SPA Modeler

Tales of the Black Bridge

“How did the Black Bridge get its name?”

The old timers on the railroad recalled how a long-ago railroad bridge maintenance crew misunderstood their painting instructions for that bridge. Instead of only painting the iron tie rods and all other iron hardware, that crew painted everything black; timbers included.



People would come to visit the spot. Some would suggest it was haunted. Pennsylvania is home to some of the country’s eeriest tales, from the fires of Centralia to the Hellham County Gates.

Here are two stories about the bridge: if you say the Lords Prayer backwards three times the Devil will come and claim your soul. Another is if you tap your horn three times when passing over that the “Screamer” will come. The Screamer is a tragic story of a ghost woman who hung herself over a bridge once she was left at the altar. It is said that she screamed loudly when she jumped. The myth says that this same woman will appear behind your car if honk three times. Note: just don’t do anything in threes when visiting Pennsylvania!



How does this relate to a diorama? Well, honestly it is Halloween and I am thinking of scary stories but I am also thinking that when my Dad died he left behind some of his prized possessions—in this case, a few of his brass train models—and I need a place to display, photograph and appreciate his legacy. I could simply glue a piece of track to a piece of wood, but I remembered the bridge and how cool the trains looked passing over the bridge. I also thought I could incorporate a lower track running underneath and use a dual gauge section that would allow me to display both standard and narrow gauge locos and rolling stock together... and a bridge diorama relates to a classic layout called the “Gum Stump and Snowshoe,” which also features a bridge crossing and is named after two towns in Pennsylvania.

The Bridge Model

Micro Engineering 50’ Deck Girder Bridge

The Micro Engineering Company was founded in 1964 and over the years has become one of the leading companies in the US manufacturing model railway accessories. They started of producing scale model railway track in a single gauge then expanded this into a long line of track and track accessories in HO, N, G and O gauge scales. They then branched out into a wide range of highly detailed injection molded styrene kits including buildings, girder bridges, trackside accessories and much much more.

Deck girder bridges are used by railways more frequently than other types of bridges, especially in the States, they span everything from ditches to small rivers. This is an easy to assemble pre-colored injection molded styrene kit that requires assembling and glueing. The kit includes lateral bracing, cross braces, bridge shoes, rivet plates with extensive rivet detail and a piece of HO Code 83 flex-track.
 
Scale: HO
Materials: Injection molded styrene
Assembly: Requires assembly
Painting: Pre-colored
Dimensions: 7" x 1-3/8"

Well, this is the something totally new here !

Cool idea Bruce!

- Kari

My goodness..quite a project!

I always enjoy looking at scale RR layouts. It’s such a fascinating thing to look at and translates straight into dioramas. Very nice project choice here Bruce.

Thanks, gents! I asked myself why include this project here. I was going to work on this one privately. I look to this forum as a way to reconnect with a great big chunk of bench time spent with my Dad. Time that I will never have with him again. I know a train diorama is not necessarily the theme of the forum itself, but this is one of those projects where the doing of it may spark ideas for others. I would also suggest that there is a link between model railroading and military modeling which goes way back in the history of modeling itself, and it will be interesting to make knowledge available to all of us here who use the forum.

“I think the primary goal in my photographs is to bring people into a world that doesn't really exist through my eyes; through my experience.  You can walk as a scale dimensional person through this little miniature world.  I'm not so interested in scale model accuracy as in sharing my little visions and fantasies with other people, and by taking them there through my one-eyed camera, I'm therefore much more able to bring them with me.  I think that's kinda what speaks for my style and my brand."

- John Olson

“There was more than one hobby here and one approach was just as legitimate as another.”

- Bob Hayden

First sketches

Rolling stock

Many of the weathering techniques, at least that armor modelers use, first originated among model railroaders. The term “rivet counter” is also a link between scale plastic models and model railroading. The term came from there, where the know it alls would proclaim that such and such subject was inaccurate due to the wrong number of rivets.
Model on Bruce!

This is very cool - watching. BTW I so want to do all those myth things to see