Hand Laying a Double X-over.

[tetters]

Perhaps one of the hardest things I have done so far was hand laying a double cross-over. The funny thing about this is that while perusing the Fast Tracks website and staring at the multitude of free templates I decided to pick this monster as my first attempt to build a piece of track work without a jig. I figured if I could do this...I could do anything. It was not easy. It took me four nights about four hours each night locked in my layout room because as much as I was prepared for this to quite possibly blow up in my face, I wanted it to work. The tools were simple... sorta.

:hey: SAFETY GLASSES!!! Essential when grinding the frog points on the sanding disc. No one wants bits of metal in their eyes.
NMRA gauge for your scale of choice.
20-40 watt soldering iron station w/ small diameter solder 0.6mm/0.022" dia with an Acid Flux*.
Bench top belt/disc sander...(Kinda the biggun in the project, saves a lot of time instead of hand filing all the points I have one made by Delta ...and its awesome!)
10" Mill File. Brand new or one that been used just for sole purpose of building turn outs.
Small Protractor and spring clamp to hold it in place.
I also had the slight advantage of having a # 6 Frog/Point Form tool from that I bought from Fast Tracks.

* I use an aggressive acid based plumbers flux as it is great for getting solder into the joints. When finished construction I wash the entire piece in a hot soapy water bath then allow it to air dry. For additional cleaning I also use 70% iso alcohol straight from the bottle. A tooth brush is good for scrubbing the piece.

Materials...

Rail...whatever scale...whatever size. I used Code 83 Micro Engineering Non-Weathered Rail.
Copper Clad PCB ties.

That's pretty much it. I model in HO. I cannot imagine trying this in a smaller scale...you might have a conniption fit.

The "exact" template I used is no longer posted on-line. There is a slightly different one here at Fast Tracks which should be fine.

http://www.handlaidtrack.com/document_ge...ts_id=2208

NOTE: IMHO - The double x-over is a BEAST. It uses a great deal of track resources and requires a lot of effort to set up and become operational.

So, I say if you are going to attempt this, have a stiff drink handy.

Oh and at the very least and if you don't already have them, order the materials needed from the Fast Tracks website. Rail and copper clad ties already cut to size can be had from them. The prices are comparable and Tim Warris is a real stand up guy. Not to mention he is making these pdf templates that he created in AutoCAD available as a free download. Thus ends my sermon.

Ok...so down to business.

This is how I got started.


What you are looking at is the first four secondary points on one half of the cross over. This is how I started before I began a brief tutorial on how to get the points. For greater detail on turnout construction I'm not going to re-invent the wheel here and post it up. My skills and techniques are all based on what is already out there. Once again, I'll point anyone interested to the Fast Track Website. It is a great resource for hand laying and has a full manual on how to build this sucker. Download it!!! You are going to need it!




This is what I accomplished on the first two nights. I was on a mission and when I saw this first half come together, I knew with a little patience and care I would get this done.

Ok so how did I do it?

First tape your template to a clean and flat surface. Make additional copies of the template as well, as you will ruin it by the time you are finished with just the first half.



What you need to do is figure out the angles for the first and secondary frog points. The first or primary frog angle is 9 degrees, the secondary one is 19 degrees. For the first frog angle, the Frog / Point Form makes it easy. Alone this tool can make dozens upon dozens of frog points for individual # 6 turnouts. I would recommend buying just this tool just for the sake of making turn out frog points a snap. For the 19 degree frogs is was a different story. I clamped my cheap plastic protractor to the disc sander table and basically divided that number in half, which = 9.5 degrees.

PLEASE BE CAREFUL when performing this part.

Go slowly and hold the rail a close as you can towards the tip. I used a small flat tip screw driver resting on top of the base of the rail. The rail will get hot and there is not a lot of room for your finger tips there. Don't do it all at once or you will get a sloppy angle and end up discolouring the rail. Take a bit off, check your angle on the template, make adjustments as necessary. It helps to have a good set of eyes too.

