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| Kelly
River is our latest exhibtion layout . The main feature of this
layout is a working single track Bascule
Bridge (a drawbridge with
a
counterweight – to be precise the bridge modelled is a single leaf
through truss with an above-deck counterweight). On either side of the bridge the double track main lines are combined into gauntlet track to run over the bridge. Gauntlet track refers to the where tracks converge onto a single roadbed and are interlaced without using turnouts or points. A switch frog at each end allows the two tracks to overlap, and the four rails run parallel over the bridge on the same sleepers and separate again at the other end. The signalling, bridge operation and track power supply is interlocked. This will make operating the layout particularly interesting. It also means that trains can’t crash into each other on the bridge or fall into the water when the bridge is up. The bascule bridge is adpated from the Walther's model and is over 70cm in length. The guantlet track is hand laid in code 83 rail utilsing the frogs from No. 6 Shinohara turnouts. The other turnouts on the layout are Micro Engineering. |
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PROTOTYPE & PERIOD
MODELLED
Kelly River is a freelanced
layout. It is not based upon a specific place in North America. We did
research and confirmed the use of gauntlet track on bascule
bridges. We run trains
from a variety of North American railroads from the 1940s through to
the present day (not all at the same time). |
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GAUNTLET
TRACK
Gauntlet track refers to the
where tracks converge onto a single roadbed and are interlaced to pass
over the bridge. A switch frog at each end allows the two tracks to
overlap, and the four rails run parallel over the bridge on the same
sleepers and separate again at the other end.Gauntlet tracks are commonly used when a rail line's capacity is increased with the addition of an additional track, but cost or other factors prevent the widening of the bridges. Since there are no points or other moving parts on gauntlet track, a train operating on one of the tracks cannot be routed onto the other. Because two trains cannot use the gauntlet at the same time, scheduling and block signals must allow for this restriction. |
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BASCULE BRIDGE
A bascule bridge is a drawbridge with a counterweight that continuously balances the span, or "leaf," throughout the entire upward swing in providing clearance for boat traffic. Bascule is a French word for seesaw or balance, and bascule bridges operate along the same principle. They are the most common type of movable bridge in existence because they open quickly and require relatively little energy to operate. A "heel-trunnion" bascule bridge is where the moveable leaf and counterweight each rotate around separate heels (called "trunnions"). |
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