Ralph Ratcliffe Models

The Hell Gate Bridge (originally the New York Connecting Railroad Bridge or The East River Arch Bridge) is a 1,017-foot (310 m) steel arch railroad bridge between Astoria in the borough of Queens and Randalls and Wards Islands (which are now joined into one island and are politically part of Manhattan) in New York City, over a portion of the East River known as Hell Gate.

The Bridge is used by Amtrak and by some CSX, Canadian Pacific, Providence & Worcester Railroad, and New York and Atlantic freight trains. The bridge and structure are owned by Amtrak, part of its Washington, D.C. to Boston electrified main line known as the Northeast Corridor. Metro-North Railroad trains may one day run on the bridge. The bridge is also part of the New York Connecting Railroad, a rail line that links New York City and Long Island to the North American mainland.

The Hell Gate Bridge runs parallel to the Queens span of the Triborough Bridge, which connects Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan, and drivers can see the length of the bridge just east of the roadway.

The great arch bridge is the largest of three bridges, along with more than 17,000 feet (5.2 km) long of approach spans and viaducts, that form the Hell Gate complex. An inverted bowstring truss bridge with four 300-foot spans crosses the Little Hell Gate (now filled in); and a 350-foot fixed truss bridge crosses the Bronx Kills (also now filled in).

This model is made of styrene, and abs plastic, and is built in 1:1400 scale. The water is modeled from lexan, and the base is made of cherry.