fall inside a hole
Girders
First written March 27, 2024Piers, Bridge Girders, Block Bridge Girders, and related track risers have existed since the very first highway set. Early Bridge Girders (はしげた) sat entirely beneath the track and had molded "fins" that fit into the rails on the underside of the elevated rail section. These girders typically came in blue or sometimes reddish-orange. These girders were also sold in yellow in a pack of six individually in the early 1970s. Some examples of these girders can be seen in the Plarail Museum.
Bridge Support (1964)
Around 1964 when the Iron Bridge was released it included two white bridge supports with a wide stance that splayed outward at the top to include inset pips. There is a style of Tot Railroad track risers that are similar in design.
These supports were used into the early 70s until the individual Iron Bridge release was updated to use the newer larger yellow Bridger Girders also used in the first Big Iron Bridge around 1973.
Double Track Bridge Girder (ふくせんはしげた)/J-15 Double Track Bridge Girder (複線橋げた) (1968)
|
<--- J-14 Block Bridge Girder <--- J-14 "New" Block Bridge Girder |
J-16 Double Track Railroad Crossing --> |
In 1968 alongside the introduction of the Double Track rail standard new Double Track Bridge Girders were released in a similar style to the white girders sold with the period Iron Bridge. These girders accommodated two parallel-running tracks. The back of the packaging shows the prototype reddish-orange style of double track girder that appears to match the orangey single-track piers of the time.
These girders can accommodate the nice wide catenaries also introduced for the double rail standard as well as the Iron Bridge side pieces, and a Double Track Iron Bridge was also released in 1968. These girders are somewhat fragile.
These old girders, in my opinion, look absolutely beautiful, especially when used in quantity and with catenaries as seen here in a page from the 1984 Plarail Catalogue. These piers remained in production into the early 1990s as there was not another style of double track bridge girder. Around 1988 they were given the designation J-15 and were sold as 複線橋げた. After going out of print, there was not a double track girder until the J-22 Double Track Block Bridge Girder in the later 1990s.
Bridge Girder (はしげた) (1972-1979)
In 1972 the next generation of "standard" girder was released, first in yellow plastic shown here in the early 70s "pla-rail" type packaging before changing to the orange shown below by 1974.
The raised circles fit into the bottom rail surface and the two raised ridges sit on either side of the rail joint connection, meaning the riser sits off-center from the apparent rail connection as the center of the actual molded plastic joint it is clipped around is biased towards the outboard connector. These girders lift rails approximately 60mm, which may be low enough to cause trains to hit elevated rails, particularly if these girders are used on carpet and sink in.
Because these girders do not stick up above the rail at all, electrical catenaries can be placed neatly on top, which often looks very nice. These bridge girders were used in sets and released individually in several packaging variations throughout the 1970s until being superseded by the "claw" or "clip" type J-13 Bridge Girders in 1979. Stelco produced a West German variant of the 1970s Bridge Girder for their larger Junior Express sets.
Bridge Support (1973)
In 1973 alongside the Big Iron Bridge a new wide brick-patterned bridge support was introduced. This is a very nice looking support that continues to see use and is arguably the first "beautiful" Plarail bridge pier since the white 1960s type. In more modern times this style of support has been produced in a few different colors including a deeper reddish orange.
Three-Dimensional Wall (1974-1976)
In a D-51 set in 1974 a series of thin orange stackable risers were produced that are the ancestor of the more modern Block Bridge Girder concept. In 1975 they were released individually before going out of production after 1976.
Bridge Girder (はしげた)/J-13 Bridge Girder (橋げた) (1979)
| <--- J-12 Pedestrian Crossing |
J-14 Block Bridge Girder --> J-14 "New" Block Bridge Girder --> |
In 1979 a new "clip" or "claw" type of bridge girder was released that clipped around the side of the rail joint pretty securely. Like the previous early 70s clipless girders, these girders lift rails ~60mm, which may be low enough to cause trains to hit elevated rails particularly if these girders are used on carpet.
