Lovely job Jules! You have really given this structure a worthy tribute! Not sure if anyone has pointed this out already, but I suspect the girders were a retrospective ‘upgrade’ of some sort. The original bridge was built when locos and their loads were relatively light and cast iron was prevalent, which of course is depicted well by the representation of that Victorian outline ‘ghost’ engine that now adorns the deck. Those girders look like they are later steel additions, which were probably added when the freight yard was upgraded so they could accommodate heavier locos and higher volumes of traffic 🤓 Goes to show what a great subject this bridge makes though, because it has this superb dual history aspect. So a great choice has become a splendid one! 😎 I love how that software allows you to stretch and skew to fit and allows you to create a feasible model based upon the original so (relatively) simply. I am realising more and more how I really MUST get one of those amazing little machines. It has spurred me on to get us moved more quickly now, that’s for sure, lol! 🤔 As a useful point of reference if you want to portray a quasi-abandoned viaduct, look up Weekday Cross on the old Great Central Railway. British Rail had to provide access for industry after the line closed so freight traffic had to pull into the tunnel under Nottingham town centre via the old Great Northern line the reverse back down to Leicestershire all on the singled and very much downgraded ‘up’ line. I think this practice continued until the tangent connection to the ex LMS main line at Loughborough was built in the 1970s after which it was abandoned. There are loads of pictures online as of course the Great Central is much mourned even now and there are even tours that follow the line as was. The viaduct structure as-was sadly no longer exists, but the trams now uses the same footprint as part of the Weekday Cross approaches today 🤓 I wouldn’t worry too much about the tonal difference in brickwork. If the viaduct was the original line, it is quite feasible that it had to be reworked to accommodate the new line running beneath it, hence in ‘real life’ they might have ended up using different coloured bricks anyway 🤷 As for the lattice, I think a soak in a suitable watered down glue and drying flat could add a rigidity to the card, though I think it looks as though the painting did the trick, and in any case I have to agree that the blemish adds realism. In fact, since it is a disused viaduct, I’d maybe be tempted to create a few more ‘errors’ to give it more of an abandoned look, and maybe cut a few bits of brickwork 😃 Have a great weekend mate 🍻🍀👍😃
I can't believe it's the second time you've shown that bridge in Brighton and it only just dawned on me that we used to drive under it regularly to visit my grandparents in the 70's! You've done an amazing job recreating it
So the brickworks had a new batch, definitely a plus, NOT a minus. Very unlikely they would have consistently identical coloring. Truly Julian a bloody marvelous build.
Fantastic progress Julian with the new girder section which looks exceptional. You are really demonstrating the value of laser cutting and motivating me to learn more.
For anyone with an appreciation of girder span and brick arch sections should try (if you dont know of it or havent ever seen it) the one that goes over the rochdale canal, that goes through Castlefield, in Manchester city centre. Its a beautiful thing to see. Beautiful white and red angled girder section
Perhaps the derelict section of track on top of the viaduct, rather than spanning the whole thing, could be terminated at some point with a buffer stop, hinting that at the very end, the viaduct was partially used as a head-shunt or (as suggested elsewhere below), as a storage/scrap line of a facility somewhere off-scene? Lovely bridge BTW.
I suspect the arches were once structural -- but back in the 1840s when a locomotive didn't weigh anything like what it does today. As locos got bigger and heavier, the plate girders were installed preserving the arches as a decorative feature.
I can't tell you how many times I've driven and walked under that bridge and never really taken much notice of it, and I now feel bad about that as it's rather stunning really. Your rendition of it is superb, well done Julian. Would love to have seen you cut the arches on the rest of the viaduct similar to another bridge in Brighton not far from this one you have copied. If you look on Google images at London Road Brighton viaduct on the inside of the arches you'll notice the 'cut outs' which make for an amazing visual impact.
Hello, Julian, I hope you are well. I wanted to pre-emptively congratulate you for surpassing ten thousand subscribers; you currently have ~9.95K fans who have subscribed, so you are sure to attain this momentous milestone in the coming days. I wish you joy of your achievement, and many a future success. All the best from across the ditch, and I look forward to seeing more from you in subsequent months and years. Kind regards, Figulus.
