By Roy Dietz/photos by the author
This bridge at an interlocking is made from several Plasticville kits with the railings replaced with brass wire. The finials on the masts are not yet added. I will make one finial on the lathe out of brass, and use it as a master to make a mold for casting the rest of them. It takes some patience to do the wiring as you are working with tiny LEDs and wires, but the results are well worth it. I have two bridges, and both are powered by only two D batteries with a pot to control brightness. The batteries have lasted more than two years with monthly op sessions.
I made a brass master from a signal head kit, with the long PRR lens cov-ers made from brass tubing. I backed that up with 3/32” plastic and drilled through each light. Then I made a silicone mold for the castings and later sanded the thickness of the signal heads way down. After pouring the casting liquid, I used a tooth-pick to stretch the mold at each lens cover to allow the casting liquid to get all the way down into the mold. Expect some failures at this step…