Page 8 for Doc?
I like the way you wire the tie to the trestle. I have two trestles and a bridge that are going to get the same treatment!
Tom Grabenstein said:Thanks for having that thought - and acting on it :)
I thought I would share a few pictures of Trestle Building 101 using inexpensive garden stakes from Lowe's cut and put together using hand tools.
Doug Arnold said:But it would make you a star on You Tube ;)
Ya. A head-on train wreck could ruin your day!
Good ideas Tom…thanx for sharing!
All the luck to youy guys with all this “Water seal” stuff.
I have a trestle built about 10 years ago, that hasn’t been touched since.
It was built from stripwood cut from WESTERN RED CEDAR pickets, bought at Home Despot. They were cheap, and I sorted them to get the most knot free boards.
The trestle deck was built and ties cut from the same wood were used . The bents were made, again from the same Cedar.
As soon as the structure was put together, we brushed the whole thing with a good old oil based wood stain resembling creosote…it has lasted very well.
We also used proper sized “Bridge ties”, and hand layed the rail with code 332 rail; following up with code 215 or code 250 guard rails.
Say what you want about guard rails, and bridge ties, but if you are going to the trouble of building a wood trestle from scratch; why not do it properly and take the time to add the extras.
The very slight extra cost of the Western Red Cedar, and the hand laying of the rail, made for a much better looking trestle, that anyone can be truely proud of.
Laying, out-of-the-box track on the trestle, does not deserve any compliments, let alone attaching it with bits of left over wire…
Sorry, guys...take a few hours more and do a job that you can truely be proud of.
I'm NOT in any way meaning to insult anyone....I'm just trying to promote better crafstmanship, and daring you guys to do better....WHICH YOU CAN.....get out there and do it, to real standards that you can really feel good about....you have the talents, I dare you to use them....
The stain I used, blended in with the natural weathering, and looks great even today.....Looks great! Keep up the good work!
Fred Mills said:
All the luck to youy guys with all this “Water seal” stuff. I have a trestle built about 10 years ago, that hasn’t been touched since. It was built from stripwood cut from WESTERN RED CEDAR pickets, bought at Home Despot. They were cheap, and I sorted them to get the most knot free boards. The trestle deck was built and ties cut from the same wood were used . The bents were made, again from the same Cedar. As soon as the structure was put together, we brushed the whole thing with a good old oil based wood stain resembling creosote…it has lasted very well. We also used proper sized “Bridge ties”, and hand layed the rail with code 332 rail; following up with code 215 or code 250 guard rails. Say what you want about guard rails, and bridge ties, but if you are going to the trouble of building a wood trestle from scratch; why not do it properly and take the time to add the extras. The very slight extra cost of the Western Red Cedar, and the hand laying of the rail, made for a much better looking trestle, that anyone can be truely proud of. Laying, out-of-the-box track on the trestle, does not deserve any compliments, let alone attaching it with bits of left over wire… Sorry, guys…take a few hours more and do a job that you can truely be proud of. I’m NOT in any way meaning to insult anyone…I’m just trying to promote better crafstmanship, and daring you guys to do better…WHICH YOU CAN…get out there and do it, to real standards that you can really feel good about…you have the talents, I dare you to use them… The stain I used, blended in with the natural weathering, and looks great even today…
Thanks Father Fred for the good suggestions and input. Boss Crumb is talking with the boys about ripping some cedar pickets and hand laying some track.
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/spiking.jpg)
It is a worthy goal to shoot for. Fortunately this mountain RR has a lot of bridges and a bridge with cut ties and proper trestle work certainly can be done on bridge #2. My personal difficulties at present are total lack of power saws for ripping cedar pickets. I also am described as a “total klutz” by my wife who fears loss of digits with said power saws should I get my hands on one. I will do some arm twisting of rail road buds to see if I can get them to rip boards on their equipment in exchange for rail passes on the LRRR. Aiming to improve. Doc Tom
Fred,
We can all do better, but money and time constraints sometimes call for compromise.
And sometimes, things work well and are not prototypical…such as your switch throws 
Ralph
Doc, if a legally blind guy can use a commercual table saw so can you. And it won’t hurt a bit, at least at last count!
I have three questions for you Fred.
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What nails did you use on the track? The ones I have pull out in our dry climate.
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What length are the bridge ties? Did you nail them to the trestles?
