Building a OO Gauge Curved Turnout / Point Code 100 Rail

Second stock rail added plus check rails / guard rails



One point rail to go and that may have to wait a couple of days......I`ve got another job to take care of tomorrow.
Anyway the point work so far actually works......video below.



Gormo

 

Thanks Ron,
Yes I must say that after doing it, although it`s not finished, I have a much better understanding of how it all goes together.
The critical stage is lining up the point rail with the frog and really a straight edge / jig is a very important tool for this part of the process.
Actually every stage of the build has to be completed and checked very carefully before moving forward.
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
The second point rail has been fitted.
You can see below I`m setting the rail in place ready for soldering.
I use two pieces of 1mm Aluminium flat bar as straight edge jigs and this idea comes from the Gauge O Guild guide to building points / turnouts.
One straight edge is set beside the frog to keep the wing rail in gauge and the other passes beside the frog across the gap to meet the point rail.
When the straight edge is hard against the frog and the other end of it is also hard against the point rail whilst the wing rail is held in gauge by the other straight edge, you`re good to go ahead and solder whilst pressing down firmly on the rail.
The three 3 point gauges hold the rail in gauge whilst soldering at the frog end ......the gauges are moved around to suit the soldering situation.



The 3 point gauges are to suit code 100 and also code 83 track......below the code 100 side is facing down and the code 83 is facing up.



The second point rail....the straighter one ......is now installed and double checked with the gauge.



As mentioned before......the gap between the toe of the frog and the point rails where they bend to form the wing rails.....is 10mm
The old Peco point that this one will replace has a gap of 14mm




I now have to set up the tie bar and install that, plus rail gaps have to be cut to isolate the frog and timber sleepers need to be installed
All in good time but it does seem to be cracking along at the moment.
Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
Sorted out the tie bar today......the rail in this case is connected to the tie bar with Silver Solder which will give a stronger joint.
You`ll note an insulating cut either side of the hole in the tie bar to make absolutely sure we have no electrical gremlins.



Once the tie bar was fitted , cuts were made through the rails either end of the frog to completely isolate it from the rest of the turnout.
This turnout will require a micro switch under the baseboard to change frog polarity.
The turnout and template were then soaked in IPA , which released the adhesive holding the template and the PCB sleepers.
The IPA also helps to clean up the flux residue which can be brushed away.



Then placed a fresh template on the board and only clipped it in place to use as a guide for placing and fitting the remaining sleepers.



The sleepers are cut from 2mm thick balsa......they are cut to length and then slid under the rails and positioned correctly.
Once in place, a drop of Super Glue is placed on the outside portion of the sleeper next to the rail.......the Super glue soaks into the balsa and migrates through and under the rail.



Another two sleepers are required at the far left hand end, but I might slip those in once the turnout is installed.



A wire was then soldered to the base of the frog for frog polarity switching



The over size tie bar was trimmed to the correct length



And this is the intended destination for the turnout on the railway.



And finally some testing on my bench.



One interesting side effect of building the turnout is that because of it`s closer tolerances, it is not very forgiving if wheels are out of gauge.
I have a couple of locos I will have to attend to in this regard.......one or two axles out of gauge and you`ve got a problem, however if the wheels are in gauge they just pass straight on through without a problem.
So I have to lift my game and sort some of them out.......this is gradually introducing better running qualities for my rolling stock..
Anyway that`s pretty much it for the build......obviously the turnout needs to be painted and installed.....but I might cover that on GCJ.
Gormo

 

Glad you all enjoyed the build.....
Gormo

 

Thanks Ron,
Not sure what`s next......I do need to replace those slips though....

Gormo

 

Well Chris..........that`s a good question........a very good question and I`ll have to think about that for a good while......maybe even longer.....
Gormo