First Bridge

04-05-00

The first of many bridges is done and it didn't turn out to bad. I didn't have any plans for this bridge, I just looked through some Garden Railway magazines and kind of pieced it together. I wanted something simple that I could build in a short time that would reflect the rustic design of the late 1800s.

Materials and Cut List.

2 - Lower Main Supports 1/2 x 1/2 x 15
4 - Track Support Beams 1/4 x 1/4 x 15 5/8
6 - End Supports 1/2 x 1/2 x 6 1/2
12 - Lower Track Supports 1/4 x 3/8 x 6 1/4
2 - Upper Main Supports 1/2 x 1/2 x 11
4 - Side Supports 1/2 x 1/2 x 4 3/4
(both ends cut at 45 degrees in the same direction)
8 - Side Cross Supports 1/2 x 1/4 x 6
4 - Side Upright Supports 1/2 x 1/4 x 4
For assembly I used Titebond II, 3/4" #18 Brass Brads and 3/4" #18 Brass Escutcheon Pins.

All measurements are in inches.

To the left you will see a list of the materials I cut for this project. The finished length of this bridge is 16 inches and it will span a space up to 13 inches across. Part Names that are underlined display a picture pointing out that specific part. Hopefully this makes my ramblings easier to understand.

I started out by building the base of the bridge as opposed to the sides. This turned out to be the right order because I would not have been able to nail the Lower Track Supports into place if I built the sides first.

The main part of the frame is built from the two Lower Main Supports and 2 of the End Supports. I glued the frame together and then used brads to nail the End Supports onto the ends of the Lower Main Supports. To make sure the frame was square I used a tape measure, to measure the distance from the outside of one corner to the outside of the other. Then compare that measurement to the measurement from the opposite corners. These measurements should be equal. If one is longer than the other, lightly push in on the corners that gave the longest measurement, then re-check the measurement. I then glued and nailed two additional End Supports to the bottom of each end of the frame. The first one is set back 1/8" from the end and then another one was added right behind it. Once this was done I let the whole thing dry for 30 minutes to make sure it stayed square.

The next step was to attach the Lower Track Supports. I started from the outsides and worked in towards the center. The first support was laid in alignment with the end of the Lower Main Support. This sets it back about 3/16" from the end of the main frame. Each support is glued and nailed into place with the 3/8" side of the support facing up. To find the location for the next support I placed 4 supports next to the one I just attached and then glued and nailed the last one into place. You then remove the 3 supports in the middle and repeat the process. This makes a spacing of a little more than 1" between each Track Support. I continued the process adding one support to each end until I had finished in the middle. The supports are held in place with glue and one brad in each end. Be sure to pre-drill all nail holes first to keep from splitting the wood. I used a brad, chucked in my drill, to pre-drill all holes. This works better than a drill bit because it does not actually remove any wood. It just kind of presses a hole into the wood and makes the brads hold better.

Next I started on the sides. Working on one side at a time, take two Side Supports and glue and nail them into place with brads. These supports are butted up against the two center Lower Track Supports and angle towards the ends of the bridge. Make sure these Side Supports are cut as close to 45 degrees as possible, otherwise the 2 Upper Main Supports will not be parallel to the Lower Main Supports. (mine weren't) Now glue the upper main support into place and repeat the process for the other side. The Upper Main Supports are not nailed because there is no good way to nail it to the Side Supports without breaking the Side Supports loose. When both sides are completed to this point let the sides dry for about an hour before continuing.

Now that everything is dried we can finish the bridge. There are 6 more pieces to the assemble of each side and glue and Escutcheon Pins will be used. The Escutcheon Pins just add an additional point of detail. If you don't have any than brads will work fine. The Side Cross Supports are added next. These supports are located so that the bottom of the support starts 1 1/2" in from the end of the bridge frame and the top of the support ends 3 3/4" in from the end of the Upper Main Support. Glue and nail this support into place with an Escutcheon Pin in the lower support, the side support and the upper support. Now place another Side Cross Support just opposite of the last one but on the inside of the bridge rail. Then repeat the process at the other end of this side. The last two pieces are the Side Upright Supports which are located in the middle of the structure. Now it's time to repeat the process for the other side.

The last step is to glue and nail the 4 Track Support Beams into place. First I marked their locations onto the Lower Track Supports at each end of the bridge. These beams are located 1 3/4" and 2 1/2" in from the outside of the bridge. Once I had these marked at each end I used a straight edge to draw a line across each Lower Track Support. These lines show me where to place a drop of glue in order to hold beams in place. Besides glue on each Lower Track Support, I nailed the Track Support Beams into place on the 2nd and 5th Lower Track Supports.

Once all 4 beams are in place, stand back and admire your work. Whether it's perfect or has a slight lean because you cut 42 degree angles instead of 45 (like mine), it's hand made, not from a box and something to show off!

Although my directions seem clear to me I'm sure you have a bewildered look on your face by now. If you decide to build one and have any questions, please drop me an e-mail.
Take care,
Johnny F