Southern Railway.

Hi all,

I think this footbridge will suit me, but I've got a couple of questions, 1: the span is 150mm. I know what that's supposed to mean, but are they talking about the span over the tracks or the total width? I know it sounds a bit silly, but there's no one to ask around here.

2: Can the steps be reversed on one side or do I have no choice?

I've finally got to the stage of thinking about scenic work, but most things mean a wait while they're sent out from England. The only store within about 80 Km from me closed it's doors a while ago.

Hi Pete, while I'm not familiar with this bridge, I can reasure you that the span should refer to the length of the structural gap between supporting structure (piers, columns, etc).

Is it the Ratio 517 kit? It's good for two tracks:

Ratio 517 Concrete Footbridge Plastic Kit OO Gauge. Please note plastic kits require Paint and Glue to complete.  Span: 150mm  A Southern Railway Design Of Bridge, Still In Use Today On Many Stations. It Will Span Two Tracks And Includes 2 Lamps And 2 Smoke Deflectors. Can Be Extended With Further Kits.


It looks as if you'll need to do a little kit bashing to reverse one of the staircase flights by cutting out a section of balustrade wall from one side and infilling the existing opening on the other. Use of a razor or fret saw could facilitate a neat enough cut to use one side's balustrade to fill in the other. Easy job, but will need a repaint / weathering.

Have fun,

Bill

Thanks Bill,

I might have to get one ordered then.

The Ratio footbridge kit is an easy build and a good representation of its prototypes.  I used two kits suitably "bashed" to achieve a long span over a very awkward angle at Waddlemarsh.  I found it easy to build up as I required.  

The kit can be built with steps in-line to the deck span, with both flights at 90-degrees on the same side, with one flight at 90-degrees to one side and the other flight opposite or even (with a little cutting) at 45-degrees.  Note that the prototype "Exmouth Junction" products normally only used 90-degree angles but a very few existed with 45-degree turns to suit specific locations.

While that might not answer the dimensional question my response to that is to note that "Span" is normally the clear distance between uprights and not the total end-to-end length if built in a straight line.

Take a look through my Waddlemarsh layout topic to see some in-build and completed-work images.

Thanks Rick.
The measurement between uprights is exactly what I was after. I now have one, but it'll be a while before I build it as I have no platforms yet.