Mississippi River Bridge Abutments & Scenery

Worked on the Mississippi River area this weekend for two reasons. One, it was the next area on the agenda and two, I just received some really nice signals from Scale Models Division and really wanted to get them installed. I already had the aluminum screening installed so Saturday morning I got things ready for plastering. As this is a bridge area I first needed to get the bridge abutment installed. I checked the photos I had of the prototype as a guide.
 East Bank

 West bank

For the abutments I used pieces of Masonite that I attached to the roadbed using finishing nails.I drilled holes for the nails to aid in exact placement of the Masonite and make them easier to nail.

East bank:

West bank:

I then got to plastering

That was it for Saturday as I needed to let the plaster set up for 24 hours before painting.  Today after church I painted the scenery, added ground foam, and  painted the track. 

Lastly, I added the rock work to the east bank and installed the signals.  The rock work is from Choch and is a flexible rubber sheet that is cut to size and applied.  It even has a peel and stick back that makes it very easy to install.  Great product.  I will be using it for all the bridge piers as well.

The signals were custom made by Scale Models Division to match the prototype below.  They look great and will really be awesome guarding the rotating bridge whenever I get that built.  I have not yet hooked them up to the signaling system but hope to take car of that this week sometime.  Here's a prototype photo from the Clinton side looking east and a satellite view of the entire crossing with the bridges being modeled circled in red.