After a week of heavy rain we woke up this morning to see all the puddles had soaked into the ground already. Last night I had no dry spots to walk on, and now it is almost dry. However the dams are both full and overflowing as is the 110,000 litre water tank. That's good news too
And the hills are green again. Fantastic!!
Yesterday I cleaned and glued the girders together ready for painting. Just need to wait for them to dry and then turn them over ;)
The instructions from the USA manufacturer said to use a metal undercoat and then apply a top coat. These things need weathering and paint deterioration is exactly that... weathering :) So I used red oxide (satin roofing iron) touch up paint in a spray can. Saves having to clean up the air brush which I find to be a PITA.
Having received the Central Valley bridge ties from the States I was now able to work out how to create a section the correct length.
But I notice here in the picture that I have a problem, that I had not picked up yesterday.
Just to show House Creek abutments cut into the board and lifted slightly to allow for the thickness of the underlay
The bridge all glued in place. After I fix the bridge ties I intend to strip the sleepers from under a section of flexible track that will start 6 inches before the start of the bridge ties and end 6 inches beyond the second bridge.
I will then mark the rail to indicate the exact start and finish of each bridge tie section.
Next I will move to a hard solid section of bench top and replace the sleeper sections on these pieces of rail, between the bridges and at each end. Then according to Central Valleys instructions, I will be able to fix the bridge ties in the correct position by forcing the plastic moulded in dog spikes down over the web of the rail. I will glue the rail on top as well ;). When I am happy with the whole assembly, I can carefully glue it all on place. The SG closest to the camera will be code 100 if Peco fits (?), otherwise I will use code 83 which I have to buy in. The BG of course will be code 75 which I know does fit.
Now I have to think about the wooden extensions to the piers. The sides are ok because I will create thin ply retaining walls to hold back the banks and cover the edges ok.
I think the middle piers will be sanded back and covered in styrene and painted to simulate old concrete. The BG side should be brick, however I am not certain I want to do that just now.
Ok looks like I can turn them all over now and finish up here ;)
Cheers
Rod
A bloody good read mate. for others- Rod and I have known each other about 55 years or so, with a few gaps over the years. Love the new Bridgework and abbutments. I recall these being a dark grey or weathered Black in my VR days. Catch ya soon.
ReplyDeleteHopey