Curved Viaducts

[60103]

If you have a viaduct with stone or brick arches on a curve, where do you put the extra bits that make it curved? Do you create arches wider at one side than the other or do you make the arches circular and have the piers trapezoid shaped?
I'd go for the secong, but does anyone have a nearby prototype they could check?
Thanks.

 

[billk]

Hey David - Don't have a prototype to reference, but common sense tells me it would be a lot easier ti make the real thing using the second option!

 

[Mike R]

Hello, David;
The bad news is, I think it's both columns and arches that taper.
The idea being that radial lines from the simulated centerpoint of the curve radius are followed straight through.
This is only my vague recollection from an engineering book from many years ago, and I don't have the book.
The good news is, that since one can't really see both sides at the same time, it shouldn't matter if only the columns are affected.
best regards / Mike

 

[cidchase]

Hi David,
Here's a few pics, not very satisfactory for answering the
question, I'm afraid.
http://home.t-online.de/home/bardoux.bx/viadukt.jpg
http://www.epfl.net/exhibits/catorprints/cator049.html
http://www.polrail.com/images/Gallery11/20010211022.jpg
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/steam/trains/hejaz01.htm
http://members.madasafish.com/~photoflooddays/pdimg21.htm
http://staff.stir.ac.uk/jeff.wotherspoon/trpics/97f-g/97f-g_2.htm
The curvature on the prototypes is probably more gradual than
the model.
I think for simplicity I would use the same arch profile on both
sides, with the piers being trapezoidal. You can't really change
the arch without strretching it or moving its center point down
neither of which seem good options. Probably creating a
cardboard mockup first would be helpful.
BTW, I got better returns searching for "curving viaduct" than
using "curved viaduct". Go figure.