Steady progress on Newport at the moment. I have finished wiring the Station throat board which has a scissors crossover and one other turnout. All fitted with Fulgurex Motors, and Sprat & Winkle electro magnets installed in strategic places. Most activity has been directed towards developing the method of installing the Fulgarex motors. I have read a number of criticisms of them, and I do now appreciate they are difficult to install - beginning with the need to completely ignore the "official" instructions! I have made a number of false starts, but my favoured method now involves 22swg piano wire, running in suitably sized tubing and a new turnout operating unit of my own design. The photograph is of a prototype, which needs some amendment of the basic measurements to make it completely right.

The base is a piece of PCB about 50mm by 18mm. The screw holes are sized to fit your screws (mine are 3 * 3/8" dome headed brass woodscrews). The central hole through which the operating rod runs is 8mm diameter. It could be smaller. The gizmo in the middle which converts the drive motion by 90 degrees is by Modratec and the ability to adjust it using the screws is crucial to success. It also incorporates a slipping clutch mechanism, though I have found this difficult to calibrate and apparently unnecessary anyway. The control wire needs to be offset to give the vertical rod as much width as it needs to move within the 8mm hole.

With a throw of 6.5mm at the motor, and a much smaller throw needed at the turnout, I fettle a "Z" spring in the wire to absorb the extra throw. This results in the turnout blade being sprung against the stock rail firmly, but not too firmly. My tiebars are built to the Norman Solomon method, using pcb strip and brass pins. Seems reliable.....................

I use the switches on the Fulgurex motors to switch the frog polarity, and, like many commentators have found that they are not totally reliable. Luckily there are spare switches and if one doesn't work the other nearly always does.

As a by-product, I have discovered that if the turnouts on the scissors crossover are interlocked so that it is not possible to set both pairs to "on", there is an opportunity to significantly simplify the wiring of the crossings. Maybe I will find time one day to document this. Turnouts can be interlocked either through the Fulgurex switches or (as in my case) with a mechanically interlocked lever frame (again from Modratec).

Next task is to get these TOOUs into batch production. I am aiming to build enough for the whole layout and by doing all the cutting, drilling and soldering as batch jobs I minimise the time needed as well as engendering a much tidier working environment with only the tools out for one job at a time.

The object that looks a bit like a lavatory is a 1:1 scale egg cup.

And (usual disclaimer) I am merely a satisfied customer of the products mentioned in this post.

Chris