Fast Tracks

Hello Ya'll,

I have never posted anything in a discussion group, so please bear with me as I fumble my way through this new (to me) domain.

First of all, let me introduce myself. I am a 77 yr. old retired Mechenical Engineer. My engineering work was with the Bell System as an Engineer of Manufaturing. Our facility at Columbus, Ohio built the new (back then) electronic, central office switching systems that were state of the art in 1962.

I now reside in Columbia, SC (hence the ya'll) and am building (and flying) model radio controlled aircraft. I also have an HO layout in my basement that satisfys my cravings for railroading ( I was a tower operator for the PRR while I was going to college for Engineering) .

My layout is presently being removed so that I can start over. I didn't like the quality of the commercial trackage and found that the Fast-Tracks line of jigs and assembly fixtures produced really nice switches. I was so pleased with the results of the first few switches, that I went ahead and produced a few for sale on eBay after testing them on a test section of my layout.

I recently purchased the assembly fixtures from our hosts for the #6 and # 8 Slip Switches and have been fabricating some hinge points using Phosphor Bronze sheet (0.007), and brass sheet (0.010). I have been using dressmaker pins to serve as the hinge pins without getting any acceptable results. I have a problem getting the pins soldered to my liking and at the same time getting a really free movement of the hinge.

In my latest attempts, I have been using rail joiners and #00-90 screws and nuts. I file the rail joiners down so that I can drill the clearance holes for the screws. This seems to have promise. The completed assembly can be slid onto the two pieces of rail and soldered in place.

But Wow! What a lot of handwork. I have read all the postings on using spikes, brass wire, but felt that should be a better way (if we can send a man to the moon, etc.).

I was wondering if anyone who has built these slip switches would be willing to share their experiences with hinge fabrication methods.

Thank You,

Chuck Lobaugh

Hi Chuck,

In the last couple of weeks we have updated the documentation for our double slip switch fixtures. The new version includes very detailed instructions for forming hinges using rail joiners that makes it much easier to achieve great results.

The new document can be found here....

http://www.handlaidtrack.com/documents/ug17.pdf

We have also updated the three way documentation with these techniques.

This will apply only to the #6 and smaller slips that have a solid centre frog. The #8's require additional hinging in the centre for the movable frogs and we will be adding additional documentation to show these steps at a later date.

_________________
Cheers!

Tim Warris
Fast Tracks
http://www.fast-tracks.net
service@fast-tracks.net

Tim,

Thank you for the hinge suggestion in the three way switch guide. I'll be trying that out.

Chuck L.