Mark's (Pelhama's ) Turnout Build Progress

[pelhama]

Hello All,

I have found a bit of time to post the progress of my turnout kit build so far.

First a photo of what was in the box:




Next up is a photo of the tools used, I subsequently added a small pair of cutters:




As far as the build goes, first I added the chairs to the straight stock rail:




I found a useful method was to position all the sprues in the correct orientation beforehand to help avoid fitting chairs the wrong way round. In future I think I will use a scrap of ply with a hole for the rail to pass through for cutting the chairs from the sprues.

I then roughly positioned the chairs along the rail length and inserted them into the timber base:




This allowed me to finally align the chairs and remove the burrs prior to bonding.

I then added the chairs to the curved stock rail:




I then used the same approach as the straight stock rail to install the curved stock rail:




This is not as easy as the first rail as the timber base has far less flex having had the first rail installed.

The last picture shows my progress to date, having installed the two wing rails:




Once I have found my ground-down flat nose pliers I will add the check rails. The only other task that I might do before adding the switch and closure(?) rails is to add a dropper wire to the frog. My intention is to remove the frog, solder a wire beneath the unit positioned between timbers and then drop the wire through the turnout base.

Work on the kit has been a bit sporadic and has probably taken around 1 to 1.5 hours, I would think that to complete a turnout start to finish uninterrupted would probably take about the same time.

So far I am very impressed with the design and ease of assembly, and will certainly be planning a future layout around the FiNetrax range.

Cheers,

Mark

[karyn]

Mark, How easy was it to get the chairs to fit the base when already on the rail? Also, how easy is it to remove the whole lot from the base in order to solder the wires to the bottom of the rail?

Karyn

[pelhama]

Hi Karyn,

Fitting the chairs was fairly straightforward by starting at one end and flexing the base as each chair is slid into it's locating hole.

Reinstalling the rail after soldering will be nigh on impossible unless you solder the wire above the height of the chair. My first thought was to use heat sinks either side of the dropper on the rail whilst soldering to prevent damage to the chairs. Another option is to add droppers to the rail at the far extents of the milled base. That way the rail can be slid out at one end, the dropper soldered on and the rail then slid back in.

When I install the closure rails I am very tempted to add the dropper before the chairs so that the whole assembly can be positioned and bonded without the need for later soldering.

I am also tempted to cut the closure rails further back from the frog roughly where the two stock rails and two closure rails are all equi-distant. The short section of the closure rails would then be connected to the frog. The switch blades and remainder of the closure rails would be connected to the stock rails. That way should there be a derailment there is less likelihood for a short circuit. One of the downfalls of Peco turnouts is the proximity of opposite polarity rails meaning only a short gap has to be bridged before a short circuit occurs. Similarly I may electrically bond the two rails beyond the frog to the frog and then add gaps beyond the milled base.

I hope that helps.

Cheers,

Mark

[karyn]

Hi Mark,

I was planning on marking the rails at the point I wanted to solder the bonding wires then removing the whole assembly from the base so the chairs could be slid away from the solder point. If you've already glued the chairs then I guess you can't do that.

Also, for the next one I build, I'll just lay the rail on the base to mark the soldering points. Then do all the soldering and add the chairs last.

I am also tempted to cut the closure rails further back from the frog roughly where the two stock rails and two closure rails are all equi-distant.

I'm going to do the same, between the 3rd and 4th sleeper from the frog.

[Wayne Kinney]

Thanks for posting, Mark!

Interesting to see someone using the second method of installing chairs (all into the rail first). I believe that this method is harder to insert the chairs into the base, but it does have the advantage that you can solder the electrical wire at any point on the rail. Using the first method (installing all chairs onto the base first, and sliding in the rail), the wire must be soldered to one end of the rail.

[pelhama]

Evening All,

Last Wednesday (31st) I had the opportunity to progress my turnout kit build but I have only just found time to update my thread as follows:


Etched tie-bar chairs added to switch rails:



Switch rails with etched tie-bar chairs:


Stock rails slid away from tie bar area to allow installation, first switch rail prepared with chairs and tie-bar loosely installed:


And finally the completed article:


It has been a thoroughly enjoyable kit to build and I look forward to producing a layout using these components.

So what would I do differently?

I think for layout installation I would want to assemble the kit along with the plain track rather than build on the bench to create a "Drop-in" unit. As such I'm not sure how easy it would be to slide the rails to allow installation of the tie-bar and switch rails. It is a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation, the slide chairs need to be in before the switch rails but the tie-bar/switch rail assembly needs to be in before the stock rails. This doesn't suit my preferred method of assembly which is to install the rails with the chairs already threaded on to give accurate chair alignment. I suppose I could install the chairs on a temporary rail to allow installation and application of adhesive, then remove the temporary rail once set. That would allow the tie-bar and switch rails to be installed before sliding the final stock rails in later. The switch rails could then be trimmed to length to allow the cast frog to be installed.