:hey: SAFETY GLASSES!!! For those of us who still have a good set of eyes the glasses are a must or you will loose that near perfect vision you've had for most of your adult life. Especially when grinding the other rail to make the opposite angle for the point as the rotation of the sanding disc will throw the little bits of metal at your FACE! So go slow and watch yourself. To get that opposite angle, come in from the right and use the same take a little bit off, check it, take a little bit more off as you go technique. Make adjustments to your angle while using the protractor as a guide to get that 8 degrees you need. When you are done, use your finger nail or a small file to carefully remove any burrs on the top and bottom of the rail. Otherwise it will not sit flat on your template.

Start with the center frog point. Once you've ground the frog points you should have some thing like this. Next you'll need to line the rail up carefully matching the template outline. I balance something small but heavy on top of the rail heads to help hold the rail down and make adjustments...patience is the key here.



Once satisfied place a generous amount of Flux on the joint. Then touch the clean tip of your 40 watt iron to the rails and let the flux sizzle for a second, then place some solder on the joint. Allow the solder to wick into it in order to get a good solid bond. It should only take a few seconds.




Lightly file the top of the frog with your mill file and there you have it. The first of 8 frog points you will need to make.



Here is a shot of three of them in progress. One completed, once prepped and ready for soldering, and another set of freshly ground points. We'll get to that fourth one in a minute.



This next step is critical and tricky. Patience is key. Starting with the frog point in the center (the one which will create one half of the diamond in the middle) and using some long PCB ties get everything lined up and squared on the template. Using some additional ties underneath rails where your weight sits as you adjust and line everything up is very helpful here. When you've get it all good to go, solder the first tie to the point.



Once one point is soldered to a couple of ties, using the template and an NMRA gauge, carefully position the next one. Hold it in place and solder it down.





Before we attach the third frog point, we must form the guard rail as outline on our template. Nip the rail at the base where the corner of the guard rail is and care fully bend it to match the angle on the template. Small increments work best here.



We also need to cut one the frogs at the point where one of point rails which leads into our primary frog angle. Mark the corner with a # 11 knife and cut the rail on an angle that makes it roughly square enough to make a butt joint while the leaving a little extra. Carefully file off the excess and as mentioned square it up to match the point rail which will be installed later.



Lastly, using a small file shape a small compound angle on the guard rail to help coax the wheels into the frog area.

When you are done you should have something that looks like this.



Then you can fit and solder the third frog point in place and repeat the same techniques to get to this point.



Here is the cross over with its three secondary (19 degrees) and two primary frog (9 degrees or # 6) points all soldered in place.



The fourth and final secondary point sits inside to the two rails you bent to make guard rails. Carefully position it, using your template and NMRA gauge then solder it in place. These two pieces of rail will also make up the inner stock rails of the two turnouts leading into the x-over. You can also see the addition of more PCB ties. Add these during the construction as you go to suppost the weight of x-over and to help hold everything together.



Joining the two halves together you should get something like this. Not quite the perfect fit, however leaving a bit of extra at the ends helps here. Check and recheck and double check this as you file down the matching halves to line up as near perfect as possible. When ready to go, take a deep breath and begin to solder the two halves together.





For some reason after that point I stopped taking pictures. I guess I was taken up with the fact that this was all coming together and was actually going to work. At one point I will confess when I initially joined the two halves together is was all cockeyed. I had to carefully straighten it by heating some solder joints and lining it up against a straight edge.

But it works. My cars and locos with their metal wheels roll through making that happy little clakkitty clakkitty sounds as the roll over the points.





On the layout.



Wiring diagrams taken from the Fast Tracks Discussion Forums.




To wire it up, since I am running DCC I used the On-Guard Auto Reverser unit which can be found at Tony's Train Exchange. With this set up the x-over runs off four tortoise machines which work off a single DPDT switch. This throws all the points at once, all straight or all diverge. Otherwise a hard short would be created. The Auto Reveser is wired to the Main Buss and the two points in the middle (yellow) are connected to the reversing card. When the AR senses a short it automatically corrects the polarity...essentially a no brainer.