Very effective and inspirational as always. I think you made the right choice in having arches beneath the roadbed. One small feature I might add usually found on prototype bridges would be a cartouche showing the year of construction positioned in the top of the facing arch, but it may be a bit small for that location.
Love the girder bridge. Two things the fancy iron works was the original bridge when locomotives were a lot lighter, then the 3 girders were added later when trains and locomotives got a lot heavier. As far as the deck is concerned, how about track that is heritage line (maybe storage) and next to it a cycle and footpath, as in a “Sustrans”. Have a look at Avon valley railway at Bitton near Bristol.
The girder span looks really good Julian, and as for the brick colour, as @christopherclarke9316 mentions, it's quite usual for sections to be added on or modified in differing brick colours. You don't really want everything to look exactly the same. A bit of weathering and it will look lovely. Cheers!
Hi, the idea of a length of track is a good, you could place a set of stop blocks (buffers) at the end or part way along perhaps denoting a head shunt for something the other side of the garage wall
A pat on the back Julian and you should be very pleased with the outcome, the girder section looks fantastic, well done. Many thanks for sharing this wonderful video and looking forward to the weathering you will be applying. Regards Barry..👍
Loving it! A variety of elevations makes such a massive difference to the appearance of any model landscape. Such a shame that you couldn't incorporate it into the working part of the layout (I'm thinking 'Neville Grove')
Hi Julian. Amazing. Stunning viaduct and bridge. This scene already looks awesome. I wish I had your design skills. Can't wait to see this area of your layout finished.
Nice work Julian. I think you'd be surprised at how much load the arched sections would actually take, being in essence trusses with an arched bottom chord. The girders would normally be I Beams to stop them from buckling. Given that you won't see underneath that doesn't matter tjough. Great work as always. Happy Modelling. Mon
An archaeological and craftsmanship tour de force. The skill level you’ve shown on your other structures have always been top notch, this project is on another level, impressive is an understatement!!
I don't know the history of the bridge you're basing yours on. But there is a possibility that the ornate arches were structural when the bridge was built (especially if it's over 150 years ago). As the weight of trains increased through the years, these early bridges were found to be inadequate for the task now at hand. Some ended up as restrictive routes, some ended up going from double track to single track, and some would be reinforced as best they could be. There might be a story behind the history of your sample bridge!
This is looking great, and an excellent choice of prototype for the girder span, if I may say so. I'm late catching up with this video, so you might have solved this already, but many years ago, I got some whitemetal corbels for supporting girders like those - not sure if they came from a UK or a US manufacturer. But these days, I guess they'd be easy to produce on a 3D printer.
What a great find for a prototype, Julian, and a fantastic, well-designed and beautifully executed model 👏👏👏 Incidentally, the fancier arches aren't decorative, just an earlier bridge built when trains were lighter, strengthened later with a newer design. Really nice example of this strengthening work, which itself looks like it could have been done a hundred years ago (give or take a few decades). The fancier arches could be mid 19th century?
An absolute brilliant piece of model engineering and design Julian. It certainly has created a great focal point of Station Road. Looking forward to the next episode. Best wishes Kevin
Dear Julian, love the version of girder arch bridge. You’re definitely on track towards the Station Road ‘Highline Park,’ absolutely awesome! Curious what you will use for the arch footings! Cheerio
Disused trackbed could be done with just the sleepers remaining. Rails may have been sold for scrap or misappropriated by local scrap merchant. Things of value didn't hang around for long. Station where I was born and bred (Cleckheaton Central) was stolen after it was closed by Beeching!
amazing job. In the real thing they probably picked an iron section to give better height clearance and they indulged in two types of fakery... the one you spotted was that they are purely decorative and hide the real beams, but they also made them come down to the the pier top capping, which is what a true load bearing arch would do. From an engineering perspective, this is where the arch loads finally transfer to the piers. Was there any reason you ended the arches further up the pier?
It's interesting know about specific engineering methods and requirements but in the case of the shallower arches, it's pure for aesthetics and the overall scene. The shallower arches provide more visibility to the hill and tunnel portal from normal standing vantage points around the train room.