These supports are flat on top and can thus be used to connect to accessories and track pieces that do not necessarily have the underside track profile in their tooling. Some accessories such as the J-29 Horn Rail included some of these bridge girders.
Because of the stiffness of the clips, it is usually much easier to use the girder by sliding the girder down one of the rails to be involved in the joint, pressing the second rail down into place at the joint, and then sliding the girder back over the joint.
These bridge girders still work with electrical catenaries, but really the catenary itself is doing most of the work. As long as they aren't cracked or warped, you can place the catenaries freely around track and they will often stay there normally. An orange variant of these girders was used in the 1990 Mickey Poppo Set which also featured a unique color of rail.
Like their predecessors, these bridge girders do still look rather nice in a longer raised section. Even though the J-14 Block Bridge Girder was released in 1984 this style of bridge girder remained on sale alongside it until around 1992. A handful of sets later in its life continued to use this style of bridge girder, but this seems to have ended with the Mickey Poppo variant in 1990.
J-14 Block Bridge Girder (ブロック橋げた) (1984)
| <--- J-13 Bridge Girder |
J-15 Double Track Bridge Girder --> J-15 Mini Bridge Pier --> |
In 1984 a new stacking style of block bridge girder was produced that would open drastically new ways to play with Plarail. The Block Bridge Girder was widely compatible with Plarail rails and accessories, with a secure stacking mechanism that also clamps down on the top edge of rails to keep track securely fitted inside large towers. Future stations, rail, and accessories expanded out the usefulness of the block pier system. Block piers raise Plarail rails approximately 65mm.
The cardboard backing included with individual six-pack releases show how to stack the block girders as well as a note about Slope Rails with updated slots in the tooling. Various holes and slots on the top of the riser allow for Iron Bridges, catenaries, single overhead wires, and more into them.
These piers were first made in Japan and later Thailand in the 1990s before being replaced by the "New" Block Bridge Girder which had more rounded corners to allow more trains to pass through tight spaces in elevated setups.
J-15 Mini Bridge Pier (ミニ橋げた) (1987/2001)
| <--- J-13 Bridge Girder | J-16 Double Track Railroad Crossing --> |
The "Mini" Bridge Piers are intermediate stacking piers that work with the J-14 Block Bridge Girder system. They measure approximately 1/4 of the height of a full girder, meaning four can be stacked to reach a regular block girder (or other bridge girder) height. They feature similar accessory compatibility as regular block girders because the connection portion is largely the same. Note the additional extended cutout in the outer wall - this change would also appear on later New Block Bridge Girders.
Mini Bridge Piers were first used in sets beginning in 1987 like the 2-Speed Shinkansen Three-Dimensional Station Set. Beginning in 1988 the R-18 Slope Curve Rail included 12 piers as well as four of each of the sloping curve rails that are molded to fit the 1/4 height increments. A normal straight rail works well on a diagonal between two subsequent pier levels, meaning a long gradual incline that is four straight rails long can be used to go up one standard block girder "level" as opposed to the two-straight-long Slope Rails.
These mini block piers were not released individually until 2001 when eight of them were packaged together as R-15 Mini Bridge Pier (ミニ橋げた). Later on, the text changed to ミニ橋脚. These stacking block piers were also produced in red for the Tomy Train series.
J-22 Double Track Block Bridge Girder (複線ブロック橋げた) (1997)
|
<--- J-21 Electro Level Crossing <--- J-21 Large Railroad Crossing |
J-23 Country Station --> |
In 1997 a new double-track pier was released that was cross-compatible with both the existing and soon to be "New" Block Bridge Girders.
These new risers are rounded-off like the new style of block piers. A regular single track girder can be inserted over and on top of a two-track line.
J-14 "New" Block Bridge Girder (ニューブロック橋げた) (1998)
| <--- J-13 Bridge Girder |
J-15 Double Track Bridge Girder --> J-15 Mini Bridge Pier --> |
The "New" Block Bridge Girder was released in 1998 and is an updated version of the Block Bridge Girder but with rounded support walls to help prevent trains from hitting against the supports in complicated layouts.