After nine months of design, experimentation, and construction, my bridge project is finally coming to an end. Time for allowing myself more distractions. My recent acquisition of a Beamo laser cutter was another reason to try out new ideas. I didn’t have to look far for a new project, though. I now had the Bruckner […]
The J.L. Mott Iron Works Building Read More »
Having spent a lot of time on designing the trusses, deck, swing structure etc. the bridge’s complexity kept growing. But the more I added, the more I realized that still a lot of details had to be added. The pedestrian walkways on Third Avenue Bridge were not really part of the bridge’s core. Existing high
Third Avenue Swing Bridge – Finishing Touch Read More »
The Third Avenue is a swing bridge just like several of the other bridges over the Harlem River. To stay close to the prototype, I decided to build a structure on the center swing pier that would be both realistic and functional. Again, I had several photos of the original bridge plus some more detailed
A Bridge Model that Swings Read More »
Adding Detail to the Trusses It took me two weeks to review my design of the Third Avenue swing bridge span and to create the vector graphics files for the additional details. And cutting the files on their 60W laser wasn’t a top priority of my laser cutting service during Covid-19 times. But when I
More Swing Span Details Read More »
This is a blog contribution that comes almost three years late. In my first blog about the Third Avenue Bridge model, I left open the entire access ramp to the bridge abutment. That’s about a 2′ section on my CNJ Bronx Terminal layout. I built and completed the ramp over time and it now enhances
A Bridge in Pieces – Part 2 Read More »
The section of the Third Avenue Bridge that was within my layout perimeter was completed a long time ago. I could have left it with that, a girder bridge ending on the eastern rest pier of the swing bridge. Modeling the complex web of a truss bridge was out of reach for me. After my
Across from the CNJ Bronx Terminal along Third Avenue Bridge sits a large warehouse that always fascinated me. The eight story high building is a large dominating structure visible from far. Its curtain walls with large windows on all four sides make it a witness of mainstream industrial design of the first half of the
Bruckner Building on Third Avenue Read More »
Bruckner Boulevard (133rd Street) between Third Avenue Bridge and Lincoln Avenue with its row of houses on the NE-side is often included in photos of the CNJ Bronx Terminal. Most buildings have been around for nearly 100 years or more. As such have witnessed the peak of the industrialization in the Bronx and more specifically,
Bruckner Boulevard Read More »
Having spent a good part of my live in the European country I grew up, I had no idea what an RS-3 diesel engine was, until I started being interested in US railroads, present and past, and in model railroads. I had no idea, however, that I came across this type of locomotive a long
I had been struggling a while to find a locomotive that was suitable for my CNJ Bronx Terminal. It would have to be a small enough switcher to fit into this kind of yard. But it would’ve to be a strong puller that could work well the narrow curves and complicated turnouts without losing power.
A Strong Puller for the Layout Read More »