First 7mm, 31.5mm gauge Point completed (well nearly anyway!)
O.K. So here it is, my first 7mm point! Constructed using C & L plastic 2 bolt chairs, Nickel Silver rail and a Timbertracks B6 sleeper base. I also used a pre-soldered crossing vee and machined switchblades from the same supplier. The cost involved in buying pre made vees and switches is money well spent in my opinion, saving a lot of time laboriously filing and shaping lengths of rail. The machining seems very accurate and I found the switch rails sat really flush against the stock rail with very little adjustment.
I found Iain Rice's book on finescale track construction invaluable, it contains loads of useful information, which although aimed at 4mm modellers most of the information is applicable to those of us working in a larger scale.
Initially I was concerned about the bond that would be achieved between the plastic chairs and the wooden sleeper bases, so I strengthened the crossing vee/wing rail assembly using some etched brass fret waste. I'm not convinced that this is entirely necessary now that I have seen how good the plastic bond is.
The timbertrack bases have a small V shaped mark formed into the plywood, to give an indication as to where the crossing vee should be located. When I used this guide to locate my crossing vee, I found the stock rail, when gauged from this position was to far to the right. This resulted in me having to move the previously glued crossing, which is how I found out how good a bond is achieved between plastic and plywood!
Once the crossing vee was positioned correctly the rest of the point's construction progressed without any further problems, using the 31.5mm gauges to hold the rail in position while the glue was drying.
I wasn't happy with the wooden webs between the sleepers, so once everything had set, I used a scalpel to remove them.
I'm still undecided about the best method to use for making the tie bar. In my 4mm days I used the "moving sleeper" technique, but feel this larger scale needs something a bit more realistic. I'm planning on using wire droppers off the end of each switchblade, throuh the baseboard and into a "below baseboard actuator" for the function of the point. I would welcome peoples views on ways to get a good cosmetic tie bar that won't try my patience too much!
Despite the need to remove the webbing between the sleepers and the crossing v positioning guide not appearing to be in the right place, I'm pleased with the end result. I've still got four more points and a double slip to build for my project, so those nice people at C&L can expect a further order in the next day or so!
Thanks for reading
Best wishes
Dave
Overall view of 7mm point
Close up of crossing V and gauges
Crossing V and wagon
What to do for a tiebar!
Edited by wenlock
Restore pictures
- 8
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