Spacing of ties on wooden trestle

[JohnT14808]

I'm finishing up the construction of the stringers that will rest on top of the trestle bents and I am starting to consider how to postion the rr ties on top of the stringers. What spacing is used? I will be using 1/8" by 1/8" by 2" basswood pieces, hand cut, for my ties and the track is code 83. How far apart should the ties be...1/16"? 1/8"? 3/16"?

The more I look at code 83 flex, I am thinking to space the ties by 1/8". Is this good for a trestle circa 1900?

[selector]

Even if you are in HO (?), I think that 1/8" is a bit close. 3/16 would have greater visual apeal. I often find that, for my eye, modelers make their trestles look prototypical at the cost of visual appeal. They look too 'busy' to me. My trestles have a bent-to-bent spacing about twice what it should be to scale, and the same goes for the other parts. It looks great; gives them a thinner, more breath-taking look compared to the bulk of the train. More light gets between the risers and stringers, so the lattice effect is more apparent. At least, that is what this guy's eyes tell him....and I own the railroad.

Of course, if you want to 'model', ya gotta do it the right way.[;)]