Trestles: What "WOOD" you use?

[4-4-0 Steamer Florida Branch]

You may want to try Pruning Paint. I know that in landscapes I have seen it outlast the area of the trees it was aplied on and was still in great shape. I have not used it but I am going to when I get my trestles built.

[NavyTech]

I used fence boards from the home center. I ripped them down to 1/2 or 3/4 beams and construct that way. Check out my site for details.

 http://users.eastlink.ca/~brownscountry/Trestle.html

 

[Ray Dunakin]

I forgot to mention, I get all my Western red cedar from a guy up in Washington state, who cuts it to order: [e-mail]

[Ray Dunakin]

Greetings, from one railroading rocketman to another! I recommend Western Red Cedar. I've used it on all my trestles and also the ore bins and similar structures of my mines. I also recommend painting it for additional protection. I use exterior grade latex house paints, thinned down about 50% with water. This seems to allow it to soak into the wood more, and also prevents it from hiding the natural grain. I paint the subassemblies -- completed bents, deck, and strips of wood to be used for bracing -- before assembling the total structure. Then I touch up as needed. BTW, my trestles are both glued and pinned for extra strength and durability. Since the prototype that served as inspiration for my railroad painted most of their trestles a sort of "red primer" color, that's the color I use for my trestles. I use various shades of brown for other structures, such as the ore bins. I wish we could still get real creosote here. I'd love to dribble some of it along the tracks to give my railroad that authentic smell!

[Rocket Man]

Just wanted to say "THANKS" to everyone for all the input, and ideas!

[Gundy]

After going to a g-scale seminar, I learned about a linseed oil and ebony or dark walnut stain. This has worked really well through a very humid summer and a rough Green Bay winter.  In the spring I will recoat the tressle.  The nice thing is that it really gives that good ole creosote look.  Good Luck

[Neiler]

As promised:

I use aluminum rail and this obviously hasn't been painted but shows how durable it is after two years.  The bents are spaced 9" on center so I guess it's 54" acorss and about 18" tall at the highest.

 

 

 

 

 

 All this rain has created a real mess of the euchalyptes leaves.

Neil 

 

 

[cacole]

I built mine out of cedar fence pickets ripped into the appropriate size on a table saw for the uprights and redwood bender board for the cross bracing.  I used yellow carpenter's glue and a brad gun to assemble the bents using a template drawn onto plywood.  In the dry Arizona climate my trestles will probably outlive me.

Over time, cedar exposed to sunlight will turn dark so it doesn't need staining.

Mine can be seen at http://members.cox.net/cacole2/ 

[Neiler]

This is our rainy season (and days are short - even in Hawaii) but I'll get outside this weekend and take some pics of trestles - good, bad, and ugly.

 My intention was to elevate the line somewhat and backfill under the roadbed but ended up getting a bobcat for a few days and pushed the earth around to form "islands" around the perimeter of the yard. Since the ground was all "embankment", or compressible fill, I used the reinforced concrete for roadbed. These are connected with trestles and bridges of redwood. Although all the links aren't connected (yet) I keep pretty busy making switches and buildings between maintanence (two steps forward, one back).

Neil

[selector]

Unless you are willing to get treated wood, wood that has been steeped in a penetrating preservative, your best bet is to use western red cedar.  It's natural oils cause it to burn with a black smoke.  It withstands the rains of the coastal regions in the north west of N. America.  Fences made of red cedar stand for years.  Due to its long grains, it is a very rigid material.  It is highly suitable for transferring the forces imparted from a heavy locomotive, as well as the weight of the rest of the trestle, down to the sills.

http://www.cedar-outdoor.org/cedar_products/cedar_siding/specifying_siding/physical_properties.htm 

Good luck.

[Neiler]

My trestles live in a very humid Hawaii with 160" of rain a year. They were made of cheap redwood fencing from Home Depot And soaked in Jasco preservative. The areas I missed during last year's Touch up are warping but everything else is 3 years old.

[reynolds]

I built 2 trestles out of pressure treated pine in 2000 in upstate SC. One is 3' long and 26" high, the other 6' long but only 12" high. Both are curved. They have lasted surprisingly well, only reapplied Minwax jacobean stain 3 times. Initially i was careful to only use staight grained parts of 1x boards. PT pine has a nasty habit of warping. I predrilled the holes for the brads to minimize splitting. Untreated wood only lasts a couple years around here. good luck, dale reynolds, pendleton sc

[dwbeckett]

Red Wood or Ceader

Dave

[g. gage]

As others said I used old redwood decking and ripped it to ½ x ½ and ¼ x ½ inch strip wood. I glued and nailed, brass brads, my trestle bends and strained them with Minwax. My trestle is 10’ long on an 11.5’ dia. curve and used plastic/wood ¼ x 1 ½ inch molding ripped in half for joists. In fact you might find plastic/wood materials to build the whole trestle.

