Return loop bridge for upper line

The upper level loop needed to pass over the lower level loop at a shallow angle.  This meant a rather long span that would require supports.  The staging yard being an off scene part of the layout, I was free to design my own bridge without it being at all realistic looking.  I wanted the area to remain as open as possible for track maintenance so after experimenting with several options, I built this curved bridge from brass materials.

Here is the collection of brass materials I found at my local hobby shop, Amazon, and ebay.

As you can see in the photo, I completed the painting on the yard since the last post.

Here is the completed bridge in place along with it's Masonite deck.  With the lower level cork in place it is clear to see how the two tracks cross each other. This cork on the lower level is the first to be installed anywhere on the layout.  After I get the track put in on the lower level return loop, cork and track can then be installed on the upper level.

Here is a low angle view showing how the lower level track passes through the supports for the upper level track.  Also seen is the Masonite deck of the upper level supported by the brass strips.

Main staging yard bench work - Part 3

Part 3 of building the bench work for the main staging yard was to build up the upper or Western Pacific line around the turn around loop and over the lower or Southern Pacific turn around loop.

While part of the path around the loop is solid bench work, the loop will be completed by a special bridge that I am building from brass.  In the near future I'll post about that part of the project.

Another bridge was built to carry the loop over the lower level as shown in this photo.  This was made from Masonite hard board that I originally got to use for curved fascia and sky boards.  I had never worked with this material before and am impressed so far with what can be done with it.




The space in the turn around loops will not be wasted.  I have had a lot of success mounting Tortoise turnout motors upside down and off to the side of the turnouts.  I plan to use some of the area in the loop for this purpose.  Next steps will be to seal and paint the remaining exposed areas.