Getting back to the trestle, I installed the crossties on the deck using scale 8’ lengths of 1/16” square basswood, and outer guard rails
made from scale 4x8s with NBW castings every three or four ties.
I also got started on the trestle bents, using 1/8” round stock for the piles, 1/8” square stock for the caps, and scale 2x8 for the braces. All of the wood was cut using a cheap 2” miter saw from Harbor Freight, which makes short work of repetitive cuts and ensures that all of the piles are cut at the correct angle, in this case 0, 5, or 10 degrees. The following photo shows the quick-and-dirty assembly jig I used, and a finished bent (with NBWs) in the upper right.
The piles and caps were stained a darker brown than the trestle deck and the braces. My thinking was that these pieces might have been creosoted while the rest were left untreated. I'm not sure if that is actually prototypical but I like the contrasting wood tones.
