The time had come to get rid of what was considered a bridge. I was using the Aristocraft Trestle supports outside on my mountain line for the last 3 years. I must say that these have held up well in the harsh, desert weather but the look wasn't exactly realistic as note below.
I frequently go down to the Arizona Train Depot in Mesa. .The original owner there got me started in LS in the great outdoors. I have found that supporting the local hobby shop is good for me. The current owner sell consignment items [that is how I got my long wanted LGB Forney]. Most recently, a local resident has been creating and making bridges and other LS items. The bridge that is being sold goes for about $45.00. I bought one as the price for the size and the durable construction, certainly was right!
As you can see above, I needed major surgery on the line and the "mountain". I took out several small 4 foot diameter LGB curves and ripped out several 300 mm straights and replaced with one Aristocraft 20 ft. diameter curve and 2 5 foot straights. I had to custom cut down one 5 ft. straight to around 4 foot. I also needed to rip out some of the foliage - most notably the Alo Vera plants. They grow like weeds out here...
ONe of my boys helped me haul extra dirt to rebuild the hill. After it was all said and done, I asked him to name the bridge because of all his hard work. Well, I have my own "London Bridge" on the LiZarD AtTiTuDe RailRoaD now. I will make a small sign to commerate the name and the occasion.
