Many of us have a certain amount of time off over the Holidays. a great time to get something done. both on the house...New wood floor for the livingroom and for the Choo choo's...new covered bridge.I had a guest engineer and engine on my line last fall. His Colorodo narrow gauge equipment was a good deal larger than my Maine Narrow gauge equipment. the bridges were a choke point for free and unfettered passage around my little line. I am also concidering building a larger scale model (7/8 scale) of some maine narrow gauge equipment. Therefore, I had to enlarge the clearances on my line. My new covered bridge got taken apart and put back together bigger. The old bridge looked so good (it has been in the weather nearly 20 years) I decided to build a new bridge to replace it rather than damage it.
The photo above shows the progress to date on the bridge. I have the truss complete, and am ready to lay track. I just set my sectional track onto the deck of the old bridge but will lower the rail by having the rails sit directly on the cross ties of the bridge to get some more head room for the big trains. Next comes siding and a roof
4 comments:
Another nice picture! When I watched your earlier video, one of the things that caught my eye was the 'weathered' look on the covered bridge caused by the actual steam from the engine. I can see why you would want to save it especial after all those years of faithful service.
Good luck on the new one, I am sure it will only be better.
John
Eric, Nice start to your new covered bridge. Do you plan to 'weather it' before installing it outdoors? If yes, I'd like to know how for future reference. Also, what kind of wood are you using?
The only "weathering" I have done is to add some "soot" above the portals as my Butane fired locos only spit oil and steam.
The bridges will be left to weather naturally.
The Trusses are Pine...this one from a tree I cut just feet from its intended home. I have used pine for siding on the old bridge and it works okay but the new bridges will have western red cedar siding. one is painted, but I may not paint the sides of this newest bridge right away, we'll see.
Have you tried to make your own red cedar clapboard siding with a band saw? It's pretty straightforward, and much less expensive...
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