Roger has been in touch with a very clever N scale truss bridge:
“Hello Al
Love your site – so much useful stuff – and so friendly. It’s a fabulous thing you do for us all and I’m sure your hard work is well appreciated.
I’m sending you a bit of stupidity. I like a few visual jokes on my layout and I’ve just constructed this unusual N scale truss bridge. Cost me nothing at all – just a coat of paint. Got to add some detail, re-paint, weather it and give it rust – but it looks surprisingly good in situ. In theory you could build a three metre bridge for no cost – but you’d have to shave five times a day.
Used superglue – poly-cement doesn’t like the chilled food packaging – which incidentally I use for hundreds of things – free plastic sheeting – strong and flexible – and the clear variety is great for glazing which I’m sure everyone has discovered.
Think I’ve cut the truss bridge cross-members too thick so I’ll whip them off and create a more intricate design as it’s N scale after all. I know there are much cleverer folks than me out there so it would be interesting to see what they can come up with using these things. They’re much too interesting to waste – and everything made of plastic goes in my box!
Thanks again, Al – for all you do.
Best wishes.
Roger.”
N scale truss bridge:
How about that? A bridge from Razors!
Just brilliant. Utterly brilliant. A huge thank you to Roger for sharing his N scale truss bridge.
Tips like these save a fortune. And with the money you do save, get more out of it with the latest ‘ebay cheat sheet’. You’ll save even more!
Don’t forget this cheap scenery too.
Keep the tips rolling in.
Best
Al
PS Looking for the Beginner’s Guide? It’s here.
Totally ingenious. I love it. It’s a shame I don’t use disposeable razors.
Absolutely FANTASTIC, shared with a colleague who was equally impressed.
OK for the first time, this O-guager is jeolous of N-guage. Won’t someone please supersize some razors?
just a great tip very basic easy to construct and a talking point when discussing bridges keep sending them in i really enjoy getting them there alot beeter then work emails thanks again.
How very imaginative! Who would have thought something so simple could provide this? Well done.
Looks very Sharp and on the razers edge of technology
but you are only scraping the surface with this type of idea.
hope my comments do not cut too deeply.
It is a brilliant idea, a great way of saving money.
Re useing your old razers etc. is also helping the enviroment.
Keep these great ideas coming.
Regards
Mark
I agree, just brilliant and innovative for sure.
Hi: I agree, just brilliant and innovative for sure. Thanks for the lesson on finding useful purposes for every day material that you normallydiscard.
What a wonderful, wonderful green project. Just think of the millions of these razors that go to our landfill sites each day. This is a man that thinks outside the box for sure.
Al thats a brilliant use of used material just wish my eye could spot this sort of thing. make note to myself to shave every day
Wow !! What a fantastic idea!!
Brilliant
Absolutely ingenious. Must now stop my good lady from throwing away my ‘used’ razors
I’m assuming that the engine was N gauge, so with a little more imagination you could do this for OO gauge. Fantastic idea I will be trying this one out for sure, thanks Keith
Super Roger…hey guys when you find you look at every piece of wood scraps, or any scraps, or and product in a store, and you immediately think “modelling” man, you got the bug. Just use that imagination you have. This by the way greatly reduces the cost of modeling, but is more fun, cause you did it all….way to go Roger.
The world is a better place to live in.Less shaving ,less face cuts more railroad bridges. Workss for me Next stop the United Nations.
Absolutely FANTASTIC. Wonderful. Brilliant idea. Congratulations
Joao carlos Lima
Architect – Bebedouro-Sp – Brazil
Good cheap idea`s are the best , think I shall have to throw my electric
Looks very good – will show my miniaturist ladies at next meeting but does it mean my husband has to start shaving off his beard?
that is very nice girder bridge absolutely fanastic fun to build i am sure .i model n-scale. i am going to save plan and constuct one when enough razors are available. puts a smile on the face. thk u crt
Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can I try with an electric rasor? With, imagination, it can be adapter for bigger gauge. (not the electric) Love it.
Great idea, but unrealistic. It looks great on the layout, but in real life, it wouldn’t stand!
Time to hit up a “Super 99 cent store”, I don’t use throw away razors. But for 99 cent I can buy a whole bag of them. Thats what this bridge would cost me. You can’t beat that for a bridge!!!
After 35 years of not shaving, I suppose this beard will now have to go.
Brill how to …( may have to use this..)
I echo Mr. Baker…..everything looks different to me now that I’m getting involved in model trains.
The real hoot will be when one of us picks up a magazine in the future, something like “Architectural World”, and see an award winning railroad bridge exactly like that but full size and winning a prize.
Keep ’em coming, Perfessor!
PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF ADDRESS:
Delete: wsmith2720@aol.com
ADD: wmsmith2720@gmail.com
Thanks
Ingenious, any ideas for N Guage?
Super Idea, Recycling and Model Railroading, Who would of known? Well anyone who has thought about their “extra-stuff” and used it for the hobby can also go Green, “Save Our Planet” and “Boost Model Railroading” Kodos Al !!!
