Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge

 The Alfred H. Smith Memorial bridge was built by the New York Central to relieve a bottle neck at Albany, plus as a means to avoid West Albany Hill.   Located 10 miles south of Albany, it allowed trains to cross the Hudson River on their way to Selkirk Yard and points west.   On the east side, trains connected via a gentle grade to the Hudson Division and New York City, or straight east on the Boston & Albany.

Finished in 1924, the 5255' long bridge still stands today and is a key connection for CSX.    

Our model is completely scratchbuilt.   While the overall length exceeds an impressive 11 feet, it is still far shorter than the 60 foot length had we built it exactly to scale.   The two trusses were built first from Central Valley girders, followed by viaduct decks with 234 3D printed railing posts.  Next came the main piers fabricated from a 2 x 8's and lined with Chooch stone walls at the base.  The last part of the project are the viaduct towers, which are complete on the eastern approach and still in process on the western side.

Building this bridge has been a multi-year project!