Truss Bridge Complete

I finished the truss bridge by fixing the reversed braces and adding the abutments. The braces now point in the correct direction.

The bridge was longer than we planned, so I had to do another iteration of shaving the left abutment to make room. I made the abutments with a double layer of 1/4 inch aspen wood. I laser cut the stone patterns. Then I added a layer of Milliput putty to the surface to simulate the rough stone typical of the era.

There is not a lot of clearance between the bottom of the bridge and the water, so I did not add a any type of bridge shoe.  However, there probably should be something. Adding a bridge shoe will require a slight modification to the abutment, but it is not impossible.

The bridge can currently be removed with the track since it is spiked on it. Once it is installed, we have to glue it in and attach the rail with joiners to keep it secure.

Next on the critical path is the turntable. I was planning on using my current turntable and popping in in place here. But now I think I will build a new one just for this layout.

One other task I wrapped up this evening was painting some figures. I started painting some of these Sash and Saber figures a few years ago, but never finished them. So tonight, I took two of the Trident miniatures and painted them along with finishing the other batch of Sash and Sabers. I painted these as African Americans with a Caucasian officer. These soldiers will represent part of the USCT infantry assigned to guard the depot. This was a typical mission for the newly raised USCT units at this time period. The Trident figures are very nicely sculpted. I would rank them as the best of the ACW 40mm figures I have tried.