# PhaseIV begins: Time to add a new trestle



## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

This year will see the first major modification to the Kansas Central & Colorado R.R. trackage. This was necessitated by my going to Fn3 (1:20.3) passenger rolling stock. I had taken this eventuality into account and had made all of my curves as large as possible with the minimum being one 8 ft. dia. section while the rest are at least 10 ft. but I failed to realize the ramifications of the added wait that Fn3 cars have! Oh, I _did_ realize that the curving grade leading up to my first bridge, which was originally a 6% grade, _had_ to be lowered! I was able to lower it to roughly 3.5% which was acceptable. The one thing I _didn't _anticipate was the _downside grade!_ It turns out that the grade going down was 7%!! (Uh oh...) It turns out that only three cars can go down a 7% grade before they start pushing the front cars off the rails and I had the tracks immediately going into a tunnel! Oh well, it actually worked with the smaller 1:22.5 scaled equipment... Anyway, it was time to fix this problem and modify the layout at the same time. I have long admired the trestles that I have seen on other layouts and so I decided to add some to my layout! 

Here is the layout before modification. It's hard to see the steep grade but when the trestle is installed there will be _no_ grade as the back trackage around the waterfall is the same height as the beginning of the trestle. The lower trackage will become the primary track heading under the trestle bridge and into the tunnel. Visually, it should be quite an improvement!



















Here is the trestle section leading up to the bridge. I used a jig and wood from Michael's Custom Woodcrafts. The design is essentially an amalgamation of D&RG, DSP&P and RGS practices. I still have to stain it but it is essentially done.



















I'll post pictures of the installation as well as the rest of the construction as it progresses. Next up is the bridge. I haven't yet decided what would be the best design so I'm going to scour pictures of trestle bridges and then make my decision. The weather is supposed to be wet for the next few days so I won't be able to work outside. So far, it's been fun!


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

very nice Steve. 
Now you ARE going to hand spike rail on that cool trestle?? right..


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Heh heh.....y'know, I'm actually considering doing _exactly_ that! Of course, I spaced the ties so that I can drop an Aristo Euro/ng spaced ties section right in as well. We'll see how it goes...


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Update 5/2/09:
I have completed the trestle and bridge sections and have excavated the trench where it will be installed:




























This morning I set the sections in placeand began to build up the grade around them:




























I've decided to spike the track rather than lay sections on top. So far I think it's coming along pretty well.
I'll post pictures of the trestle when it's finished being installed.


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## StanleyAmes (Jan 3, 2008)

Steve 

Nice looking bridge! 

Over the years my spikes tended to pop out on Bridges. 

I made two modifications and since then no spike has budged. 

1) I solder a brass plate about every foot to the bottom of the rail. These plates are about the size of tie plates. I then screw the plates to the ties. 

2) I pre drill a small hole for the spikes and then add a drop of super glue to each spike before I put it into the tie. 

Stan


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Beautiful bridge work Steve. I think hand spiking the rail will really finish it off properly. 

Stan, I like your idea of the soldered plates w/screws. I need to redo my spikes with super glue, they have gotten to where they won't stay in for more than a month or so!


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Stan,
Thanks! Also, thanks for the advice about the spikes. I've encountered some of those problems with turnouts so I was going to ask what solutions people had come up with.


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## bnsfconductor (Jan 3, 2008)

I have all handlaid rail in here in the Seattle area that has been in the dirt (well ballast) for four years now and haven't had a problem with spikes coming up. (Over 200' of rail, and 8 #6 switches) I don't predrill or anything. I just spike into the cedar and leave it. Just make sure the spike head contacts the base of the rail. With such a good looking trestle I wouldn't want to use plastic ties on the bridge. In my opinion you create more problems by predrilling. Would you predrill a hole for a nail in your house construction? 
Craig


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By bnsfconductor on 05/02/2009 8:39 PM
I have all handlaid rail in here in the Seattle area that has been in the dirt (well ballast) for four years now and haven't had a problem with spikes coming up. (Over 200' of rail, and 8 #6 switches) I don't predrill or anything. I just spike into the cedar and leave it. Just make sure the spike head contacts the base of the rail. With such a good looking trestle I wouldn't want to use plastic ties on the bridge. In my opinion you create more problems by predrilling. Would you predrill a hole for a nail in your house construction? 
Craig 


Uh, yes... if driving the nail risked splitting an expensive piece of trim.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Craig. 

Does Seattle ever dry out? 

Methinks damp wood is your secret....


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## bnsfconductor (Jan 3, 2008)

Yes it drys out! In the summer we get lots of sun. It doesn't really rain that much as people say it does. 
The principle behind a nail holding something together doesn't change with the size. The wood cells are the same size if a piece of wood is 5/8th inch thick or 2 feet thick. When you drive a nail in it compress the surrounding wood. When you drill a hole, it removes the wood and the wood cells are no longer there to be compressed. I'm sticking to my gut with this one. My civil engineer of a dad says the same thing, size shouldn't matter. 

Just found this on the web. 
"Holding Power 
As the nail is driven into the wood, the wood fibers are bent down, and held down by the shank of the nail. There is friction between the fibers and the surface of the nail. In order to pull the nail out easily, the fibers must be bent upward. A nail comes out smoothly once it is pulled the first half inch. 

Driving Nails 
There are two tricks to driving nails so they don’t split the wood. If you look at the end of a nail (big ones are more obvious than smaller ones) one side seems wider than the other. If the nail is driven with the grain rather than against the grain, it won’t easily split the wood. This is particularly important when building in cold temperatures when the wood is frozen. " 

http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/publications/vs/nails.html 


Craig


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Most interesting...


