Method and apparatus for forming a trench with grates or solid covers

A method of making a trench, comprising the steps of:

• (a) forming a ditch in the ground;
• (b) fixing at a preselected depth within the ditch a first trench form comprising a first outer shell having first and second end walls and a top wall and a first core received within a channel longitudinally extending through the end walls and top wall of the shell;
• (c) extending a portion of one end of the first core beyond the first end wall of the first shell;
• (d) positioning a second core within a second shell of a second form so that one end of the core extends beyond the first end wall of the second shell, thereby forming in the channel at the end of the second shell adjacent the second end wall a space sufficient to receive therein the portion of the first core which projects outwardly from the first end wall of the first shell;
• (e) placing the second form in the ditch with the second end wall of the second shell in abutting relation to the first end wall of the first shell, the end of the first core that projects beyond the first end wall of the first shell being received within the space in the channel of the second shell;
• and
• (f) repeating steps (d) and (e) for subsequent shells and respective cores along the length of the trench.