I would also like to try separating the timbers away from the frog to allow the kit to be built on a curve. As long as the frog remains straight I think it should work.

Wayne, I congratulate you on producing a fine kit which gives a suitably accurate representation of prototypical track without the need to resort to 2FS and, for me and I guess many others, the major cost of re-wheeling stock.

Cheers,

Mark

[Wayne Kinney]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the update and photos, it makes me feel confident that my jigs and instructions seems to work and are clear Not yet listed in the instructions, but to finish the frog area cosmetically, a half chair can be glued into place up against the frog rail (using the heavier outer lug of the chair). see image below:



I have thought about the idea of a 'flexible' turnout, I believe it could work. I am looking into this.

Do you feel it would be fine if the timbers were joined at one end, for curving, rather then jioned in the very middle? I am thinking about how the timbers will space from one another as the turnout base is curved...

[pelhama]

Hi Wayne,

That's an interesting idea, my initial thought was to completely separate the timbers, except for those around the frog, and build the turnout on a template (preferably Templot as my layout has been designed using it, but as long as it suits the geometry of the kit parts).

If the timbers were pre-cut but held with a web that would make things easier; I would suggest there are three options:

1. Centred webs to keep timber pitch equalised
2. Single sided webs (left or right) but could lead to larger pitch than intended if curved the wrong way to the design
3. Alternate sided webs which would hopefully balance out the issue from option 2 but may be more complicated to mill?

Whichever way, if it saves cutting the timbers by the customer and becomes another "drop-in-and-glue" kit it would be more attractive to buy.

A fourth option could also be to sell the timbers as individual parts (bar the frog area) which would require assembly on a suitable template - possibly the most flexible approach but may reduce the market if customers were uneasy about having to position the timbers themselves rather than having the spacing pre-defined.

If you want to bounce ideas around or require a Guinea Pig then I'd be happy to assist !

Cheers,

Mark

[Wayne Kinney]

Thanks Mark,

I believe centred webs would be better. I also think that it is possible, if the size of the web was correct, to mill bases that are solid enough to keep their original shape, but just flexible enough to flex to a curve of the builders choice. This would mean one type of base for both situations.

The base would need to be glued to a piece of paper to keep the curved shape, then assembly of all the components once set. It would not be possible (at least not advisable) to have a turnout that you build up, and then allowed to flex - I don't think that would work.

[howard]

Aug 8, 2013 7:11:08 GMT Wayne Kinney said:

Thanks Mark,

I believe centred webs would be better. I also think that it is possible, if the size of the web was correct, to mill bases that are solid enough to keep their original shape, but just flexible enough to flex to a curve of the builders choice. This would mean one type of base for both situations.

The base would need to be glued to a piece of paper to keep the curved shape, then assembly of all the components once set. It would not be possible (at least not advisable) to have a turnout that you build up, and then allowed to flex - I don't think that would work.

This makes we wonder if the proposed crossover could be built on a curve. Fortunately I haven't even built the baseboard for that part of my layout!

I use the following technique for Easitrac, and will be using it with fiNetrax:
I stick a Templot plan on some Sundeala. I make up a full length of track and attach it to the plan with staples (gently hammered across the sleepers, not via the staple gun) so it follows the curve. I then airbrush the track - having it on a base means I can easily airbrush it along the track sides. When dried the paint stops the sleepers moving and the track easily holds its shape.

Howard.

[pelhama]

Hi Wayne,

I would suggest the "assembly before curving" is a non-starter as it would cause either compression to one switch rail, a gap in the other or both. It would definitely be better to pre-curve the base onto a template.

My preference would be to build in-situ and integrate the turnout with the plain track. That would allow rail joins to be staggered which would help maintain track alignment.

Howard, were you using individual timbers? I can imagine the paint would be sufficient if there is no resistance in the form of webbing trying to straighten the turnout but, depending on the thickness and strength/flexibility of the webbing, there may be too much resistance to flexing for the paint to hold the shape.

Cheers,

Mark

[howard]

Aug 8, 2013 17:13:00 GMT pelhama said:

Howard, were you using individual timbers?

No I used the sleepers as bought, i.e. 6 joined together.
Howard.

[pelhama]

Howard,

I misread your post and took it to mean you build Easitrac turnouts which have their shape held by the paint, I have just re-read it and realise you are talking about plain track!

Cheers,

Mark

[howard]

Aug 8, 2013 18:05:07 GMT pelhama said:

Howard,

I misread your post and took it to mean you build Easitrac turnouts which have their shape held by the paint, I have just re-read it and realise you are talking about plain track!

Cheers,

Mark

By talking about a crossover and then plain track (without saying) I can see why you read it that way. My mistake, I should have been clearer - sorry.

Howard.