Cedar Creek Gravel Company

[Hawghead]

Cody,

That is slicker than snot on a brass door knob.  I think you are the first to do that, at least I've never seen it before.  To bad it won't work for HOn3 code 55 or I'd be the first to steal it.  BZ.

Scott

[dem34]

It helps to remember to attach the photo...

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I was going to say, why not use a rail joiner like Fast Tracks recommends, but damn thats pretty elegant.

[VonRyan]

Points and switchstand are connected.

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What you see here is a bit of an amalgam of parts.

The throw rod itself is two pieces of .025" phosphor bronze wire, with the second piece being soldered to the underside of a scrap of PCB from a spru of Fast Tracks N-scale turnout ties.

The topside of that PCB scrap is isolated into two sections, and each section has another piece of phosphor bronze wire soldered to it, each of which is bent into a downward L shape.

Soldered to each point is a small, thin piece of scrap brass fret with a hole drilled through each to accept the wire L shapes from the throw linkage.

On the underside of the switchstand shaft, rather than use the giant brass casting that was supplied with the kit for the throwbar pivot, I made a U shape from the same phosphor bronze wire as everything else and soldered that on. The other piece of the throwbar linkage has a small hook bent into it which fits nicely into that U shape.

And the most surprising part is that without even planning it, the point travel meets NMRA specs.

All that I need to do now is paint the linkage, paint the switchstand and target, wire the points, and finish isolating the frog. Once that is all done I can continue weathering the rails, and then start scenery.

[VonRyan]

Here's a closeup of the throwbar:

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[Angus Shops]

Ooh that looks good. I might have to give O scale a try just for the fun of it!

[VonRyan]

Ooh that looks good. I might have to give O scale a try just for the fun of it!

That's just what I'm doing here. I wanted a fun project that I could just dive right into without need for any prototype research or extensive planning. O scale also means plenty of detailing opportunities that would otherwise be quite tricky in smaller scales.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

That's just what I'm doing here. I wanted a fun project that I could just dive right into without need for any prototype research or extensive planning. O scale also means plenty of detailing opportunities that would otherwise be quite tricky in smaller scales.

It's why operating brakes are my holy grail... and why my toe is VERY slowly getting dipped into the scale.

[VonRyan]

It's why operating brakes are my holy grail... and why my toe is VERY slowly getting dipped into the scale.

We talking air brakes or handbrakes?

If it wasnt for the fact that I get enough of both doing 1:1 scale 3' gauge railroading, I'd be right there with you on that. I think the furthest I'll be going is scale wheel chocks and blue flags.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

We talking air brakes or handbrakes?

If it wasnt for the fact that I get enough of both doing 1:1 scale 3' gauge railroading, I'd be right there with you on that. I think the furthest I'll be going is scale wheel chocks and blue flags.

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[VonRyan]

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I want to see how you're gonna implement scale air brakes. That sounds pretty difficult even in O-scale.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I want to see how you're gonna implement scale air brakes. That sounds pretty difficult even in O-scale.

Well the thought was to use memory wire to actuate them via some sort of electronic control. The sexiest idea would be to put a coil of the stuff inside a brake cylinder casting and have it work that way.

It's all just theory right now though.

[VonRyan]

No measurable progress lately. Just going back and finishing spiking every tie on the long siding and still working on weathering the rails. I'm not very impressed with Micro Engineering's solution. Very weak. First pass or two barely show any results even on clean rail. Short of removing all the rail and submerging it, it's going to take a long time to get the rail weathered.

But 1:1 narrow gauge railroading has resulted in me being under the weather, so instead I'm just trawling through YouTube for inspiration as I mentally prepare to start the next module.

[garethashenden]

Why are you chemically weathering the rail instead of painting it?

[VonRyan]

Why are you chemically weathering the rail instead of painting it?

I've never been fond of painting rails, and given the lengths I went to for building the track, I figured I would use something more authentic than paint for the rails. Had I known Micro Engineering's solution didn't produce as good a result as on their pre-weathered rail, I'd have looked for a stronger chemical.

[Santa Fe Guy]

Cody I have used ME weathering solution for years on my Code 55 turnouts (and my On30 Lost Creek RR Code70 track now a fallen flag) and it seemed to work fine. Might have taken a while to work.
I did notice that sometimes it wouldn't as the rail seemed to still have some manufacturing gunk on it, however a second application and all was well.
As we are not able to bring that stuff into Australia anymore I'm painting my turnouts on my new HOn3 Monarch Branch with Tamiya Dark Iron it's a nice match.
Enjoying your progress.
Rod.