Using 76057 Spiderman Ultimate Bridge Battle as a train bridge

[mostlytechnic]

My train layout needs a big bridge - I have a wing of the table that is lower by about 4 inches and has 6 straights, a semi-circle, and 6 more straights supposed to go over it. I'd thought about getting some of the rare girder pieces from the 7900 Heavy Loader set to make a steel bridge, but I didn't think I'd really like the look. When the first pictures came out at the beginning of the year of the Spider-Man Ultimate Bridge Battle set, I knew I had my bridge. Sadly, for some reason, the set came out in Europe months before the US. Thanks to Amazon.de, I fixed that problem AND saved some money :) The US price is supposed to be $100 for the set, but I got 4 sets shipped from Europe for about $360 once VAT was removed. And shockingly, they arrived in 3 days!

I put all the figs up on Bricklink to pay for my addiction, and started building. I first built them all stock, and then I looked at combining them into a longer bridge.

Let's face it, the designer 100% KNEW people would do this. The set is HALF a bridge after all... and it's got a number of ways it was well designed for this usage!

First, here's the stock set in case you don't know it:

That breakaway section where the taxi is crashing looks like a potential problem, since it's a weak point. And the broken off end of the bridge will clearly have to go. So that's what I did - I took 2 sets, removed the broken end (which is a separate piece and comes off easily and cleanly! See, told you it was designed for this!), connected them end to end, and then started modding away the breakaway. It was pretty easy to do without needing extra pieces. The only pieces I ended up needing from my collection were a couple dark grey 1x2 plate with clip to extend the red/grey cable arch all the way. Enough talking, here it is:

IMG_2298.jpg by mostlytechnic, on Flickr

I'm still going to mod a few more things (take off some of the spiderwebs, change the base a little, etc) but it's about 98% done. There's a few flaws, like having 4 pillars under the bridge that's supposed to be a SUSPENSION bridge, but oh well. I didn't redesign it enough to take those middle pillars off without it breaking when weight is on it. But it's exactly 6 track pieces long and it's sized just big enough for stock Lego train sets to work. The actual floor of the bridge is 10 studs wide, and all the stock trains I have will fit through with minor adjustments:

IMG_2300.jpg by mostlytechnic, on Flickr

Maersk loco fits just fine. Scale's a little off, but it fits cleanly through.

IMG_2301.jpg by mostlytechnic, on Flickr

The yellow 7939 loco fits, IF you fold the pantograph completely down, and then it has a tiny tiny clearance. I'd probably just remove the pantograph completely.

IMG_2302.jpg by mostlytechnic, on Flickr

The red 3677 locomotive fits except for the horns on top. Pull them off, and you're through.

IMG_2303.jpg by mostlytechnic, on Flickr

The Maersk container cars fit though too.

IMG_2299.jpg by mostlytechnic, on Flickr

Then end of the bridge never seen on the box looks like this - clean and ready to attach to whatever, with both Technic holes for making a good connection.

Even though everything fits, I'll still probably add a couple rows of bricks to provide more comfortable clearance and in case I run any taller loads around.

Anyone else planning to do this?

[Legoboy22]

Seems pretty good but you put the bridge the wrong way. Turn it around and add a long lmiddle section with the suspension and it will be good

You could also use the pieces from the middle pillars for the other 2 ends of the bridge

[Murdoch17]

You and I think alike!

I created a 16 stud wide modular version that is 10 tracks long. It should hold up under the weight of a train, but I'm not 100% sure. (Not trying to promote my work, but If you want to see more, here's a thread link: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=136284 )

[mostlytechnic]

In my situation i need exactly the 6 tracks long and one end is coming off a cliff face, so this bridge layout is what i need. I'm making a big U shape so I'll have two of these with a half circle between them. I've just gotta figure out the semicircle part now. I already have the area covered in blue baseplates so I'll add some white and blue water hitting the base. I'm also going to add more of the suspension rope to the outer ends and make that look better.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Amazing idea!

