Using the easy-assembly Finetrax pointwork kits in 00 and EM (and in P4 from the S4 Society)

[martin_wynne]

2 minutes ago, Wilton 34041 said:

I'm curious to know what the rectangular box of sleepers are for half way along?

 

Hi Phil,

 

It's to allow a wiring connection to the underside of the rails.

 

The link between the timbers is very thin, and hidden under ballast.

 

Martin.

[Wayne Kinney]

39 minutes ago, Wilton 34041 said:

I'm curious to know what the rectangular box of sleepers are for half way along? Apologies if this has already been answered but they do spoil the effect of a scale turnout. 

Martin's spot on! And yes, this get's buried under the ballast so is not seen

[Wayne Kinney]

41 minutes ago, Wilton 34041 said:

Hi all,

very interesting and a great review. I'm curious to know what the rectangular box of sleepers are for half way along? Apologies if this has already been answered but they do spoil the effect of a scale turnout. 

 

Cheers,

Phil B.

Hi Phil,

 

Actually, I've just seen you live in Peacehaven, as I do. You are more than welcome to arrange a visit to check out the kits (masks and social distancing of course  ).

[martin_wynne]

At the risk of raising another load groan, I'd like to point out the essential detail ringed in red:

 

 

Although the set bend in the turnout-side stock rail is regarded as optional by some, it is more than ever essential when building a curved turnout. The gauging through the switch and the fit of the switch blades will be significantly improved. Even at this distance from Peacehaven, I can see that the switch is under-gauge at the yellow line above. A set in the stock rail would cure that.

 

And given that we are creating a "model" -- it is prototypical:

 

 

Just an easily made bend in one rail, but it makes all the difference in building a workable switch when the radii get tighter. And the template shows exactly where to put it.

 

cheers,

 

Martin. 

[Wayne Kinney]

  

43 minutes ago, martin_wynne said:

Even at this distance from Peacehaven, I can see that the switch is under-gauge at the yellow line above.

 

Thanks Martin,

 

I agree that a set bend would certainly minimize gauge narrowing through the switch which seems to become more of an issue when curving the turnout like this.

 

However, I have previously mentioned a few times that I have made my own design adjustments in CAD to widen the gauge through the switch.

 

Peacehaven is a long way away and perhaps too far to see that the gauge in fact widens from the switch toe, not narrows. Bellow are the actual gauge measurements taken with digital callipers..

 

 

Edited June 27, 2021 by Wayne Kinney

[Wayne Kinney]

46 minutes ago, martin_wynne said:

Just an easily made bend in one rail, but it makes all the difference in building a workable switch when the radii get tighter. And the template shows exactly where to put it.

Perfect! Modellers that wish to put the set bend in, whether from North, South, East or 'West of the Severn', can do so. That's the beauty of it  Even my customers from from France, Germany, Austria or US can share the same freedom to decide

 

Joking aside, I can certainly see the gauge narrowing when the turnout is curved. But my built in compensation into the bases overcomes this. I quote a recent review:

  

5 hours ago, Godders said:

I assembled the whole turnout and tested with 3 randomly picked wagons and it worked beautifully, literally as smooth as silk.

 

Godders has expressed interest in attempting to curve the turnout kit. It will be interesting, giving the above discussion, how he gets on and how he finds the final running of stock.

 

Edited June 27, 2021 by Wayne Kinney

[martin_wynne]

@Wayne Kinney

 

Hi Wayne,

 

OK, you win.

 

It will be interesting to see what you do with more complex formations such as slips and tandems.

 

p.s. If the switch is wider than 16.2mm/18.2mm at the toe, the switch opening will need to be increased accordingly. The usual 1.75mm opening (thickness of 20p coin) will be barely sufficient.

 

cheers,

 

Martin.

[Wayne Kinney]

3 minutes ago, martin_wynne said:

p.s. If the switch is wider than 16.2mm/18.2mm at the toe, the switch opening will need to be increased accordingly. The usual 1.75mm opening (thickness of 20p coin) will be barely sufficient.

Agreed

[hayfield]

1 hour ago, Wayne Kinney said:

Perfect! Modellers that wish to put the set bend in, whether from North, South, East or 'West of the Severn', can do so. That's the beauty of it  Even my customers from from France, Germany, Austria or US can share the same freedom to decide

 

Joking aside, I can certainly see the gauge narrowing when the turnout is curved. But my built in compensation into the bases overcomes this. I quote a recent review:

  

 

Godders has expressed interest in attempting to curve the turnout kit. It will be interesting, giving the above discussion, how he gets on and how he finds the final running of stock.

