Building a C&L single slip

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

I am currently building a layout based on West Kirby, on the Wirral, in the late 1970s/early 1980s.  The thread describing progress is on this forum and the link to it is below.  For reasons described in that thread, I need some new pointwork and I have decided to do it myself.  I need 4 plain turnouts and a single slip to start with and I got the kits from C&L.  I've already built the 4 plain turnouts.  Although C&L provide a template with the kit, there are no instructions for building this formation; they have, though, given me instructions for a diamond crossing. 

 

I looked on RMweb for any threads relating to building a single slip and I found one, relating to P4 which was useful (thanks, hayfield).    I thought it would be useful for others if I described my effort with this and so here it is!!  At the time of starting this thread I've already done a fair amount, so I'll chop into into small, easily digestible (I hope!!) posts.

 

The starting point, obviously, is the template. 

 

[EDIT  This sentence added in on 13/01/13]  It is very advisable to ensure you have a spare copy of the template to refer to as, once you have got the sleepers fastened down, a lot of the detail on the template is hidden.  This includes details of the chairs and, to some extent, the angles of rails and point blades when these need filing.  C&L had provided me with spares for the plain turnouts, but not for the single slip, so I copied it on my computer printer.  It's wise to ensure the copy is the same size as the original!!!

 

I fastened it to my working board (a piece of 12mm chipboard) taking great care to ensure the lines of the rails were dead straight across the 2 sheets of paper that the template is printed on.  This is how it looked before any work commenced:

 

 

I then sorted out the sleepers and, having attached double sided sellotape to the template, stuck the sleepers down onto that.  The instructions for the diamond crossing suggest fastening down the common crossings first - as did the thread I mentioned above - so this I did.  Again, I took great care to make sure they were aligned correctly with each other and with parallel rails.  I used spare pieces of rail, a straight edge and the track gauges C&L supplied.  This is a pic of the checking process:  (I did this at the other end of the formation as well)

 

 

A bit of a problem does arise with the common crossings in that the rails leading to the toe end of the point have to be cut shorter on the single slip to allow an insulated gap before the point blade:  this pic illustrates what I mean:

 

 

Normally, those rails would extend to between sleepers 27 & 28, but here they need to be cut between 29 & 30.  I did think this could lead to alignment problems and I had to think about that for a while.  I did come up with a solution that seemed to work, but I'll describe that in the next instalment.

 

Incidentally, I use Butanone as a solvent and it is not a very pleasant commodity, so I have a fan right next to my work desk to blow the fumes away!!

 

 

Rod

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

Here I am for the second instalment.  I've decided to do it this way as my internet connection failed earlier today and I lost everything I had already written!!

 

Once I'd got the common crossings accurately in place (I'd already threaded chairs on to the rails), I held them in place with (white!) Blutack, as seen here:

 

 

I found that 3 pieces of Blutack were sufficient to hold the crossing in place prior to gluing the chairs which were not held by Blutack.  This pic shows what I mean:

 

 

After that glue had dried, not forgetting to not glue those on sleepers 28 & 29, I added the other half chairs and glued those on, waiting until all had set hard and then removed the Blutack, leaving this:

 

 

Using a slitting disc on a moderate speed, I cut back the rails to between sleepers 29 & 30 so that eventually the crossing looked like this:

 

 

Although I've not added pics, I did exactly the same at the other common crossing.

 

 

Rod

 

 

[Grovenor]

I have always gapped between 28 and 29 (In P4), it gives you one extra chair to hold the crossing, but yours will work Ok and you can't easily put the rail back.

Its looking good

Keith

[Dmudriver]

Episode 3!!  The crossings had held firm during the slitting process so I next fitted the bent stock rail.  Using the supplied gauges at the common crossings and a straight edge to check all straight lines were accurate, I ended up with this:

 

 

The curved stock rail was next.  The template makes no mention of any section of straight planing, although it does on the plain turnouts.  I decided to put some in anyway - at the outside edges of sleepers 8 & 32.   Unless you blow the pic up, the bend at the beginning of the short section of straight planing is difficult to see, but it is there!

