Page 24 - September October 2014

Wayside Railroad Lubrication System Trevor Smith
On my last visit to Cajon Pass I stopped off at Cajon Boulevard to photograph trains at the bottom end of Sullivan’s curve.
I noticed these flange lubricators with solar panels attached. The manufacturers describe them as a Wayside Railroad Lubri- cation System.
The system comprises a drum for the storage of grease, a pump assembly and a solar panel to provide power for the pump. There is an applicator attached to the inside of the rail, and dark grey protective blankets protect the environment. (Pics 1 and 2) To start this mini project, I identified a location on the layout where trains would enter a curve into the representation of Palm Springs Amtrak station. The track here had been glued to the cork track-bed. The area around the track-bed was then covered in fine sifted sand and glued with diluted PVA. The rails were painted and the Woodlands Scenics Buff ballast added with a spoon. The ballast was glued with diluted PVA. (Pic. 3 site of flange greaser)
The protective blankets are made from grey computer printer paper, cut to a width of 1 cm and 15 cm in length for the outer pieces and 1.4 cm × 15 cm for the track centre blanket. The
measurements were estimated from the photographs. When the track was completely dry, a thin bead of PVA glue was added to the track to fix the blankets in place. (Pic. 4 Adding glue for rubber carpet)
(Pic. 5 Placing the rubber carpet)
While the glue was still wet, the grey paper blanket was brushed with water. This softened the paper and I used a craft knife to push the paper into place so that it followed the contours of the pandrol clips and ties. (Pic. 6 blending rubber carpet to track)
I found the grey paper was not dark enough and so I used grey and black acrylic paint to darken the blanket and provide a layer of grease. (Pic. 7 completed carpet)
The lubricator measurements are estimated from the prototype photographs. The drum is a pencil cut to an appropriate length, the pump is Plastikard, the solar panel is an image from Google mounted on 0.5 mm plastic rod. The flange lubricator detail is from a Details West pack attached with fuse wire to represent the piping.
(Pic. 8 Lubrication detail)
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20 ROUNDHOUSE