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Where are your water barrels? I now have mine on all the trestles!
Doug;
It has been over 10 years since I built the original two trestles…closer to at least 15…
the rail is “Spiked” to the ties with Micro Engineering spikes…not the stainless ones. we made a point of wetting each spike with water so they would rust, in order to prevent them from pulling out.
The “Bridge ties” are 3" long, and 3/8th" square…I don’t know that those sizes are correct for any particular scale, but they look good, as some suggest.
We used 1"x 5/8th" stringers, rather than scale timbers, for longer life life. The ties were nailed to the stringers using fine finishing nails.
The “Roadbed” of stringers and ties, was put in place, on the secure abutments, then the bents were built to fit under the roadbed.
The rail was spiked in place after the bents were secured under the roadbed.
…YES…the water barrels are missing…we never did get around to the railings on the safety platforms, as they should be of wood, which would make them too delicate, to be practicle. The barrels, we like to pretend, are removed for the Winter due to the water freezing and bursting the barrels…!!
I have never used any further preservative on the wood, after the original OIL based stain. I may have given it several coats, before installing it.
One of the original trestles was burned by an arsonist, and was replaced in a major line relocation project. It was a “Pile Trestle” The remaing one was degraded from mainline use, during the line relocation, and now serves as secondary trackage to serve a saw mill and a mine spur. (So you are correct to suggest the water barrels are needed…!!!) The running rail is code 332, and the guard rails are code 250. Code 215 would have been better, but at the time I only had code 250 in stock.
I hope this helps…
The table saw I’m using is older than I am! It is an old 12-inch Craftsman that I bought from an uncle years ago that three of us wrestled into my pickup truck. I hope it never breaks because not even Craftsman makes replacement parts! It probably wiorks so well because it has no guards!
Looking up in the old copy of “Railroad Construction” eighth edition, by Web, I find that bridge ties were suggested to be “Varying from 9’ to 12 feet in length. The ties should be 8"x10"spaced14” to 16" centre to centre; usually every third or fourth tie is bolted to the stringers"
The book goes on to state that the “Outer wood” guard rails, are more to keep the ties from moving when a derailed car gets on them, while the inner rail type guard rails keep the wheels in line with the track in a derailment. The outer wood guard rails are bolted to the tie ends every third or fourth tie.
I recomend that anyone contemplating the building of bridges or trestles for a model railroad, get a copy of Klambakes’ book on bridges and trestles, then do more research by trying to find one of thse old books; Railroad Construction, theory and practice, by Walter Loring Web, published by John Wiley and sons, Inc.
The one I’m quoating from is the eighth edition, dated 1926…there are a few of them around…I have three editions, and they were all given to me over the years…
Fred Mills said:Have that. Worth it.
Klambakes' book on bridges and trestles,
Been intending to get this one, for the last 15 years, oops expect it is good also, http://carstensbookstore.com/brtrhabypama.html
"Carstens Publications" said:
Bridge & Trestle Handbook by Paul Mallery Item# 00099 $22.95 About this item 2nd printing, Paul Mallery's acclaimed book covering every imaginable railroad bridge, underpass, culvert, trestle, text and illustrations. For railfans and modelers.
I would be starting on the trestles (ya right!) but it’s snowing outside. Not cold enough to stick but there are lots of white flakes.
I really appreciate the information Fred. I know you told me some of it more than five years ago when I built the layout but I needed reminding.
Since you have the building book out…did they leave any space between the main rail and the inner and outer bridge rails?
Thanks.
The inner guard rails, were set 10" inside the running rails…the outer “Guard rails” were bolted to the ends of the ties, usually every third or fouth tie… (Wood)
If you check on the practices of the RGS NG RR, you would find that they were known to put their metal guard rails on the outside of the running rails…in case you are interested…
The snow is melting in Tennessee. With the thaw, work goes on on the Little River RR. Timmie has the train stop on the newly laid track while Otto from the engineering department heads up a survey crew preparing to further advance the curve. Otto is patient in explaining the meanings of arcs, and tangents and degrees of curvature to the Tennessee Mountain boys. Doc Tom
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/Surveyors1.jpg)
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/Surveyors2.jpg)
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/Surveyors3.jpg)
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/Surveyors4.jpg)
Another fine update Doc. Looks like a slight adjustment is in order to line up with the distant trestle. 