With that said, ISOLATION GAPS!!! Very important. Your x-over may look pretty, however without these it will not work. The ISO gaps are marked on the template. Ensure that you mark and cut each one in every PCB tie. Otherwise...it no workie electrically speaking. I learned this the hard way. Trust me. To cut them use a triangle file or if you got ahead of yourself carefully cut them using a cut off disc in a Dremel. Go easy or you'll cut the PCB tie in half.



This is shot underneath the layout...the wiring is a bit of a mess, you can see the auto reverser at the back and two of the Torts sitting side by side drive one half of the points. You can also see (sorta) how the internal contacts are all wired up. The white wires are for the LEDS on the switch panel. The other Torts don't have anything all all hooked up to them save wires for power.

Looking at the wiring today and something I may try on my new layout is wiring it up using just two Tortoise as there are more then enough internal contacts available using my existing wiring set up. That will require using four Remote Tortoise Mount. I figure I could use the four of the actuators at each point and use the machines to drive two points each. It could end up freeing a couple machines and make the set up a little cleaner looking below the deck. Circuitron even suggests it on their website.

Well, thats all for this one. Hope you all enjoy it.

[Ralph]

You have my admiration sir!
Ralph

[Fluesheet]

Tetters,

Thanks for posting this here. Good stuff.

Matt

[tetters]

Thanks guys. I may go back and edit it later as I keep noting some points I neglected to make. I guess its hard to get everything the first time especially when making such a long post. I make a note when I've done some editing.

[Steamtrains]

I can't believe you actually did this...!!! Great work..!!
A looooong time ago I tried my hand at a simple square crossing and just gave up....
I think the use of PC ties would've helped...But back then there were none to be had....

[eightyeightfan1]

Wow! Wish i had your talent and patience.
Thank God for "ready made".

[jim currie]

looking good now if you want a real challenge try a double slip :o .
Jim

PS if you try one look out for the guys in the white coats.

[tetters]

looking good now if you want a real challenge try a double slip :o .
Jim

PS if you try one look out for the guys in the white coats.

Already did. It came out really well. I actually mated it to a # 5 turnout and had two opposing frogs. Pretty neat stuff this track geometry is ain't it?




Sadly...I removed it as it really didn't belong on my layout and ended up destroying it in the process. Oh well... :|

Here is a 19 degree crossing I also built using the same techniques.


I really get a kick out of building complex pieces of track work. I haven't had a need to build anything else for some time though. However, I'll be building a module for a local free mo group once I get my layout back on track...perhaps then I'll have my chance to flex my skills again.

[Puddlejumper]

looking good now if you want a real challenge try a double slip :o .
Jim

PS if you try one look out for the guys in the white coats.

He did one. Or was it a single slip? Post up!

Thanks for bringing this over here Tetters!

dave

[doctorwayne]

Nice to see this display of fine craftsmanship brought over here, Shane.

Wayne

[jim currie]

nice looking slip , i just got through making three(never again) in one weekend. use most of the same methods as you but use jig to assemble and don't use PC board.
Jim

[tetters]

nice looking slip , i just got through making three(never again) in one weekend. use most of the same methods as you but use jig to assemble and don't use PC board.
Jim

I thought one was enough for me. After three the men in the white coats may very well show up at my door! hock:

The hardest thing about the slip to me was making the 8 little hinges for the 8 point rails out of small rail joiners. They were so damn small and irritating that at one point I almost chucked the whole bloody thing across the work bench.

Big pain in the arse.

I also found that a soldered throw bar looked all goofy when throwing the points. It would look all crooked and stuff when the points were thrown in one direction. I had to devise a pivot method at the points using some very tiny brass nuts and bolts to allow the throw bar to move freely.

I'd love to see some pics of your work Jim. Post up here and we can compare notes!

[LynnB]

I must say this is one of the most interesting technical threads I've read in a while.

[cnw1961]

Nothing left to say, so

[Trucklover]

Job Well done!! That looks great!!