Page 27 - NMRA Roundhouse January-February 2020

6. Cut the staff to size after forming a U at the bottom. It is crucial to get this as tight as you can but not so tight the staff and rod do not move freely.
7. Form the rod to the point with a closed loop/eye at the end.You may have to open the hole out with a drill so the U at the bottom of the staff moves freely.
8. Fit the rod and staff together, tighten the U up so the rod does not come off, but it must be free to move.This creates the leverage for the target staff to turn.
9. Fit the staff through the two holes in the switch stand body, glue the stand base to the ends of the two sleepers and create a 90° bend to line up with the hole in the end of the tie bar on the Peco code 83 points. Insert the rod in the tie bar hole.
10. This is fiddly getting it in the cor- rect location to work, take your time, don’t rush and hold it in place till the glue sets.
When the glue has dried check the rod and staff are moving freely.When all is
working, attach the target with CA glue to the staff. So you can get the orienta- tion correct, you may have to hold it in place till the glue sets. Once that is done you only need to glue the handle to the staff to finish.
I sprayed all the parts with under coat and only painted the final colours and weathering when the switch stand was completed, remembering to move it a few times while the paint dried. I also found that putting a touch of gear
lubrication oil on the link between the pushrod and shaft helped the operation.
I am looking into making a lamp to go
on top of the shaft to represent a signal lamp. I think it gives a good impression of a working switch stand, in scale, without being too difficult to make, I have two in operation and plan to build another 30 more - so give it a go!
Neil Rogers
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ROUNDHOUSE - January/February 2020
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