I decided to build another copy of this same bridge for the other gap in my layout. Although the prototype used a truss bridge in this location (near Canonsburg, PA), such a tall bridge seemed out of place for the scale 40-foot span that I have. This gave me an opportunity to build another one and improve on my work of "version 1". I studied the first bridge to see what is really visible once I had added the ties, rails, and guard rails/timber. It turns out that a lot of work I did on the first bridge is not really visible on the final model. Using that information, I decided to build this one differently.

I also had had an opportunity to stop by a hobby shop and improve my supplies. This allowed me to build the model quicker and easier than version 1. I used .040" thick styrene sheet for the girder plates (Evergreen part #9040), two packages of .060" angles (Evergreen part #291), and one package of .010" x .040" strips (Evergreen part # 102). The angles come out to just under 4 inches which is about the right size.

The first step was to measure the height of the plate girders and transfer that dimension to the .040" sheet. Using the score-and-snap method, I created the two parts.

I also cut 8 sections of the angles to the same length.

These angles were glued to the top and bottom edges of the plate girders. The next photo shows the setup I used to make sure these strips (which are quite flexible) actually aligned with the edges of the plate girders. Here the top one is being glued in place.

The vertical angles were cut next. These will be notched to sit flush on and against the horizontal angles already installed.

After these were installed, I placed the plate girders on the abutments, held them down with some weights and glued two temporary strips on the tops to ensure proper separation between them. This will then allow me to take the whole setup to the workbench and continue assembly there.

The angles make very quick work of this. I installed them between the plate girders, and, after sufficient drying time, I carefully removed the temporary strips (which required some filing).

The thin strips referenced at the top of this page are now used. I make "X" cross braces using two of those strips. This makes the structure very strong. In "version 1" I used gusset plates to holds these. I also made angles for the cross braces. This was a lot of work and overkill for the model. This system for "version 2" is plenty strong. The gusset plates are not visible in the final model, so they were omitted for this one.

Next, I installed the angles at the top of the bridge, followed by the vertical cross braces.

To wrap up the construction phase, I installed the cross braces on the top.

Here is a photo of the side profile of the completed bridge. Painting will be done exactly as I did "version 1", because I was very happy with the result.