With all the electrical isolation gaps cut, I can finally assemble all the sections into a single piece. Each piece has to be cut to fit with the adjacent section, soldered together with rail joiners, and the missing PC board ties added in.
This is where having cut out the entire trackplan from 2mm plywood really pays off. I am able to use this as a template to ensure all the trackwork geometry is correct. When finished, everything lines up very well with no unexpected geometric anomalies.
The video above shows the process of fitting a section in place. This project took about 2 days to complete.
I'm your host, Tim Warris, a product developer in Port Dover, Ontario. Since March of 2007 I have been documenting the construction of the former CNJ Bronx Terminal in HO scale. For my day job, I design track building tools for Fast Tracks, a small company I own and operate. Fast Tracks makes it fast and easy to hand lay your own trackwork. Stop by our website to learn more!
I think this is the forth or fifth video of me cutting gaps in trackwork. This one should be the last. I have been asked numerous times how I am going to make this layout work, which is not a surprising question with complex trackwork such as this. From the beginning I designed all the track sections to operate, but until this stage in construction, where I can install the track permanently onto the layout, I could not cut the final electrical isolation gaps as it makes the track sections weak and prone to damage if handled. Once glued down they will be fine, but left loose and being transported often, they were prone to damage.
Well this week, they were finally completed. Yay!
The video above shows the cutting of the most complex piece of trackwork, the triple lapped turnout that leads into the engine house.
The gaps were all cut with a jewelers saw as this allows me to cut small precise gaps in tight locations. Had I tried to cut these gaps using a rotary tool I would have certainly nicked, or completely cut the adjacent rails. Also, the heat generated would melt the solder joints. A jewelers saw is the best option for this.
The trackwork cut in this video took about 3 or 4 hours to cut as I worked slowly and methodically.
I'm your host, Tim Warris, a product developer in Port Dover, Ontario. Since March of 2007 I have been documenting the construction of the former CNJ Bronx Terminal in HO scale. For my day job, I design track building tools for Fast Tracks, a small company I own and operate. Fast Tracks makes it fast and easy to hand lay your own trackwork. Stop by our website to learn more!
With the NMRA Train Show rapidly approaching, I am focusing hard on getting this damn thing running. Reaching that goal will take a lot of work over the next weeks. This week, I am spending most of my time working on the layout, and so far I am making pretty good progress.
It took two full days to cut all the rail isolation gaps in all the trackwork. I worked very slowly and carefully being careful not to damage any of the trackwork and also to be certain I didn’t miss any. Missing one would be very not good. Some of the gaps can not be cut after the track is installed as they have to be done using a jewelers saw due to the tight clearances involved. Most of my time was spent studying the individual track pieces and determining where to make the cuts.
After the gaps were cut, they sections were tested with a continuity checker to make sure there were no shorts or missing gaps.
The job wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.Until this stage in construction I could not cut any of the gaps as it makes the track sections weak, and I needed to handle them quite a bit, so I delayed the job until the last possible minute. This meant spending 2 years thinking about it and answering the question, “how you going to wire that thing?”.
Today, I fit all the sections together and soldered them into a single piece. All the missing PC board ties have been added in. It is now, finally, all sitting in place. This was another job I have been thinking about for two years!
It all went together well, fitting very precisely and seems to run smoothly when I push a car or two through it. Until the switch machines are installed, its very difficult to tell how well it will actually run as the switch points don’t yet seat precisely, need the switch machines to hold them tight in place.
I still have another piece of trackwork to make, one final turnout. I will make that one up tomorrow and install it into the rest of the trackwork. Other than the straight yard tracks, its the trackwork construction is pretty much complete.
Will have to make up a “Golden PC Board Tie” and have a little ceremony with some local dignitaries for the last solder. There will be speeches and polite applause.
A local dignitary inspecting some trackwork. He barked in lieu of applause.
I'm your host, Tim Warris, a product developer in Port Dover, Ontario. Since March of 2007 I have been documenting the construction of the former CNJ Bronx Terminal in HO scale. For my day job, I design track building tools for Fast Tracks, a small company I own and operate. Fast Tracks makes it fast and easy to hand lay your own trackwork. Stop by our website to learn more!
