Page 19 - July August 1998

polarity. They are connected to the tie bars by “wire in tube”. Rather heavy 18swg piano wire used was chosen to match the hole in the Peco tie-bar. The two small pieces of brass tube soldered to the wire at each toggle switch provide a way of adjusting the throw. To drill the toggle, first use a small file to break the hard surface of the plating on the switch handle. With the handle clamped in a vice, the softer interior metal may then be drilled easily. Since the toggle moves through an arc as it is thrown, the hole needs to be somewhat larger than the wire used. Remember to wear eye protec- tion for this or any other work involving power tools.
To adjust the throw, first set the turnout and the toggle switch in the same direc- tion and solder in place the tube which pushes the turnout in this direction. Push the tube up against the toggle as you sol- der it to the wire. Next switch both turnout and toggle switch to the other direction and solder in place the second piece of tube. Now test the operation of the point. In most cases you will find it works perfectly. If it does not move far enough in one direction, simply hold your soldering iron against the brass tube and slide it a little way along the wire using small pliers while the solder is molten - taking care not to produce a “dry-joint” This adjustment is very easy as the over- centre springs in the Peco points make the whole system very forgiving. However, be careful not to adjust the brass tubes so as to give excessive throw as this can easi- ly damage the plastic tie bars on the points. The tubes guiding the piano wire do not have to be straight. Make gentle curves by carefully bending the tube between your fingers with the piano wire inside it. This will help avoid kinking.
A couple of words about the toggle switches. Those with metal toggles are to be preferred over plastic ones. The plastic may wear and also may be damaged easi- ly when soldering the brass tubes. The second word of advice comes from the “Aldridge, Indiana” crew. Be sure you use on-off switches for this application. Do not use centre-off ones, even if they are free! Sooner or later you will forget and leave a switch in its centre position. This means that the frog will now be discon- nected and you can have lots of fun debugging a mysterious “electrical mal- function”!
With the track complete, it was checked and rechecked by pushing strings of cars through it. With everything looking good, it was returned to Tom Winlow for wiring to be done and this will be discussed in the next instalment.
Safety First!
Please remember to wear eye protection when using any power tools and use an electrical residual current detector (RCD).
It is also a good idea to wear eye protection when soldering. Soldering accidents are rare but a splash of molten solder can scar your cornea. If this happens, the damage is permanent. As modellers we often put ourselves at greater risk than normal by soldering “upside down” under layouts so extra care is needed.
TABLE 1: Parts for one basic module
as shown in Fig. 2 (April Roundhouse)
Description
Qty
Material
Dimension
Deck
1
12mm chipboard
24" x 48"
Side Rails
2
94mm x 18mm softwood
48"
End Plates
2
94mm x 18mm softwood
221/2"
Long Legs
2
34mm x 34mm softwood
373/8"
Short Legs
2
34mm x 34mm softwood
353/8"
Braces A & B*
4
34mm x 9mm softwood
221/2"
Brace C*
2
34mm x 9mm softwood
32"
Height Adjuster
4
Maplins Handwheel bolt YL23A
Screws
34
Plated chipboard screws
1" No. 6
Bolt, stay to leg
2
5mm roofing bolt
50mm long
Bolt, stay to side rail
2
5mm roofing bolt
80mm long
Bolt, leg pivot
4
see Fig. 2 for options
Nuts
12
-
5mm
Washers
10
“repair washers” (Homebase)
5mm
Wing Nuts
2
-
5mm
“L” Bracket (fig. 3)
4
Flat bracket + screws
21/2"
* approximate size, cut in situ - see Fig. 2
AUGUST 1998 19
Tom Winlow