 

The next rail to be fitted was the straight section from the right hand common crossing to the bend in the bent stock rail, after I had filed the end of the rail to the appropriate angle.  A gauge was used to check the distance of the end from the stock rail (It's the same clearance as for the check rails).  I also used a straight edge to ensure the rail lined up accurately with the stock rail to the left.   The result was this:

 

 

And finally, I have added the other straight rail from the left hand common crossing to the bent stock rail, again using the gauges and straight edge as before.  This is the result and this is where I am up to at the time of writing. 

 

 

This is a close up of where those rails meet the bend of the straight stock rail.  I realise I could have fitted a few more chairs, but those will be cut in half and fitted from each side shortly.

 

 

I aim to get more done over the weekend: I plan to fit the point blades next. 

 

These have also raised a query in my mind: the template suggests (from the fitting of cosmetic fishplates) that they are in 3 sections.  However, the blades supplied are the same as those in the plain turnut kits, ie long pieces of rail filed down at one end.  I am tending towards using a single rail - cutting one of the supplied blades to the correct length and then filing down at the cut end.  It seems to me that that would be more stable than having 3 separate pieces.  However, any comments would be welcome.

 

Additionally, any comments on how useful this thread is would help.  Am I putting too much detail in?  I'll be back when I've progressed further.

 

 

Rod

 

 

 

[Dmudriver]

I have always gapped between 28 and 29 (In P4), it gives you one extra chair to hold the crossing, but yours will work Ok and you can't easily put the rail back.

Its looking good

Keith

Hi Keith.

 

I did wonder about that, but I decided in the end that, as the point blade starts at sleeper 28, I wanted a solid chair just before it, so I went for 29/30.  I assume the stock rail has never moved - but then you'll have glued it to the slide chair, won't you?

 

Rod

[Jon Fitness]

Fascinating stuff Rod. The nearest I've got to building track is repairing old Marcway points so I'll keep an eye on this! Thanks for posting this and keep up the good work.!

Jon F.

[David Siddall]

Having bottled out of building a slip your progress and the detailed advice you're putting into this thread might just have me changing my mind – it would save me a lot of space on my relatively narrow baseboards :-)

 

David

[alant]

Hi Rod,

 

Thanks for posting this. Similar to Jon's comments I have previously built a couple of Marcway points but have so far not been brave enough to try anything more adventurous. This thread along with David's is getting me very tempted to have a go.

 

Alan.

[hayfield]

Rod

 

The slip is looking very good, the detail realy stands out in 7mm scale, and I like the way you are thinking the building process through. I must grab one of the turnout plans for the 7mm layout the club is building and build one

 

Whilst it may be a bit late I find the Exactoscale plastic fishplates excellent to use, they are in 1 piece and not only help line up the crossing rail with the common crossing, but look the part. Where other rail breaks are shown on the plan, I just cut a notch in the top of the rail (after bending to shape) and solder an etched fishplate on to both sides. Exactoscale do the bridge chairs which are on the C&L plans, these save chopping chairs down to size. C&L now supply these parts.

 

What is a real shame is that Exactoscale only did the switch,  common crossing and slip chairs in 4mm scale. In 7mm they would realy stand out.

[3 link]

Additionally, any comments on how useful this thread is would help.  Am I putting too much detail in?  I'll be back when I've progressed further.

 

 

Rod

 

Evening Rod,

 

Your thread is very useful especially to me, the railway room is nearly finished and my plan is being finalised and I will be building a single slip, but it will be an outside slip so it will be quite similar to what you are building.

 

What I am waitting for is how you are going to wire it up, as electrics are a bit of a dark art to me .

 

ATB,

 

Martyn.

[TimC]

Looking good! I must have a go at some trackwork......

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

Back with the next episode!!

 

First though, thank you for your positive comments: I'm really pleased that this is useful.  Martyn, the electrics are pretty simple: apart from the common crossings (frogs) which have to change polarity, the rails at the top half of the formation are one polarity, those at the bottom the other.  Simples!! (well, at least if you've done it before!!)  I'll describe the electrics in more detail later, though.

 

I decided that I would, after all, make the point blades from one piece of rail - my thinking being that there would be more stability that way.  So I took one of the C&L point blades (checking that I had it the right way up!) and cut it to length, measuring it off the spare plan that I have.

