Fast Tracks

I needed a nearly 4" center to center #6 double crossover, so I decided to bash one together from the components of a normal one plus a few bits. The result is just a tad larger. The top one is normal.

Hey Jim,

That's pretty nice trackwork! Have you thought about selling these as a sideline?

Terry

Thank you, but actually, no. I haven't got a dedicated workplace to build them and my wife gets grumpy if I tie up the dining room table for too many days at a time. I can't imagine how to ship something like that, either. It's pretty huge and consequently fragile. I'd hate to think what UPS could do to it.

It's not really all "that" special. It's just 4 #6 turnouts, a crossing made on the double crossover fixture (same as the turnouts, but separately), and two pieces of flex track. The only unusual thing about it is the pivoted points I used as preparation to building my first double slip. I used 1/32" brass rod bent into a "spike" and soldered to the points (with the foil removed from the top of the throwbar PC ties, which were gapped underneath). Then I basically just crimped over the "tail" of the spike that protrudes below the throwbar. That holds the points down in register with the stock rails quite nicely. They work quite smoothly and require a lot less force to move than soldered points. I'll be using 1/32" ties for the throwbar for my next experiment. Then there'll be nothing protruding below the QuikSticks. These don't cause a problem, really, since I use a Rotozip to cut a slot for the Tortoise wire under the throwbar, so there's nothing there to drag on.

Jim