Thanks for your kind comments, fellas. Meant a lot.
Keith and Markus – this is OO (not N gauge) – perfect for the scale but it’s best to dry-test an arch of joined girders with a piece of track and a coach to ensure sufficient clearance either side of them. This determines the length of the joining section at the top of the girders – in my case a little piece of dowel I had knocking about.
These razors come in all sorts of designs. I was lucky – mine had moulded hollows all the way down the shaft which could be plugged with the dowel – but they can all be adapted.
Love to see what others come up with. I’ve got lots more freeby, superscrimping designs I can send if Al is happy to pass them on.
Many thanks again. Roger.
great modelling
What an example of insight and ability that you must be blessed with, please keep it comming for all of us.
WOW Factor 100% . This is why my Fiancée asks me if i want some things before they hit the trash bin. Congrats on this . Bridge.
Well now I can find a different use for my used up razor. What a clever idea. Simple, diffently affordable ( no cost ) and a nice addition for any model railroad.
Nice job.
Awesome job, my first thought was as someone else said I don’t use disposable razors” Then I realized the wife and daughter seem to go through a tone of them. They may be pink but they will paint up well!
YA THAT’ S THE WAY WE HAVE TO DO IT , THINGS ARE GETTING TO EXPENSIVE TO GO LOOK AT NOW DAYS NEVER MIND HAVE TO BUY … GREAT TIPS THANKS .
Roger,
RichD’s comment is, at first blush, quite correct. That is, in full life-size (scale 1:1) this design would fail. However that doesn’t mean the concept is wrong, just the sizing of the elements. It is a challenge and I will have to put my mind to it, starting with a static analysis of the vectored moments of the theoretical live loads assuming a structural steel based approach.
Of course industry will in due course be able to utilise composite materials (i.e. carbon fiber etc) which would considerably reduce the dead weight loads of this type of design. I look forward to lively debate. Keep up your ingenuity Roger,
Dr Bruce
I’ve modeled HO and N and do a lot of scratch building. I’m open to ideas as interiors for N are few and far between and expensive. I’ve made cafe tables and booths out of wood, I use straws for outdoor drain pipes, just paint them silver and make patios out of flat small rocks picked up in sand piles, I use rocks out of driveways for boulders on layouts, just paint them how you want them, more realistic than plaster and I’d like to hear other ideas from other people and things they have used. I’d have never thought of using these razors. The trinket isles at craft stores have contributed many things to my layouts, notably trash cans at homes or parks, get a dozen for 99 cents and a little paint makes them perfect trashcans. Beads can become flowerpots in all sizes, popsicle sticks were a must on HO layouts, can do many things with them, plank bridges one of my favorites, even fences, in N, 1/16 and 1/4 balsa strips (square) can make furniture, counters for stores, and outdoor BBQ pits are simple and look realistic with thin copper wire or cloth mesh for grills. Bottle caps make good stock watering tanks painted “concrete”, windmills out of matches and soda straws, for farms. I’m always looking for good ideas and many “accessories” aren’t available in N scale, they have to be made.
Great piece of work. The design is brilliant, and what it is made of make you wonder what else you could do with other things lying around the house. Good job, keep this up and I might get a few good ideas of my own.
To think of all the disposable razors looking exactly like those in the picture that I have thrown away over the years. I am turning 66 in June 2012 and I use one such razor for about a month before throwing it away, since I shave about twice a week. However, I will now shave daily so that I can get enough razors to build bridges and stuff with.
I will also look at everything I see with a different eye, namely: ” How can I use that on my layout ?” May be a few things, such as Live Elephants or aircraft carriers, will be excluded from my gaze, but anything of appropriate size and which I can get for free will be fair game.
What a great idea,fantastic.
Execellent design I will adapt and use this great idea…
This is good enough to use as a model for a real one!
-Dirck
Roger, your brilliant and innovative idea is what makes our hobby such a fun and relaxing way of life. I am sure glad all our train friends share their ideas with others. Keep up the great ideas.
Wonderful and nice bridge. He turned useless thrown away things into invaluable assets. Thanks AL for your site
How big and long are the wooden pegs you used between the razor’s. I use these razor’s since I shave my head since I don’t have much hair. Go through about 10-12 a month.
That is realy great !!!!
I love simple ideas and never think of them! That’s amazing!
Could this be scaled up to “S” gauage?
A great way of shaving some of the cost of model railroading!
Quite inventive, I like it
sharp!
Bic is now experiencing a surge in razor sales.
INCREDIBLE! AMAZING!!
and WOW comes to mind also
Looks great. Love the novelty factor. Trusses have a top chord.
I plan on doing this and letting my family think i am ingenious! Who would have thought!
