail in the bridge in the lower left of this picture.

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I don't know exactly what it is called, but it is a guard rail to keep any possibly derailed cars to stay on the bridge. I used flex track over the bridge and has some stock rail from when I was hand laying track and just super glued it along side the rail that the wheel ride on. If you have some flex track, you could strip it from the ties and use that.
 
Thanks Chet,

Yes that's what I was talking about. I thought that it would available in stores, but haven't found any, so building it like you said will be my option I guess. Hope it won't be to complicated and won't cause derailments. Should I use code 83 or continue with my 100 and how far away from the main track should it be?

Thanks
 
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