 

 

Wayne

 

On a pure cosmetic approach with so many wanting better looking as well as performing turnouts. By putting in a set on the inside curve, the turnout looks even better than in the Raw

 

As does functional plastic fishplates ( Exactoscale or C&L), they also perform a very important job in insulating the common crossing. Namely my Finetrax turnout

[Wayne Kinney]

49 minutes ago, hayfield said:

 

Wayne

 

On a pure cosmetic approach with so many wanting better looking as well as performing turnouts. By putting in a set on the inside curve, the turnout looks even better than in the Raw

 

As does functional plastic fishplates ( Exactoscale or C&L), they also perform a very important job in insulating the common crossing. Namely my Finetrax turnout

Thanks John, totally agree! So many wanting better looking turnouts will put in that send bend, I'm sure!

I believe it is in the hands of the modeller/builder of the turnout. It's their railway after all

Edited June 27, 2021 by Wayne Kinney

[Blandford1969]

24 minutes ago, Wayne Kinney said:

Thanks John, totally agree! So many wanting better looking turnouts will put in that send bend, I'm sure!

I believe it is in the hands of the modeller/builder of the turnout. It's their railway after all

At the risk of being shouted at by some. Would it be possible to point us to somewhere where we can see a good way of putting the set in with one of these kits please?

[martin_wynne]

50 minutes ago, Blandford1969 said:

At the risk of being shouted at by some. Would it be possible to point us to somewhere where we can see a good way of putting the set in with one of these kits please?

 

Hi,

 

Slide the turnout-side stock rail into the base, mark the position of the set on it with a felt-tip pen. Either from the template, or if no template mark it in line with the leading edge of the toe timber (the one the blade tips are on). Then remove it and:

 

 

Hopefully the diagram is self-explanatory. Just two bits of rail about an inch long laid side by side with a gap between. The smaller the gap, so the harder you need to tap, but the more precisely located will be the bend. Make sure the stock rail is exactly square across them before making the bend -- a sheet of graph paper underneath helps. Make sure the stock rail is the correct way round for the hand of the turnout. If you get it wrong, save it for the next kit of the opposite hand.

 

For the B size kits the angle needs to be 1:32 -- it's not much, so don't hit it too hard. Lay the bent rail on the template to see if it matches. If you have over-bent it, you can flatten the bend back a bit with some smooth-jaw pliers. It would help to practise a bit on some scrap rail first. If you printed the template from Templot, it's helpful to print extra copies to refer to while building.

 

cheers,

 

Martin.

Edited June 27, 2021 by martin_wynne
typo

[Penlan]

5 hours ago, Wilton 34041 said:

.... I'm curious to know what the rectangular box of sleepers are for half way along?.

I'm sure Wayne will be along to explain,

...... but that is where the instructions indicate you should solder a piece of wire between the stock rail and blade each side.   Once the whole point is laid and secured, they can be cut away, prior to that there may be a chance the bases either side of those 'rectangular boxes' can move back or forth, possible closing the gaps at the crossing casting.   Belt and braces again 

[zr2498]

On 27/06/2021 at 15:21, Wayne Kinney said:

Here is an example of curving a standard turnout. B7 00-SF right hand.

 

Firstly, before cutting the webbing, I insert both stock rails into the base to support the base. I then cut away all the webbing except around the cast frog, tie bar and 'straight' stock rail.

 

The turnout is now free to flex much like normal flexi track.

 

I printed out a curved B7 00-SF template from templot. I went to the extreme and curved beyond minimum radius (750mm) down to 560mm radius. I thought this would be a good test.

 

I flexed the turnout base (with only stock rails installed) to get the best possible match to the printed templot template. Here are the results after gluing it on the paper template:

 

 

Hi Wayne

A great demo of what can be done (in the extreme) to curve the turnout. Have you tried the straight cast crossing on this turnout? It would be good to see and how it fits with the likely fettling as Martin pointed out in an ealier post.

Then test with some stock?

