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HO Micro Engineering 80-180 Plate Girder 85

4K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  Dennis461 
#1 ·
Anyone familiar with this product?
I need to span approximately 12" and this looks like a suitable starting point. I was planning on kitbashing some open truss bridges.

The package labeling is confusing me:confused:


Micro Engineering
85' Plate Girder pkg(4) -- 8 Girder Sections Scale 42.5' in Length
 
#6 ·
Yes, this is more a package of raw material than a bridge kit.
Large sprue tabs to cut off.
Narrow rivet plates to glue to top of girder, may need to add stip to raise them higher in the center like a real girder bridge.
 

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#7 ·
Looks EXACTLY like a bridge kit to me. Parts to make a bridge. Not sure what you were expecting. Companies like MicroEngineering and Central Valley Gems aren't trying to give you parts to build one specific bridge, but the, well yes, raw materials to build the bridge you need. From your description of what you want to do, it sounded like that's exactly what you wanted.

You definitely do not have to add any material to put these together correctly. Plate girder bridges provide a strong foundation on which to lay track. There isn't a high spot in the middle of anything.
 
#8 ·
...Plate girder bridges provide a strong foundation on which to lay track. ...
This offering is the side girder only, no place to lay track, and no pieces to connect the two halves. I will use one of these to complete;
a. wood
b. plastic road sign
c. other bridge parts e.g. AHM or Atlas
d. stryene sheet

The deck will be hidden by ballast, and the bottom may not be visible either.
My main reason for buying this was to see what was in the bag, I could have bought the Walthers 90' bridge part # WCR-933-4503.
 

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#9 ·
If you use the black girders, they would be spaced such that they are underneath the rails. You can get bridge track that would then lay on top. The gray truss bridge seems to be missing a truss, but again bridge track could be used across the base the two trusses connect to.
 
#10 ·
progress



This is going to be a through plate bridge, not deck.

The gray truss luckily was not glued together. It was designed to take code 100 black tie track. My Atlas code 83 brown tie flex would not fit. I had to mill the deck out to fit the longer ties.

The girders are cleaned up (sprue removal) and I'm making shims (from CD case black part) so the top rivet plates will be thicker in the center.

My wood base already warped, twisted.

There is a through deck on a local passenger rail line that I drive under under every day. I may climb up and get some closeup pictures. If I do not post anything after Monday, please bail me out of jail!
 

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#11 ·
Yes for that type of bridge just about anything can be use as long as it can contain any additional "gravel" you might add. As I recall and as your picture shows there are some girder flanges that come out at an angle and I think connected to the floor stringers. You kit girders may not have that feature.
 
#12 ·
More detail

Looks like I need to add more detail to my model.
For decades, I thought this real bridge was single track. Climbed up today,

I need to add the angled gussets and a pine tree!
 

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#13 ·
Yes, don't forget the pine tree! Just to make it interesting the bridge is skewed across the street, Nice looking bridge and the girders you have should work. Here's another place to get bridges like this https://www.shop.cvmw.com/PlateGirderBridgeKit-singletrack-1903.htm. I think they have some nice pictures of the plate girder bridge also. The CV model has everything but the pine tree! The also have an assortment of bridge ties, including my favorite - a gauntlet bridge tie!
 
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