Great work

[Hoth Rebel]

I modded 4 bridges into 1 and still working on it, but I managed to make the 'gates' taller and the build overall somewhat higher. Maybe you see things you can use for your mod. :) Here are some pictures;

20160625_143951 by

Kevin Langenberg, on Flickr

20160625_143945 by

Kevin Langenberg, on Flickr

[mostlytechnic]

I do like your changes - the double-lane version looks great, just too bad I don't need that :) And yes, I'm definitely making the towers taller to get more clearance for trains (and look a little less weird on scale).

One thing I did was add a block in the center to attach the suspension cables to - fixing it in the center makes it "hang" a little nicer. I'm also planning to change the bases, since the open ends look odd.

[Man with a hat]

Nice bridges. These look really good.

The only thing I was wondering about is whether you could do without the supports in the middle of the bridge? That would make it look perfect.

[mostlytechnic]

I'm sure you COULD go without the middle two supports, but it'd take more rebuilding of the internal framework to make it hold the weight of a train. I still might try it though... I do agree it'd look better (and be way more impressive...)

[ElectroDiva]

These are great. Would love to see a vid of a full bridge in use if anyone has one?

I'm putting together a Lego city for my nephews and a train layout with Spiderman's bridge is definitely going to be in there.

Has anyone solved the problem of access to the bridge?

It would either have to be a ramp of some kind or the bridge section itself would need to be on a slightly sunken level. Not sure which would be best approach

[Murdoch17]

These are great. Would love to see a vid of a full bridge in use if anyone has one?

I'm putting together a Lego city for my nephews and a train layout with Spiderman's bridge is definitely going to be in there.

Has anyone solved the problem of access to the bridge?

It would either have to be a ramp of some kind or the bridge section itself would need to be on a slightly sunken level. Not sure which would be best approach

I wanted to build it using ramps, but the height of my bridge (even though it's shorter than the stock set) would require ramps as long as the 10 tracks-long bridge itself (or longer). The original plan as seen here wouldn't work as it's too steep with a brick and a plate in height every track section, if that helps any...

[WhiteFang]

I really like the way you did with the Spider Bridge. It's really nicely put. I thought of using them for vehicular bridge but trains are real great idea plus it clear the height limit.

[ElectroDiva]

I wanted to build it using ramps, but the height of my bridge (even though it's shorter than the stock set) would require ramps as long as the 10 tracks-long bridge itself (or longer). The original plan as seen here wouldn't work as it's too steep with a brick and a plate in height every track section, if that helps any...

It does - thanks. If the max gradient per track piece has to be less than a standard brick, I don't think I'll have enough space for it.

Will have a play around, but it may have to be plan B - a sunken "river" section lower than the level of the main tables. That will mean messing about building some kind of structure to support it though

[PeteM]

I'm glad someone else is doing this! I have two copies (and a lot of spare bricks) in order to mod them into a complete rail bridge (I'll work out how to get the trains up there later!). I have only built one so far and am experimenting with the necessary changes - raising the 'gates' and sorting out resulting problems with the chains, adding and anchoring track (12v) to the bridge deck etc.

[paul_delahaye]

When I first saw this bridge, I wondered if this was a little offering from Lego to their train enthusiast AFOLs, loving the 4 x version of the bridge above.

Just a shame its a licenced set which adds to the price when buying in multiples. Roll on 3 for 2

[Murdoch17]

When I first saw this bridge, I wondered if this was a little offering from Lego to their train enthusiast AFOLs, loving the 4 x version of the bridge above.

Just a shame its a licenced set which adds to the price when buying in multiples. Roll on 3 for 2

If you part out the bridge, it might be cheaper. For example, my complete bridge model plus ramps would be around $250 to $300 according to Rebrickable, instead of the four $100 sets plus the ramp parts... then again, no figure and a stripped-down bridge with no play features may not be as appealing.

[PeteM]

When I first saw this bridge, I wondered if this was a little offering from Lego to their train enthusiast AFOLs, loving the 4 x version of the bridge above.

Just a shame its a licenced set which adds to the price when buying in multiples. Roll on 3 for 2

I got mine 'new' on eBay without figures, so got two for less than the cost of one at RRP :)

[exstatik]

Great idea. Noticed there is a 'deal' if it's any use to anyone