Dave

 

[Wayne Kinney]

1 minute ago, zr2498 said:

Hi Wayne

A great demo of what can be done (in the extreme) to curve the turnout. Have you tried the straight cast crossing on this turnout? It would be good to see and how it fits with the likely fettling as Martin pointed out in an ealier post.

Then test with some stock?

Dave

 

Hi Dave,

 

I haven't got that far yet as I'm working on the diamond crossing. In my example, I have kept the area around the casting straight and not cut the webbing over 4/5 sleepers. I beleive Martin's diagram showing the 0.06mm offset is only if you decide to curve through the crossing V also.

[Wilton 34041]

On 27/06/2021 at 17:32, Wayne Kinney said:

Hi Phil,

 

Actually, I've just seen you live in Peacehaven, as I do. You are more than welcome to arrange a visit to check out the kits (masks and social distancing of course  ).

Hi Wayne, 

 

Apologies for not responding earlier, I've just been catching up. Thanks for everyone's explanations to my question, makes sense of course. I saw you had Brighton on rmweb but it's a surprise you're so close. Yes I'd like to arrange a visit if the offers still on, can I pm you?

 

Phil B.

[Wayne Kinney]

12 minutes ago, Wilton 34041 said:

I saw you had Brighton on rmweb but it's a surprise you're so close. Yes I'd like to arrange a visit if the offers still on, can I pm you?

Sure, give us a PM

[martin_wynne]

Hi Wayne,

 

I think your activities may have been noticed in South Devon (July 2021) :

 

 

Martin.

Edited July 6, 2021 by martin_wynne
typo

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

Any prospects of a catch/trap point Wayne?

I'll have a few.

 

Mike.

[Wayne Kinney]

1 hour ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Any prospects of a catch/trap point Wayne?

I'll have a few.

 

Mike.

It's certainly possible. Just concentrating on getting the diamond and slips out first

[hayfield]

2 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Any prospects of a catch/trap point Wayne?

I'll have a few.

 

Mike.

 

40 minutes ago, Wayne Kinney said:

It's certainly possible. Just concentrating on getting the diamond and slips out first

 

I think this could be an easy quick win as it can use an existing plan shortened, but I do not envy you with the amount of work required to design, test, make and distribute what you already have. Not to say the number of other activities a small trader has to do.

 

I see there was a deservedly great write up in the EMGS quarterly mag which arrived yesterday

[NFWEM57]

7 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Any prospects of a catch/trap point Wayne?

I'll have a few.

 

Mike.

My request into Wayne a while back..!  I need a few too...!

Edited July 6, 2021 by NFWEM57

[NFWEM57]

7 hours ago, martin_wynne said:

Hi Wayne,

 

I think your activities may have been noticed in South Devon (July 2021) :

 

 

Martin.

Off topic I know, but has anybody noticed that Peco O Gauge Bullhead Flexi appear to be more flat bottom than bullhead..!

Edited July 6, 2021 by NFWEM57

[martin_wynne]

29 minutes ago, NFWEM57 said:

Off topic I know, but has anybody noticed that Peco O Gauge Bullhead Flexi appear to be more flat bottom than bullhead..!

 

Yes, almost the entire Gauge 0 Guild membership noticed that -- about 40 years ago when it was introduced. The reason was to allow the use of the same rail joiners as their 00/H0 code 100 track.

 

It is also significantly underscale -- it is code 124 and should be code 131 to represent BS-95R bullhead rail. No reason for that has ever come to light.

 

C&L have recently introduced a new much improved code 131 bullhead rail for 0 gauge.

 

cheers,

 

Martin.

Edited July 6, 2021 by martin_wynne
typo

[NFWEM57]

2 hours ago, martin_wynne said:

 

Yes, almost the entire Gauge 0 Guild membership noticed that -- about 40 years ago when it was introduced. The reason was to allow the use of the same rail joiners as their 00/H0 code 100 track.

 

It is also significantly underscale -- it is code 124 and should be code 131 to represent BS-95R bullhead rail. No reason for that has ever come to light.

 

C&L have recently introduced a new much improved code 131 bullhead rail for 0 gauge.

 

cheers,

 

Martin.

Thanks Martin, I'm a bit slow then ..!   On C&L, yes I had a look when I discovered the issue..!  Only bought 3 lengths and a small y of PECO for a test track but will use C&L if and when I build an indoor/outdoor layout.  

Edited July 6, 2021 by NFWEM57