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GWR_NZ

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  1. GWR_NZ

    Planting a building in the landscape

    By GWR_NZ,


    Buildings
    Just a quick update on one way to plant a building in the landscape. Borrowed the idea from someone on YouTube . The idea is to cut a bit of material (in this case black perspex) approximately the same shape and size as the building , embed in the landscape which gives a flat surface on which to plant the building. Disguise the join between the building and the perspex as required.
     

     
     

  2. GWR_NZ
    My initial attempt to mount the Tortoise point motors involved me underneath my layout on my mechanics creeper using eyeball mk1 to align the piano wire actuator. The point motors were mounted on thin ply and then attached to the baseboard using Velcro.
     

     
    The problem I faced was that the tension from the piano wire would mean the the point motor would eventually be found hanging underneath the baseboard as the alignment wasn't good enough. Searching the InterWeb I found several jigs to align the pint motor
     
    http://www.vikaschander.com/points-and-tortoises-install/
     
    https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/17165
     
    and someone on Feabay is selling a jig
     
    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tortoise-Switch-Machine-Drill-Jig-with-mounting-screws-drill-bit-/291273710283
     
    All these solutions provide an accurate way of aligning the point motor during track laying but not for retro fitting. I do not claim to have invented this idea ( but I can't remember where I read of this on the InterWeb) . Anyway, here is my take. Modifying a Kadee couple height gauge (#205) to create an alignment jig to improve the the alignment of the piano wire actuator - here a picture is worth a thousand words...
     

     

     
    Using the jig has enabled me to align the point motors far more accurately than using eyeball mk1. The point motors are still attached using Velcro (and I've added a couple screws to secure the point motors). The point motors are not as well aligned as could be achieved using any ofthe jigs - but I don't have the resources (or the skills) to make either of the jigs above.
     

     
    Hope this helps someone.
     

    Edmund
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