Blog- Kylestrome - 2FS - Kylestrome - Point operation

[RSS Fetcher]

This is now getting dangerously close to being a working layout. I've been working on the point operating bits under the baseboard.

 

 

 

 

First there are the tie bars, which are made of two pieces of 1.5mm Paxolin sheet, screwed together with 12BA screws. A short length of thin brass tube is forced into a tight hole, for the operating pin. The two small hole are for the wires coming down from the point blades (see previous post). Top face of the tie bar is polished to reduce friction when in use.

 

 

 

 

Strong nerves come into play when using the last remaining unbroken 0.35mm drill. After a bit of experimentation I decided to drill the holes a shade over 8mm apart.

 

 

 

 

Here we see the really fun part of the work. 10amp fuse wire is wound around a scrap of the 0,3mm wire used for the point wires. These would make very nice spring details for something or other.

 

 

 

 

They are also very small ...

 

 

 

 

In case you were thinking "what the f... are they?" here's what they're for. When the tie bar is in place, with the point blade wires poking through, the springs are slipped over them and soldered in place. This keeps everything nicely aligned and prevents the blades from lifting.

 

 

 

 

After building - and scrapping - a couple of larger previous 'Kylestromes' I've got a good stock of these things. Basically they are small 12 volt relays with the distinction of having a small fixing screw which can be used to attach them to a bracket. On one side there is a piece of piano wire soldered to the clapper. When the relay is energised the wire moves with enough force to move the points and hold them firmly in place.

 

 

 

 

From another angle, one can see that the bracket is fixed to a plate, which is screwed to the baseboard. the two screws that hold the bracket are in oversize holes, which allow a certain amount of adjustment. Note the slots cut into the screws to help with tightening the nuts.

 

That's it folks. Next up will be uncoupling magnets and (groan) wiring.

 

Cheers,

David

 

View the full article