Structure: Coal Trestle

When I began my layout several years ago, the first industry I wanted to model was a small coal dealer complete with unloading trestle. I had previously built one for NMRA merit judging in HO scale based on plans in Model Railroader magazine, and I really enjoyed it. So, I thought I would build one again. While my HO model was superdetailed solely for the sake of earning competition points, my O scale model would be more visible so I would add details only where they would matter. 

A good example of this is the stripwood I used. For my HO model I bought the exact dimensional lumber that the article called for, but for my O scale model I dug into my supply and used whatever was closest. I am sure there is a prototype for everything anyway, but who is really going to notice the substitution? And instead of ordering expensive precision stripwood online from specialty companies, I used Hobby Lobby to fill in the gaps. (Note: my local Hobby Lobby recently discontinued carrying stripwood, which is a shame).

I copied the plans full size for 1:48 scale and colored them in with markers to help me distinguish the parts, and then I laminated it. As it turns out, it probably would have been better to instead keep it under a piece of glass as the lamination distorted it a little.

The wood was cut to size and stained with a very dark ink and alcohol solution. I did it multiple times as I really wanted it to look black. Then, it was assembled with wood glue on the plans using metal 3-4-5 blocks to hold it in place. 

I always fabricate extra things like bents so that I can pick the best ones to use. Here, I extended the length of the trestle by one bent so I needed five but built six anyway. The diagonal braces were left oversize and trimmed later once the glue dried. Then, any exposed wood edges were hit with more alcohol stain.

Per the plans, the two longitudinal beams that go under the track which are located right below the rails were fabricated from three pieces of wood each. I glued the three pieces together first with lots of clamps and then sanded away any glue residue. Then they were stained too. 

To hold the bents in perfect alignment while I glued on the longitudinal beams I drew up a sketch on some oversize graph paper of where the bents needed to go. Then, I took some blue tape (sticky side up) and put a little strip down the middle. At various points along the way I taped it down to the paper with more tape. 

Before I built up the trestle I raided my supply of nut/bolt/washer castings and cut them free from the sprues and stuck them to more blue tape for painting a rust color. I didn't have enough of the very large (#5096) ones and I didn't want to order more, so I also substituted some of the smaller (#16) ones. 

They were glued to the bents at various joints, with the larger ones on the main joints and the smaller ones on the diagonal braces. I only have enough to do four bents fully, then I substituted the small ones for the fifth bent entirely. For a contest model that wouldn't fly, but I am not building one here. Besides, they will be hard to see anyway once the trestle is installed.

The bents were stuck to the thin strip of tape and the beams were glued on and heavily weighted down. I would like to say that each beam came out exactly the same height wise but that wasn't the case, but this system is flexible enough to adjust for that.

The plans call for scratchbuilding the track on the trestle tie by tie and spiking it four times per tie. I did that for the HO model but I wasn't going to here. But using Gargraves track wouldn't look very good on my model because there wouldn't be any ballast to hide the oversize ties. And I didn't want (or need) a third rail on the trestle itself. So, I purchased a really old piece (at least 40 years old) of AHM O scale 2-tail track and used that instead. Its smaller profile ties, missing third rail, and molded spike detail were perfect for this application.

Or so I thought. I tried running tinplate wheels on it and the oversized flanges bumped along the molded spike detail. The rail is only 0.110" tall (code 110), which is barely larger than the code 100 frequently used for HO scale trains. That wouldn't do. Compare it to the piece of Gargraves track and you can see that the rails and ties are much smaller.

So, I decided to try some 2-rail Atlas O track. 

But, before I got to that point I realized that the coal trestle wouldn't fit on my layout where I had wanted it to go so instead, I built a lumber yard. Doh! The partially-completed trestle now sits on my project shelf waiting for some future use for it.