 

Incidentally - and I'll have to edit the first post for this - you need to have a copy of the template available for reference and measuring.  C&L provided me with extra ones for the plain turnouts, but I had to copy my own for this formation.  If you work on just one, a lot of the detail is hidden by the sleepers or the rails that are already fitted.  [EDIT  Done at 2.00 pm]

 

I filed down the newly cut end to the profile on the template, curved the rail between my fingers to ease the pressure on it and then trial fitted it:  here is the pic:

 

 

I had, by this time, realised that putting the check rail between this point blade and the bent stock rail was going to be a bit of a teaser, so I decided that it should go in first.  I cut a piece of spare rail to length and filed down both of the ends to the profiles on the template.  This check rail is a bit unusual in that the ends are filed in 2 planes.  It's hard to see in the pics but it is on the template.  Having got the angles correct, I trial-fitted it: again, a pic:

 

 

As I hope is obvious on the pic, it just nestles aginst the curved point blade.  So the next job was the bent point rail.  This was the same procedure as the curved one, bending it after I had filed the new end down.  I think the blades would be difficult to handle if you curved or bent them prior to filing.  The bend should be enough to ensure the blade sits comfortably in position without any straining - obviously, the same goes for the curved one.  It was then trial fitted: again, a pic:

 

 

Now it all had to be fitted together!!  The challenge, particularly with the bent stock rail/check rail/curved point blade combination is that there is very little room for chairs, so it is a process of looking for the stongest point to put in a full chair and then cutting others down to support the rails.  I have to be honest and say that I am so glad I'd made the plain turnouts first as those require some cutting down of chairs, together with the use of half chairs, and that experience really helped in doing this job.  I could well have been struggling if this was the first job I did!!

 

So, having got everything ready, I trial-fitted it all together.  Here is a pic of the lower section of the formation set up, ready for gluing.  I've left the bent point blade off for now but it can be seen at the top of the picture:

 

 

It all fitted together well, so I took it apart (again!) and glued it all down, starting with the check rail first, then the curved point blade.  I didn't take a pic, as it looks much the same as the last, only without the gauges!!  And there I left it for last night.  More soon, when I've got the bent point blade in.

 

 

Rod

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

This is the penultimate episode!!

 

Before I fitted the bent point blade I looked at the check rail I'd fitted and decided that it would be useful for stability if it were fastened to the curved point blade.  Although I said above that it fitted snugly againt the blade, in fact there was a tiny gap - about 0.25mm I estimate.  I tried superglue but, even with holding the 2 rails together, I didn't hold, so I soldered it - with very tiny amounts of solder.  So small in fact you can only just see something at the right hand end.

 

The bent point blade was then fitted, using the gauges from the straight rail opposite - made a bit difficult by the curved point blade being in position so I could only gaige at the outer ends of each straight length.  Then I used a straight edge to check the rails were dead straight.  By this time I had also fitted the check rails opposite the common crossings.  This photo shows progress to that point:

 

 

 

The next job was to fit the tie bars.  I'd decided to leave the 2 remaining straight rails (from common crossings to bent point blade) until I had fitted these, to give myself more room to work.  I have used JLTRT tie bars for the plain turnouts, so used them here as well.  As described in my layout thread, it took me a while to get them to the right gauge and properly insulated.  These are the component parts:

 

 

The tie bar gauge is my creation, just to get the tabs set at the correct distance apart.  The plastic strip goes between the 2 pieces to provide insulation - I found epoxy on its own didn't insulate.  The whole assembly is held together with epoxy.  It's a bit messy and my least favourite part pf the job, but it's necessary!  the next pic shows the complete tie bars:

 

 

The extra one is for one of the plain turnouts which suffered the problem noted at the end of this paragraph!!  I've bent back the tabs that are sodered to the web of the rail, but what I forgot to photograph was 2 additional jobs I do.  Firstly, put a little solder inside the right angle bend on the tabs to reinforce the joint and secondly, slightly widen the slot under the tabs - seen on the 3rd and 5th bars down on the pic.  The reason for the latter is that I've found the foot of the rails to be very slightly thicker than the gap, so the tab wasn't going into the web properly.  There's another lesson I've learned - don't use epoxy just as it's started to cure: it seems to have stuck OK, but a bit of heat from the soldering iron causes it to peel apart.  I found I could only do 2 tie bars effectively at a time. (I'm using 5 minute epoxy)

 

So I then soldered the tie bars on and, in doing so, came across a completely unexpected problem with them - but more of that in the next episode.  And that will be this evening probably as I'm off out shortly!!

