01-30-2010, 08:35 PM
Plodding along here. Any work done on the layout is progress right. Most of the work so far has been underneath. I'm getting all the track feeders in and making sure the wiring is tight before I go ahead and start painting and weathering the track. I'd hate to do all that work and find out that I missed something electrically and have to mess up any scenic work I did.
I spiked down the two spurs leading in the corner of the layout during the week. I've always had a bit of a leveling problem with this corner of the layout and my newest incarnation is no exception. Spotting cars quickly turns into runaway cars, or rather, uncoupling is impossible.
So decided to get creative and design a "derail" of sorts. Except this does not derail the rolling stock, it rather just holds it in place.
The prototype.
![[Image: DSC03492.jpg]](http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee118/tetters73/DSC03492.jpg)
I was testing the waters with this. There are a couple of things I needed to improve on. The post or handle sits too close the rolling stock, is way too tall and secondly it doesn't look like something you'd see on the side of the tracks. The loop was fashioned as a means to get the tip of a bamboo skewer in there, but it was really quite unattractive...
![[Image: DSC03493.jpg]](http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee118/tetters73/DSC03493.jpg)
So I disassembled the first one and went about making a new one. This one would sit further back from the rails and I'd try and make it look like a piece of track work equipment or machinery. There are three parts, the brass tube acts like a sleeve. The brass stock cut from a piece of square brass and filed flat leaving just enough to drill some holes and the 38 gauge piano wire.
![[Image: DSC03494.jpg]](http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee118/tetters73/DSC03494.jpg)
I soldered the brass sleeve to the bottom of the rail, slid in the 38 gauge axle or shaft. The derail part was slid onto the shaft and then I marked and bent the shaft to get a 90 degree elbow. Then the derail was soldered to the shaft, making sure that the derail and the "post" part of the shaft were at a 90 degree angle from each other and would allow the derail to nestle in between the rails when it is flipped down and the post would stick straight up or vice versa.
![[Image: DSC03495.jpg]](http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee118/tetters73/DSC03495.jpg)
I made a sign of sorts out of some brass stock as well and soldered to the shaft.
![[Image: DSC03497.jpg]](http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee118/tetters73/DSC03497.jpg)
Add some head blocks and voila!
![[Image: DSC03498.jpg]](http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee118/tetters73/DSC03498.jpg)
The mechanism acts like a catch. The sign post keeps the derail from continuing to flip over and allow the rolling stock roll on through. The derail catches the trucks axles about half way and actually doesn't look all that bad. If the derail is left up, and I'm spotting cars, the first axle to hit it simply pushes it down. The mechanism moves freely and requires little to no effort. If I want to pull cars off the siding, I simply back them off the derail, flip the sign post up using the tip of my skewer and continue on through. I imagine it will all look better once painted.
![[Image: DSC03500.jpg]](http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee118/tetters73/DSC03500.jpg)
But not so fast. There is always a catch. The all metal design does have a flaw as I found out when confronted with metal axles. The derail causes a dead short on the layout. The solution was simple. I chopped a couple of small pieces of styrene and used some CA to cement the strips in place on both sides. No more shorting, and it just adds another small detail to the mechanism.
I ended up making two of these. I don't need anymore really. Just for these two particular spur tracks. I suppose the next idea would be a way to figure out how to automate them somehow. I don't know if this particular design can be adapted, but I was thinking about it while building this little contraption.
*** I also inadvertently got my answer to this little worry some thought...
Since the layout went into dead short as a result of the derail contact with the metal axle once I cleared the short by using the ol' 0-5-0 method and allowed the PH to boot up.... nothing happened. No loco sprinted off, nothing. Other then the layout coming on-line all was fine. Which is good to know.
I spiked down the two spurs leading in the corner of the layout during the week. I've always had a bit of a leveling problem with this corner of the layout and my newest incarnation is no exception. Spotting cars quickly turns into runaway cars, or rather, uncoupling is impossible.
So decided to get creative and design a "derail" of sorts. Except this does not derail the rolling stock, it rather just holds it in place.
The prototype.
I was testing the waters with this. There are a couple of things I needed to improve on. The post or handle sits too close the rolling stock, is way too tall and secondly it doesn't look like something you'd see on the side of the tracks. The loop was fashioned as a means to get the tip of a bamboo skewer in there, but it was really quite unattractive...
So I disassembled the first one and went about making a new one. This one would sit further back from the rails and I'd try and make it look like a piece of track work equipment or machinery. There are three parts, the brass tube acts like a sleeve. The brass stock cut from a piece of square brass and filed flat leaving just enough to drill some holes and the 38 gauge piano wire.
I soldered the brass sleeve to the bottom of the rail, slid in the 38 gauge axle or shaft. The derail part was slid onto the shaft and then I marked and bent the shaft to get a 90 degree elbow. Then the derail was soldered to the shaft, making sure that the derail and the "post" part of the shaft were at a 90 degree angle from each other and would allow the derail to nestle in between the rails when it is flipped down and the post would stick straight up or vice versa.
I made a sign of sorts out of some brass stock as well and soldered to the shaft.
Add some head blocks and voila!
The mechanism acts like a catch. The sign post keeps the derail from continuing to flip over and allow the rolling stock roll on through. The derail catches the trucks axles about half way and actually doesn't look all that bad. If the derail is left up, and I'm spotting cars, the first axle to hit it simply pushes it down. The mechanism moves freely and requires little to no effort. If I want to pull cars off the siding, I simply back them off the derail, flip the sign post up using the tip of my skewer and continue on through. I imagine it will all look better once painted.
But not so fast. There is always a catch. The all metal design does have a flaw as I found out when confronted with metal axles. The derail causes a dead short on the layout. The solution was simple. I chopped a couple of small pieces of styrene and used some CA to cement the strips in place on both sides. No more shorting, and it just adds another small detail to the mechanism.
I ended up making two of these. I don't need anymore really. Just for these two particular spur tracks. I suppose the next idea would be a way to figure out how to automate them somehow. I don't know if this particular design can be adapted, but I was thinking about it while building this little contraption.
*** I also inadvertently got my answer to this little worry some thought...
Quote:Actually, I think the bug persists...A couple of times I've managed to run a loco into a turnout set the wrong way, and the ensuing short started a couple of locos off to the races...luckily they all ran off the spurs they were on, so no damage to them....
This with a D'trax Zephyr....
Since the layout went into dead short as a result of the derail contact with the metal axle once I cleared the short by using the ol' 0-5-0 method and allowed the PH to boot up.... nothing happened. No loco sprinted off, nothing. Other then the layout coming on-line all was fine. Which is good to know.