Starting work on trestle

Spring is definitely here but today felt more like summer, as it got up to 86° in the backyard. Spokane International Airport's official high for today was 82° which was still high enough to tie the record high temperature for today. I've been very busy recently with spring garden work like getting the irrigation system up and running, and having finished everything that needed attention I thought I would start work on the trestle work for the railroad.

Today's finished section of trestle. I used the same style and building methods I used for my earlier trestle work in Seattle.

The first step was setting up the work area and hauling everything from the garage that I would need. And then remembering something else and making another trip. Got lots of steps in today. 

Placing the foundation for the first bent. Last time I used brick for foundation; this time I thought I'd go with something simpler and just put down a bed of coarse gravel under each bent. The PVC pipes are holding up the track at the level I want. Based on the track level, I measured how high each bent would need to be.

Each bent was cut to the appropriate height and I attached a bottom sill. I dug a trench and filled it with coarse gravel for each bent. I used a double bent at both ends of this section. Here they are being held upright with a few pieces of lumber.

Gradually all the bents were connected sufficiently to hold them in place so I could put the stringers along the top of the bents. 

This picture shows progress as I added stringers on top of the bents which will support the tracks. Based on my learnings last time I did this, I cut a length of stringers to connect each bent rather than trying to run them a longer distance. I'm using three stringers, and I put spacers in between them to help secure them and keep them even. After placing them with ample glue, I weighted each section down with a rock. Once the glue sets I will knock out the spacers.

The section of trestle is mostly complete. I just need to add the diagonal braces between the bents.  

This picture shows the completed section on the left and the next challenge, creating a bridge over the rock area. For now I'm going to do a simple bridge with a support in the middle sitting on the rock. On the right of the rock you can see the foundation where the next double bent is going to be placed and the trestle will continue from there to the right.

So many flowers are blooming and the bees and other insects are now out in full force. This big bumblebee decided to visit the job site today. I think this is a Hunt's bumblebee (Bombus huntii)