Great use of trash-to-treasure thinking! I collected VHS tape cassettes as people switched to DVD. Used the screws to hold down my S-gauge track, used the wheels to store wire from old Christmas light strings until I used on the layout, used the metal pins and plastic clips to build rotating parts. Saved audio cassette tapes to use the tiny screw to mount lights, used the metal plate to repair worn motor casings,used the wheels to create gears for moving parts on log loaders, etc. Hanging file folders have steel bars that can be used to build bridges, steel frames for buildings under construction, etc. The possibilities are endless! And people love to donate as much as you can handle if they know their junk is being used! Keep thinking outside the box!
I wish I could think outside the box! Brilliant!
Great use of things we never think about when we throw them away, I do not use that type of razor, however many do. Only thing that might look better would be to cut off the razor head, don’t know for sure, just saying.
From USA NEVADA
What is the cheap scenery printed on do I have to print it out. Myself
Hello & Good Morning,
Excellent use of disposable razor after use. It contributes to maintain ecological balance as well. Very good idea for the manufacturers, who can adopt this craft for their campaign as well. All in one. No more USE & THROUGH! Now it’s – USE & REUSE !!!
GOPAL DAGA / INDIA
What a great idea. Like we all say, don’t throw any thing away. Thanks again.
This is an excellent idea. Now, if I can get my wife to stop shaving her legs for a few months, I can make one of these as well. Then again, do I really need another bridge with a wife having go-rilla legs? I think I’ll let her shave 🙂
The person who commented that trusses have a top chord is correct. This clever bridge needs a longitudinal member running the full length on top. Easy to add.
WOW!!!!!!!
Re: Disposable razor bridges
Just one side of the bridge is the perfect shape for snow sheds in mountain scenery..
That’s what you can call a close shave Lol
As a modeller (military/ships/aircraft) we learn to do this….look at things on how they may be adapted to something. I have immense parts boxes of all the extras i have saved. I like comment about popsicle sticks. You forgot added bonus of treat that is on them. All the styrofoam sheets one gets in packing of mailed items. LOL havent found a use for the popcorn type …..yet. I have jars of various colors of dirt i have dug up. run it through a sifter on a scene sprayed with elmers/white scenery glue mixed in a pump bottle sprayer…accurate dirt/ground cover
Only goes to show you ~ you’re never too old for inspiration.
All I can say is that is so cool. Great Tip and just so simple .On a scale of 1 to 10 and 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. I give you 10.
Thanks for sharing.
Now that’s real cool, heck of an idea.
Ronald.
what a great idea. it looks a great bridge. well done. thanks for sharing.
So it well work with any razor blades or it has to be those ones showed .
5 STARS
For the O gauger above, I have HO and made a girder bridge using a piece of luan board , and some stir sticks as the girders. Glued 3/8 round dowel under the luan board as steel beams for the bridge then painted it all flat black. The same could be done by scaling up a little to fit he o gauge.
to the O Gauger again or any gauge really, There are 2 size stir sticks in a pack at walmart. the heavievier one or some thin ones.I used the thin one for my HO bridge and have had a lot of comments on it. just for your info.
That is one of the most clever and creative work I have seen. Who would have thought? Kudos!!
But there are no disposable razors that would work for an O gauge layout.
This is too small for trains beyond Z or N, but would work just fine as a PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE in HO! Wonderful ingenuity! Bravo!
Your idea was just in the “knick” of time. It’s great and for small gauge projects like yours it’s perfect. Ignore that guy who said it wouldn’t work in real life and wouldn’t even compliment it. There’s always one in every crowd. You did Grat and it’s really realistic looking. I’m an HO guy and us “popsicle sticks” for many of my projects. They’re cheap and abundant. and with a little practice can be made into anything you can imagine for your layout. Keep up the good work and done the bureaucracy get in the way.
Neat idea. People who play RPG’s with miniatures utilize discarded stuff like soda cans, small pieces of mesh (plastic, metal, cloth) and stuff like zip ties, which they glue together and paint up. And their “layouts” look like little models, some as realistic and inspiring as a model railroad.
A little ingenuity and thinking about what is cheap and how it resembles whatever you need can make this hobby less expensive for people on smaller budgets. And the details already built into those razors is a super bonus.
Where did he use the ham steak?
Great idea!! And….if ya dont use disposables, get a bunch at the Dollar Tree/Dollar General!!
Looks awesome, great job , thanks for the postđź‘Ť
Well done Roger brilliant idea đź’ˇgreat tips thanks.
Now that’s cool……fantastic.
To all those who gripe that it would not stand up in the real world. Haw would their plaster hills, twig trees, plastic models.ect, stand up in real life. Quit nick pecking! Enjoy life.
Awesome solution Roger, love it. However, I use and electric shaver and model in G Scale so I have to build my bridges with wood. May have to start thinking small.
Always nice to see something out of the box brilliant. Bet all the guys will be saving their trash just to see what they can come up with. Thanks for the the inspiration.
What a marvelous idea. The creativity routinely displayed here is sometimes mind boggling.
great ideal & well done.
Great idea. I first started growing a beard two days before I was discharged from the USAF in 1966 and because I can’t stand the hair on my neck, I have used who knows how many of those razors and threw them away when no longer good. Any idea what I can use the trimmings for when I trim my beard ?