I am a big fan of the Fast Tracks track building system. This and 2 previous layouts were built using that system exclusively. My only complaint is the connection of the point rails to the throwbar. It may be a me thing but I have at least one solder joint fail every operating session. There's a slight rotational force applied to the solder joint every time the points are thrown.
So I put on my problem solving hat and came up with a solution I'm very happy with.
The task is to hold the point rails exactly in place and allow a bit of rotational freedom.
I sat down with Ryan and we came up with a design
I found the smallest machine screws I could, 000-120, 1/16 long.
The idea is to solder the tab onto the inner web of the point rail and then bolt the tab to the throwbar.
I'm delighted to report that I managed to tap over 100 000-120 holes and not snap the tap
Installation is a tad fiddly and hanging to those tiny screws can be a challenge, but I'm delighted to report that the concept works.
To date I have 4 turnouts redone and they move far more freely than they did with the original method.
Once I get more done I'll break out the airbrush and paint them up, and I'm sure they will look just fine.
No comments:
Post a Comment