Thanks Mike! I hadn't thought about the Central Valley bridge kit. It's sure to be better detailed since the Plastruct kit has no rivit detail and is just straight smooth plastic extrusions.
I don't mind modifying and I know "S" requires a little exact work in many cases, but it's still a great gauge to model in and has a lot going for it. Butch --- In [email protected], Michael Byers <byemic01@...> wrote: > > > Hey Butch; I've purchased a couple of the Central Valley kits in the past ( > HO ) for the same type of 'conversion'. And although I hadn't proceeded very > far before having to put everything in storage for awhile, it looked as > though the approach I had decided upon was going to work quite well. After > some research and with the calipers, I'd determined that the size factor for > the structural members scale out close enough to S, but of course the biggest > problem is extending the width and height for more appropriate clearances. > The O scale version IS too 'heavy' looking for sure. I thought of splitting > length-wise the cross members at the centerline; top & bottom, and re-placing > an 'oversized' re-enforcement square or rectangular connecting brace at that > point to help 'widen' the bridge (at those intersecting points). It may take > away from the prototypical appearance aspect alittle bit, but if you could > live with that rectangular 'patch' to extend the width a bit more, why not? > Some concessions are a small price to pay to convert a nice, affordable HO > product into a usable, pretty convincing S scale piece. And possibly look at > adding spacers to either side of the horizontal cross-members and components > where they contact the vertical truss sections on the sides, at the top and > bottom (and near the decking) would help. The consistent thickness of > material used is up to you of course, to reach your desired bridge width. > Always try things out before cementing into place. And take time to reason > problems. That's the fun aspect of S scale: working out problems to ultilize > what resources we have at our disposal! Whatever thickness in materials you > use for the top portion of the bridge (used to widen it) needs to be > consistant with the thickness of material added to the bottom of the bridge > of course. For extending the height clearance I would suggest looking at > lowering the center decking components as much as possible while still > maintaining a reasonable appearance. You could also gain some clearance > (height) space by altering or removing the cross bracing at the top of the > entrance/exit bridge end openings.In my opinion, those approaches to > 'adapting' this or the Central Valley HO offerings, are the least amount of > work to make it work for S. It's either that or go insane trying to extend > all of those braces at the ends where they would connect or be riveted to > their main structural members; And life's too short for that! I'd > scratchbuild a bridge before going to that extreme. Anyway, I hope this > helps. Remember, if everything was readly available to us, (as it is in HO > scale) it wouldn't be as much fun, or much of a challenge. Most of us like to > have some bits of 'challenge' to be at least a little different and add some > degree of uniqueness to our models. Mike B. > To: [email protected] > From: up148@... > Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:22:14 +0000 > Subject: {S-Scale List} Plastruct Pratt Truss Bridge Kit > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Just curious. Plastruct offers a Pratt Truss Bidge kit in O, HO an N. > Has anyone on the forum ever built one of these kits to use in S scale. I was > wondering which kit (O or HO) would be closer to the mark for S scale. > > > > One would expect the O kit to be heavy on the beams/girders and the HO kit to > be a little light, BUT, maybe one of these kits is out of scale for for the > intended gauge and will work best for S. > > > > I would appreciate hearing any comments or suggestions. > > > > Thanks, > > > > Butch > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