 

Rod

[Dmudriver]

Hi all

 

Here I am with the final episode, grandad duties done!!  The problem with the tie bars arose from 3 things:  1) the sleepers on the slip are closer together under the ends of the point blades than on the plain turnouts;  2)  the tie bars are at an angle to the sleepers on the slip, but not on the plain turnouts;  3) the tab on the JLTRT tie bar.  This latter was fine on the plain turnouts, but here it meant that the tie bars would not be at right angles to the rails.  As everything was already glued down, there didn't seem a lot of scope for adaptation, so I came up with cutting a piece out of one sleeper to allow the tab to operate at an angle to the sleepers.  The first pic is an overall view and the 2nd and 3rd, pretty cruel close ups.  I'm ashamed to admit I went a bit OTT with the right hand one!!

 

 

I have, however, tested and found a thin piece of black plasticard the width of the sleepers will cover the cutout and is obvious only on close inspection.   BUT, the tie bars do work OK.  I am somewhat concerned about the strain on the soldered joints as there is some slight variation in the angles between tie bars and rails as they move, but only time will tell how well they stand up to the usage.

 

The next job was to fit the straight rails from the common crossings to the bent point blade, over the tie bars.  No significant problem here, the tie bars are cleared adequately and I used the gauges and a straight edge again.

 

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but there can be a bit of "creep" in the rails through the chairs.  With the plain turnouts, I sloshed Butanone around quite freely and that seemed to hold the rails in the chairs quite effectively.  On the slip, however, I'm using Plastic Weld, having finished the Butanone, and either I am not sloshing it about so much or it's not as effective at gluing the rail to the chairs.  Whichever, I've taken to putting a drop of superglue on selected chairs to hold the rail in place.

 

Finally I added the check rail and the completed slip  (rail-wise at any rate) is here:

 

 

If you look closely, you will see some black arrowheads between sleepers 12/13 and 23/24 lettered E and F.  These are the suggested points for the bonding wires.  I felt, however, that this was a bit close to the point blade ends and would limit their flexibility a little, so I put the bonding between sleepers 15/16 and 20/21.  A pic is here:

 

 

The wires on the left are soldered to all 4 rails, but the ones on the right only to the point blades and the straight rails back to the common crossings.  I checked the rails for continuity - one joint to resolder! - and then from one running rail to the other to ensure I wasn't short-circuiting the system and all was OK.  Martyn (aka 3link), that's all there is to the wiring: as I said before all one side is one polarity, the other side the other.  The frogs/common crossings need the polarity changing, but that is done with the same microswitching as on a plain turnout (I use Tortoise motors, which have the microswitch built in).

 

So, that's it - one single slip finished.  When the weather's a bit better and/or warmer I'll go into the shed, rip the old pointwork up and replace it with this.  Some dry runs have indicated there will be some sleepers and rail to lose in the final set-up but that should be no real problem.  I'll describe that on my layout thread (see link below).

 

It has been a fascinating and enjoyable experience building this single slip.  This and the 4 plain turnouts before it are the first trackwork I've ever built and I would really like to do some more.  As I have indicated before, though, building the 4 plain turnouts first gave me the knowledge and the confidence to tackle this:  I don't think I'd have enjoyed this as a first job - as I had learned what to do with half chairs and getting support under the rails.

 

I have a crossover on a curve to replace and I'm thinking of building that in situ.   However, there's other things to do first, not trackwork related, so it could well be a few months before I do that.

 

I hope this thread has been useful and that it has inspired others to have a go.  I've enjoyed writing the thread!!

 

 

Rod

[Jon Fitness]

Thanks Rod! Very useful and I'll keep this thread "on File" for future ref.

Looking forward to seeing them in place on the layout..

JF

[3 link]

Thanks Rod,

 

I can see where your coming from now regarding the wiring and I was obviously thinking it was much more complex than it actually is, I hope this thread of yours helps give others the confidence to give track making a go.

 

ATB,

 

Martyn.