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Questions on Installing Trestles
Gary is into O scale and seeks help from readers:
“I am installing Lionel # 111 Trestles on 1″ foam on 1/2″ plywood. The design for screwing the trestle upright is difficult trying to get a driver vertical. Bad design, any suggestions. Could it be glued to foam.
Another question. When the track connection is over an existing bottom track , the trestle will be too close for a train to pass. I would like to know how to support the area, when installing a trestle won’t work. Thanks for help.”
5 Responses to Questions on Installing Trestles
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Gary,
For the trestle I would say install a long one piece track over the trestle and especially over the span you need to build your supports. You need fewer connections when crossing the trestle to reduce derailments up high anyway.
Second the trestle could be either plywood base under the tracks or on wood stringer floor beams with deck boards cross ways to cover the stringers or plywood. This will give you something to mount to You don’t have to have open tracks from support to support between trestle supports when in fact you will not find any railroad that has open rail on any kind of trestle wood or otherwise. The rails have to have ties holding the gauge between the rails even on the trestles. Not sure of your situation but the trestle supports that are sold with Lionel and other brands are just to support the track at the ends of each section, But you would never see these rails without support at every tie. You could also include truss beams on the side as most RR bridges do and you can use railroad ballast in there to hide imperfections.and especially across the bigger span you were needing. They make track sections that are about 3 feet long similar to flex track of smaller scales. Depending on the type of O scale track whether it is flex track or just long sections of track..
Third, What many try to do with Lionel track is make a climb to go over another track (like in the case to go up quick and then come right back down). Your track should not do that. All Railroads are level or nearly so across a ravine or creek. They don’t go up and down steeply like they build many street bridges. Keep them level or nearly so. That is what the real railroads do.
4th and Last if you are mounting on foam use APEX Caulk Preferably clear. Caulking will hold on foam real well where other things don’t You can get it at Menards for one. It will go on white and dry clear. On my HO layout I now install my cork roadbed with the caulk and then install the track with it. If you have to make changes then it is easy to knife it loose and reset it as you need to make changes. I quite using nails and screws to install the track and one reason in HO scale for instance is if you get the nails down too tight it tends to pull the center of the tie down and pull the rails to close and therefore can cause derailments. Gluing the track down with APEX Caulk does not pull the rails down to tight.
Newman Atkinson
Ditto Newman.
As I recall, were you to make a figure 8 with standard Lionel sectional track (1950’s era) and used no risers or trestle supports, the two straight sections at the crossover would form a 90 degree X or + sign. Lionel also made a crossover track for a non-elevated figure 8 that would replace the two crossing straight sections. The joints were well off to the side and trestle supports under the upper track joints would not interfere with the lower track. I’m guessing your track plan is not the simple figure 8 shown in Lionel track plan books.
If your upper track joint is between two straight sections, you could replace those two with one double length (or longer) straight track. While it would not be true to the vintage trackage (or to reality), it would enable you to have trestle support at every track joint. I know of a source in Wisconsin, USA, but that doesn’t help much Down Under. If it’s between two curved sections that share the same radius and center point, a double length (or longer) curved section would work – though it would flex somewhat under the weight of the train. But if your joint is between a straight and a curve or the curve reverses (an S curve), the only way to get the proper support under the joint and stay clear of things directly below is to have some kind of bridging from points either side of the problem joint and far enough back to clear the lower track. That bridging could be built up of more realistic scenery, with bridge abutments and more prototypical track support, and that will reduce the vertical clearance of the lower track somewhat. The bridging does not need to go from supported joint to supported joint – it could go from central tie to central tie – all it needs to do is to support the problem joint at the same height as the trestle support would if it were there.
A minimum of support under the joint could be provided by a sheet of plywood just wide enough to match the width of the tracks. At each end you would need some kind of abutment to support it so that its top surface matches the joints at each end. I wouldn’t go less than 3/8 inch plywood unless your bridge is barely long enough to get adequate clearance below. Alternately you could use a piece of plate steel or aluminum – or if you want to preserve the look of tracks floating in air as much as possible, a piece of plate glass or plexiglas.
Bear in mind that if you replace a trestle support with bridging or long track sections, do not simply move the support over one section of track to the next available joint, for that will change the gradient over that bridge (unless you have no problem with that).
Just thought of another option that would enable you to keep things vintage. Lionel made a truss bridge about the length of two standard straight tracks. It was designed to fit with their trestle set (its bottom was very thin and could slip between the top of the trestle support and the bottom of the ties). Such vintage bridges become available from time to time on sites like eBay. It would work if your problem joint is between two straight track sections.
Thanks to Newman and Randall. Great suggestions and ideas. I think I can make it work now. You are helping an old guy with a revisited hobby. The blog is really a teaching tool.
Gary
With the suggestions, I have resolved the straight sections problem using longer track sections. Still have curve areas where trestles won’t work. Don’t think there are long curved sections like the straights. Any other ideas for the curves. Thanks.
Gary