N Scale Hi Rail - Retro Hollow Core Door Layout

[nkalanaga]

-Al:  An old method of joining shafts was a piece of wire insulation the right size.  If they line up well enough, and are close together, but too different in diameter, you might also try a piece of heat-shrink tubing.

[DKS]

If they line up well enough, and are close together, but too different in diameter, you might also try a piece of heat-shrink tubing.

Heat-shrink tubing isn't quite flexible enough. First, the shafts need to be in almost perfect alignment, otherwise there will be vibration and binding. And second, even when they are aligned, the tubing shrinks the size of the shaft, but doesn't "grip" it the way flexible wire insulation does. You can use heat shrink, assuming the shafts are well aligned, but then you'll need to add a tiny touch of CA to the shaft at the tubing to ensure they stay locked together; otherwise, over time, the heat-shrink will slip on the shaft.

The better approach is to use heat-shrink to bring the smaller shaft closer to the same diameter as the larger, then use soft wire insulation for the actual coupling.

 

[MK]

Better yet, try to find silcone wire or what we call "spaghetti noodle/wire" in the R/C world.  The insulation is made from, well, silicone.    They tend to be more "grippy" and flex and stretch a lot more than your normal "vinyl/plastic" wire insulation.  Get one size smaller and it will put a good grip on your shaft (please, no comments from the Peanut Gallery!  ).

[DKS]

...and it will put a good grip on your shaft (please, no comments from the Peanut Gallery!  ).

Seriously?

[Dave V]

Boy that looks awfully awfully complex. So many switches! And then the track's gotta be perfect, which is hours of work. If it's all flat (each line) then that would cut down on the scenery carving. Unitrack would make tracklaying easy, too. Want to get to hands-free trains running ASAP.
Which I'm still looking for on my semi-completed 4-year old layout.

I would argue, though, that there's never a case where trackwork doesn't have to be perfect.

[CRL]

I would argue, though, that there's never a case where trackwork doesn't have to be perfect.

Dave V speaks the truth.

[dem34]

So, that worked with the shrink tubes. Then something else happened and it stopped. Oh boy, sunk cost at this point, things to worry about next week.

[wm3798]

The retro fun keeps pouring in.  Just got a box from @hnipper with some fun work project type locomotives.  Another RR 2-8-2, a Trix 0-6-0, another Bachmann 0-4-0, a Con Cor PA (something I never thought I needed, but man, what a brick!) a couple of Life Like Lead Sled GP18s, and a smattering of other goodies, probably best suited to a scrap yard scene.

Also, one more Metroliner power car...  Hopefully out of the three I now have I can scab together one that runs decently.

Back to work now...
Lee

[hnipper]

It's a stitch to watch Lee breathe life into those zombies! Can't wait to see what the come-back box from the Eastern Shore will bring!
Henry

 

[hnipper]

How did you know I was eschewing?  Dammit.  I've been found out!

Thinking about the WM made you eschew with your mouth open!

[wm3798]

I should have taken a "before" picture.  This old Trix 0-6-0 came in a box, literally in a million pieces.  Once I got the drive cleaned and oiled, it ran like a champ. 

I've reassembled the tender, and restored several details that were in the wreckage.  She's now painted and ready for proper PRR livery.

There's room for an LED headlight, but I'll have to work out how to wire it without sacrificing any weight.

I've always wanted one these, and now at last I do!

Lee

[DKS]

I've always wanted one these, and now at last I do!

Sheesh, I think I have parts to build at least a dozen of these...

[wm3798]

A few minor details to fix, then some weathering...



@DKS , if you want to send those parts to Frankenstein's Lab, I'll see if I can get at least one of them ready for your next micro layout!

V.Von F.

[wm3798]

What hath God wrought?


This ought to fetch a few quid on eBay! It's fecking adorbsies!

[mu26aeh]

Awweeee, look at the we wittle kitty witty !