We make custom G-scale trestle bents for any height up to 4 feet tall in 6” increments. The bents are nailed and glued and offer superior strength. They are made of cedar for exceptional resistance to water and rot, and are stained to your choice of black or brown. We use posts that are 1/2” square and sills and sway braces that are 1/2” wide and 1/8” thick. This matches in scale the dimensions of the prototype posts which were often 12” by 12” timbers. Sills are placed every 6 inches downward from the cap.
During installation time, the feet of each bent should be cut to match the height you need. We highly recommend the feet do not get installed in soil, sand, or any material which will harbor moisture. Love on Rails installs these on cinder blocks cut to size and grooved to avoid slipping sideways under load. Installation should also include crossbars and sway braces between bents.
To figure out how many you need, plan on bents located every 6” maximum. On trestle curves, figure the outside of the curve having 6” spacing and the inside would be less — how much less depends on the curve radius. We sell bents by the pair (1 foot).
Our outer bent posts lean 12º from the vertical. This means that for every foot of height, the post on each side leans outward by 2.5”, so this means the width of the bent grows by 5” for every foot of height.
Bent heights can be built in 9 sizes which range from extra-small (<6”) to 5XL (more than 4 feet), and so they vary in build-time from a half-hour (including ripping boards into posts and sills, assembly, and staining) to 2 hours, per pair. Costs range from $27.30 for a pair of extra-small bents to $118.20 for a pair of huge 5XL bents for materials and labor. Crating and shipping expenses, if needed, would be additional cost.
| Size | Range | Cost per pair (1 foot) |
| Extra Small (XS) | XS < 6” | $27 |
| Small (S) | 6” ≤ S < 12” | $41 |
| Medium (M) | 12” ≤ M < 18” | $55 |
| Large (L) | 18” ≤ L < 24” | $69 |
| Extra Large (XL) | 24” ≤ XL < 30” | $83 |
| 2XL | 30” ≤ 2XL < 36” | $84 |
| 3XL | 36” ≤ 3XL < 42” | $98 |
| 4XL | 42” ≤ 4XL < 48” | $101 |
| 5XL | 48” ≤ 5XL < 54” | $118 |