Train Trestle

Garden Railroading
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Here is a train trestle that I just made for a friend. The trestle is very near to scale and the train track comes through the wall then across the fireplace mantle. Enjoy Keenan

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/bornagainprimitve/IMG_0046.jpg

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Here are a few more pics. Keenan

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/bornagainprimitve/IMG_0041.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/bornagainprimitve/IMG_0045.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/bornagainprimitve/IMG_0019-1.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c326/bornagainprimitve/IMG_0023.jpg

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Nice trestle, but I know I could not getaway with that over one of our mantels. would you post your construction tips.

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DW, Thank you , the trussle was made from scratch (all steel) and the lay and design were my own. The structure is patterned off of a concrete structure apperence yet I designed it out of steel. I didn’t do any buildalong pics unfortunaltely. But for a breif discription here is what I did.

First I took a picture of the wall scene them skected the design over the pic to get the porportions correct. Then I made a posterboard mock up (Template) of the general plate.

From that I did the layout on a plate and cut it out with a plasma arc. The flanges are all hand rolled flat bar and the rivoted connections are all real, made by drilling 3/32 holes and using #4 finish nails as brads.

I built both halfs then made the cross braceing tying the halfs together. This is a very breif discription and this project had over 100 hrs into it. I’m working on the tunnel scenes now. This has been quite fun and has really sparked my intrest in trains. His train is a 1929 0 scale and very detailed. Researching hundreds of pictures of trussle has opened my eyes up to the increddible beauty of bridges and trussles. Keenan

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I don’t know what a trussle is but i couldnt do work as good as that if my life depended on it, well done.

Rgds Ian

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Nice work, Metalman!!

(And please don’t take this as ANYTHING but a compliment: it takes me back 60 years to when I was a kid in Charleston, to see/hear someone refer to that as a “trussel”!!)

Good work!

/Bill

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Thanks for the kind words. As far as a propper wording or spelling,well that’s never been one of my strong points. Ok I looked it up and it is “trestle” The funny part is that my wife is much better at spelling and I had asked her because I thought it was Tressle but she insisted that it was spelled trussle. LOL I love it when I’m right,Keenan

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Wow, that’s beautiful! A real work of art! Makes a great mantel, even if it were never connected to a layout.

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Metalman:

I suspect your trade is working metal? Beautiful job. Reminds me of those Victorian arches one sees in old English RR pixes. (That’s supposed to be a compliment!)

I have been toying with the notion of metal (sheet metal, galvanized) for some bridges–or even plain steel and let it rust. Prob’ly in the 20ga category. I’m more a machinist than a sheet metal guy, don’t even know if they sell 20ga. I’d solder it together.

Les Whitaker

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Les you are right. I grew up in a steel fab shop and been doing it thirty something years now.

Lighter steel would be much easier. But he wanted this one as close to scale as possible and as real as possible, challenging yet very fun. Thanks for the compliments. Keenan

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You can make me one for sure! [bow] Great job!

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Very nice looking!!

Please tell us what you used and how you did it.

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Please make some plans and I will weld one up…oh that is soooo nice!! [:-^]

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Toadfrog & SMC, I will try to give some basic details when I get the time. This was designed and built for that specific span and there was almost of steps to the process. I had over 100 hrs into making the tressle and I have worked steel as a career for over 30 yrs. Not trying to discourage just being realistic. A good portion of the time was spent drilling holes for the rivots. to make everything authentic. This whole thing could be build out of wood much easier,However we wanted to go for as real as possible on this one. Keenan

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Metal man great treastle, ive made wooden ones but no metal

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Wow! !!! (MAby just a few more)!!! (thats better) So the arches are piced together, I thought it was small c channel rolled in place, but your way prevents the flanges from bending inward. O scale is about 1:35th right? wounder what it would be like(in person) in 1:20.3! You are one talented man and that is one lucky friend. Have fun!