A "Finish Carpenter" will often predrill holes in trim pieces of wood so a nail used to hold that piece of trim in place will not split the trim. Another trick is to blunt the point of the nail (hold it head down on the floor with the point up and strike the point with the hammer) so that it "cuts" into the wood rather than wedging into it, which would force the grain apart and split it.

Thickness of the wood (along the length of the nail) is of no consequence. But if the wood is "thin" across the side the nail is entering, it will split more easily. This is why you try not to put the nail near the edge, too.



I have in my hand a Railroad "spike". 

It is a 1/2-inch square shaft of metal six inches long. One end has a mushroomed "head" that is lopsided toward one of the flat sides of the shaft, such that it will be extended over the foot of the rail to hold it to the tie when the spike is driven next to the rail. The overhang on that side is about 3/4 inch and the overhang on the other 3 sides is about 1/4 inch.

The other end is a chisel tip... i.e.: it is a sharp "blade" rather than a "pyramid" point. The relation of the tip to the lopsided head is at 90 degrees. i.e.: the blade will be parallel to the rail when the spike is in place... which is across the grain.

A railroad tie is a length of wood with the grain running along the length of the wood. The rail is placed ON the tie at 90 degrees to the direction of the grain. Wood is strongest in the direction of the grain and weakest between the grain fibers.

The Spike tip is arranged as it is so that the chisle tip will CUT the fibers of the grain when driven in. If it were oriented the other way, with the blade parallel to the grain direction, then it would be a wedge forcing its way between the grain fibers and splitting the wood, which would reduce the force of the wood pinching agaist the spike to hold it in.

I question your second reference about driving the wide side "with the grain"... that would contribute to splitting the wood by acting as a wedge instead of cutting the grain to have fibers to fold down to hold the nail. 

I have never tried to drive a nail into frozen wood so I cannot comment about that, except to say that I have driven an ice pick into a block of ice and it ALWAYS splits the ice if I use enough force to get the tip into the ice.


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

I usually spike the rail and gaurdrails on while its flat on the work bench. its easier on the back. (thats before the bents goes on also)


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Yeah, I thought about that after I had already set the trestle but it (hopefully) won't be too much of a problem...


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Ooops.....double post! (We really need a "delete post" button!)


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Update 5/8/09:

I have newfound respect for those who choose to build their own turnouts, trestles and bridges. Specifically, I am referring to spiking your own track! I was "encouraged" to complete the trestle by spiking my own track which I have chosen to do. I ordered the spikes from Caboose Hobbies and when they arrived they were _tiny! _Hmm.....how to do it...... Well, the only thing to do was to experiment until I found a procedure that worked. I actually built a small section of trackbed that I could practice on to perfect my technique. I quickly realized that I needed some kind of spike holder (to which needle nose plyers worked very well) and some way to drive the spike in. I manufactured my own punch by cutting the head off of a screwdriver and using a Dremel tool with a small cutting wheel to cut an indentation into the stub end to hold the angled head of the spike in place and _Viola!_ it worked! The actual process has become relatively easy but it will definitely take a number of hours! I have completed about three feet so far and that has taken me an hour. At this rate I'll have it done hopefully in three more hours of actual working time. It's been a learning experience but an enjoyable and valuable one!


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## pimanjc (Jan 2, 2008)

Steve,
Your mods are really looking great. I can't wait to see it this summer at the club meeting. I might even need to bring something to run on it.









JimC.


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Final update (5/14/09):

The trestle and bridge have been installed, the grade has been filled and leveled, the track has been hand spiked and the ballast has been layed. My layout now consists of two independent loops which I will connect with turnouts early in June after we get back from our Alaskan vacation. This has been a_ fun_ experience and it really enhances the look of the layout. I finished just as the light became too dim for pictures so I will wait till tomorrow to test it out. I'll start a new thread to show the finished product. There is something _really _special about doing it yourself! I found that I enjoy constructing kits and I have learned that bashing models is not beyond my capabilities. Now, I have found that making trestles and bridges is also fun and rewarding! I have been in this hobby for over a decade now and I am finally starting to do my own building! I only wish that I had started sooner...


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Great job on the bridge and trestle, Steve. The interest they add is wonderful. You've expanded your knowledge base and can now think building other things that will expand it even more. Both the knowledge base and the railroad..   

To have 2 separate loops is a great advantage to the layout.

Super job.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

One trick I developed while hand spiking On3 track. I dedicated one pair of semi-needle nose pliers for the job. Short and compact to keep leverage to a minimum, wanted to go straight down. 
I used jeweler's pliers with no serations in the jaws. More for the way they fit my hand. Anyway I cut thin notches in the jaw face to hold the head of the spikes. Then I sanded down the tips until a thin section remained to the notches. (This thickness will be the remainder that gets pushed in), Once the spike is set, I'd raise the pliers turn them around and use the slight depression (also ground into flat tips) to craddle the spike head as I pushed it snug. 
If you think G $cale spikes are small... 
Something that might help speed you along, would be to convert a spring loaded punch into a spike driver, by modifying the tip to hold a spike. Think of it as a powered sledge hammer! Some are tension adjustable so as you near the rail you could lessen the drive. You push them down until the spring snaps and gives the tip a kick. I use one to position drill holes (.020" range) in metal. 
I really like your bridge trestle, beautiful work. 
John


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Steve Stockham on 05/02/2009 1:24 PM
Update 5/2/09:





This morning I set the sections in placeand began to build up the grade around them:




























I've decided to spike the track rather than lay sections on top. So far I think it's coming along pretty well.
I'll post pictures of the trestle when it's finished being installed.


Very impressive effect ! Great work. Fits into your existing garden scheme very well.


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