04-05-2015, 09:46 AM
The Easter Holidays marked the beginning of the season for the Reverend Creek Garden Railway, and our first (and probably largest) project for 2015 is the curved wood trestle in front of the terrace. With a maximum height of one meter (40") and 14 spans it's going to be quite an eye catcher, and hopefully the centerpiece of the layout if we succeed in our efforts.
As this is our very first trestle, I've been spent quite some time searching the Internet for both pictures and construction tips as well as inspiration. I made a simple jig to make sure all the spans were identical, and after spending several hours ripping pressure treated construction lumber into more suitable dimensions for stringers and bridge ties, we were finally ready to start construction:
![[Image: 4025_w1200.jpg]](http://www.hjemstad.no/images/pics/2015/04/4025_w1200.jpg)
![[Image: 4028_w1200.jpg]](http://www.hjemstad.no/images/pics/2015/04/4028_w1200.jpg)
![[Image: 4029_w1200.jpg]](http://www.hjemstad.no/images/pics/2015/04/4029_w1200.jpg)
Yesterday we spent even more hours ripping all the posts for the frame bents (52 posts in total), and today we began nailing and gluing bridge ties to the spans. 5 spans are finished, and hopefully the rest will be finished tomorrow. After marking the final location of the trestle, the existing framework in the curve will be cut and removed, and the trestle spans will be bolted together and temporarily supported while we build the bents to fit the different heights through the curve.
As this is our very first trestle, I've been spent quite some time searching the Internet for both pictures and construction tips as well as inspiration. I made a simple jig to make sure all the spans were identical, and after spending several hours ripping pressure treated construction lumber into more suitable dimensions for stringers and bridge ties, we were finally ready to start construction:
Yesterday we spent even more hours ripping all the posts for the frame bents (52 posts in total), and today we began nailing and gluing bridge ties to the spans. 5 spans are finished, and hopefully the rest will be finished tomorrow. After marking the final location of the trestle, the existing framework in the curve will be cut and removed, and the trestle spans will be bolted together and temporarily supported while we build the bents to fit the different heights through the curve.