 

Hope this helps, Rob  

 

[rpc7271]

I used redwood for mine. I just went over to Home Depot and picked out the straightest, clearest 2 x 4 s I could find and ran them thru the table saw. I stained them with Minwax Provincial wood stain and then sprayed it with a cleas satin polyurthane. After 5 years in the weather it has a nice grey look to it. I tried an Minwax EBONY stain but didn't like it. Micro Mark sells a tie stain for use on HO ties, I don't know how well it will hold up outside. Creasote is baned. It causes cancer so if you find some use it with caution.

[Captainwoodie]

 What I am going to use is cedar fence boards from the home center. I will rip them down to 1/2 or 3/4 beams and construct that way. However my layout will be inside. captainwoodie

[NORCAL LOGGER]

Rocket Man,

Just my opinion but PT Pine is pretty much a waste of time on a project like a trestle.  The PT on most 2X stock only penetrates 1/2 inch plus or minus.  Cutting the board into 1/2 or 5/8ths stock leaves a lot of untreated wood exposed to the elements, so you have to treat it to preserve it.  Why start with PT wood?  PT wood is a hazard to saw as has been pointed out.

 Redwood if you can get the heart wood that is actually red and not the white/yellow sap wood.  The Redwood sapwood will rot just as fast as untreated Pine.  Cedar is very good also, here again, be sure to use the heart wood not the sap wood.

 The Terminx Copper Green presertive is a very good product.  If you look around, and may have to special order, you can get it in black.  At least you could a couple years ago when I bought my last can.    Using the Terminx "black" be aware that it is very oily and very stinky.  As advised about the "Green" apply only after construction.   Apply liberally and let set for several days in the sun, wipe dry and let set for several weeks in the sun.  When installing wear gloves because the smell will still transfere to your hands and doesn't really want to wash off.   The color is perfect for the creasote look and it really preserves the wood but is a major pain to work with.

 Just my expierence with it.

Rick

[NORCAL LOGGER]

Rocket Man,

Just my opinion but PT Pine is pretty much a waste of time on a project like a trestle.  The PT on most 2X stock only penetrates 1/2 inch plus or minus.  Cutting the board into 1/2 or 5/8ths stock leaves a lot of untreated wood exposed to the elements, so you have to treat it to preserve it.  Why start with PT wood?  PT wood is a hazard to saw as has been pointed out.

 Redwood if you can get the heart wood that is actually red and not the white/yellow sap wood.  The Redwood sapwood will rot just as fast as untreated Pine.  Cedar is very good also, here again, be sure to use the heart wood not the sap wood.

 The Terminx Copper Green presertive is a very good product.  If you look around, and may have to special order, you can get it in black.  At least you could a couple years ago when I bought my last can.    Using the Terminx "black" be aware that it is very oily and very stinky.  As advised about the "Green" apply only after construction.   Apply liberally and let set for several days in the sun, wipe dry and let set for several weeks in the sun.  When installing wear gloves because the smell will still transfere to your hands and doesn't really want to wash off.   The color is perfect for the creasote look and it really preserves the wood but is a major pain to work with.

 Just my expierence with it.

Rick

[ttrigg]

Rocket Man

Does anyone have any wisdom to share regarding the benefits, pitfalls, etc. of trestle materials. I have been thinking of using pressure treated pine or redwood instead of cedar that I see a lot on various railroads. In addition where can a guy get ahold of some creosote or the closest reasonable facsimile to coat the trestles for that realistic look? Thanks!

 

I could very well be wrong in this, but I believe creosote is now a controlled substance and is very hard to obtain. I have been told that here in CA you need a special permit (don't really know if that is true.) There are reasonable substitutes available for us regular folk. I use a product designed to defend against dry rot and termites. (Brand Name: Copper-Green Item Name: Wood Preservative) As the name implies it is a copper treatment and will turn the wood very green. Use ONLY after construction as this stuff PREVENTS glues and adhesives from working. I let the finished item set out in sunlight for a couple of weeks. This allows the preservative to dry completely, thus allowing me to paint or stain as I want.

My trestle bridge (photo above) was treated in segments. The trestles are of redwood, treated with Cooper-Green, stained with a red oak gel stain. The bridge sections themselves are in 5 foot lengths made of cedar, treated with cooper-green, then stained with dark walnut gel stain thinned to 50% with mineral spirits. The trolley stop (at the top) was treated and then painted.

Redwood and cedar are both naturally rot resistant native timbers. Pressure Treated (CCA) lumber is somewhat hazardous to work with. The saw dust can cause both short term and long term problems. CCA sawdust may not be permitted in some landfills, and it will inhibit composting. Then of course there are the new "manufactured woods" (TREX etc.: plastic woods) which will require none of the treatments, but will need to have "graining" applied.

[Rocket Man]

Does anyone have any wisdom to share regarding the benefits, pitfalls, etc. of trestle materials. I have been thinking of using pressure treated pine or redwood instead of cedar that I see a lot on various railroads. In addition where can a guy get ahold of some creosote or the closest reasonable facsimile to coat the trestles for that realistic look? Thanks!