Progress has been steady and I’ve completed the basic structure for the first bridge. As mentioned, I’m attempting to pay better attention to non-train details – thus I’ve put a little more thought into this simple bridge then I would have in the past

I’ve decided to freelance the bridge design based on local examples, as I haven’t any references for the ‘real’ bridge. Likewise, I’m not interested in building retaining walls brick by brick, so I’ve opted to model poured cement.

The deck and stringers for the bridge were built using styrene.  I included all the stringers for prosperity’s sake but didn’t worry about adding any details.  As for the retaining walls, I decided to use balsa wood.  While balsa does have a wood-grain texture that requires sanding, its bulkier dimensions simplify the wall building process.

I built the wall off-site on a scrap piece of foam – affixing each of the walls to a sheet of paper taped to the surface. I then braced the walls with some scrap balsa, again gluing everything to the paper base. I also reinforced each of the seams on the wall with bits of paper.

This technique is surprisingly strong, and once the glue had dried I was able to cut around the base of the walls without affecting their placement.

I did a quick test fit and everything looks good. I’ll need to bring the landscape out to meet the bridge, and I still need to finish wiring the track.  I believe that I’ll apply several coats of paint and putty to the retaining walls to remove the ‘wood look’.