RMweb Premium Reorte Posted February 25, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 25, 2015 Hope this is a good place for these pictures, my question about check rails on another thread reminded me of them. I took them a couple of years ago on a Scotland trip to give me some reference pictures for when I got around to building track, so I hope that they might be useful for other track builders. The first few are from Glenfinnan, and look rather new. Overview Check rail close-up: Common crossing closeup The rest are from Mallaig: Any idea about the shiny clips on the bottom of the rail here? There appear to be extra spacers other than the check rail chairs here, bolted through the rail: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold martin_wynne Posted February 26, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 26, 2015 Hi, Thanks for the pics. It's good to see new or refurbished bullhead in well-maintained condition. Notice that check rails are always held with solid wooden keys rather than spring steel keys. That's because check rails are subject to side forces which could crush steel keys, after which they would fall out. The bolted spacers on the check rails are a safety feature for the same reason, and they also prevent the check rail creeping lengthways out of position. Notice that they are not present on the first picture. An interesting feature to note, but seldom modelled, is that check rails often have two fish-bolt holes in one end (see your first picture) because they were cut from standard rails (often second-hand). The clips are holding a wire in place. That is probably a heating cable to prevent the moving points freezing. It might be a track-circuit wire (not enough detail visible). One of the clips has fallen off. regards, Martin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidBird Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Hi, Thanks for the pics. It's good to see new or refurbished bullhead in well-maintained condition. ... Yes they are. All the switches and crossings at Mallaig were completely renewed a couple of years ago - remarkably with absolutely no disruption to the normal train service (not that it's all that busy)> There is still an unused (not sure if it's new) crossing sitting up on the loading bank. ... The clips are holding a wire in place. That is probably a heating cable to prevent the moving points freezing. It might be a track-circuit wire (not enough detail visible). One of the clips has fallen off. regards, Martin. Yes, it is the heating element to stop the blades freezing. Th control circuitry is in the "square mushrooms" that are by the side of the track at all the stations. Hope that helps. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidBird Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Yes they are. All the switches and crossings at Mallaig were completely renewed a couple of years ago - remarkably with absolutely no disruption to the normal train service (not that it's all that busy)> There is still an unused (not sure if it's new) crossing sitting up on the loading bank. ... Actually it was 2011. I've just remembered I took the photos here http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/47403-parts-arrived-for-points-kits/ How time flies... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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