I am working on a HO-scale, wood pony truss with all the bolt-head details. I have purchased tie plates and angle bars suitable for code 55 rail. My question: Any thoughts with regard to fixing the 156 tie plates to ties? Being a lazy sort, I am looking a time-saving method to get the plates on the ties with good gauge and line. My working theory is to use double-sided fixed 1:1 paper copy of the bridge deck. Tape the plates to the paper copy, and then glue permanently the rails to the plates. To maintain the gauge, solder 3 or 4 brass strips to the rails. Peel the tape from plates, and fix the rail and ties to the bridge deck. Thoughts?
How wide are the tie plates in actual inches? Any chance you could mark or tape a pair of straight lines on the deck to use as a guide?
Karl, Your idea of gluing the tie plates to the rails first is a good one. And you don't need the brass strips to maintain the gauge. Use super glue to attach both the tie plates to the rails and to the ties, and make sure the gauge is correct immediately before the glue sets. It won't change later. I have done wood trestles with code 55 rails glued directly, and they have been in service on our layout for years, with no gauge problems. Ken McElreath
