Tie bar repair

Paul asks: Have you come across Peco points where the switch rail comes adrift from the tiebar? If so, any thoughts on how to repair whilst at the same time preserving the overlock spring action ?

The simple answer is no I haven't. Apart from a single barely used 009 example, it is at least 15 years since I used a Peco point in anger. All our trackwork is nickel silver rail soldered to PCB sleepers.

Switch rails do come adrift from tiebars with this system, especially since we use Peco point motors with a nice healthy thwack to change the route. It's a pain but a few seconds with a soldering iron usually fixes things with added bonus of giving a suitable weapon to stuff up the nose of the idiot who decides to display his "expertise" on why you've done it wrong.

On a plastic tiebar, this isn't going to work. Well, not unless you consider reducing the point to a melted lump that smells like the sinuses of the aforementioned "expert".

You could consider replacing the tiebar with a PCB sleeper. It will need the copper-cladding scraping away to insulate one side from the other. The soldering will need to be a bit nifty too unless you want melty sleepers.

Another issue is that this will remove the locking mechanism but here, all is not lost. Use a Peco point motor and the adaptor base to mount it under the baseboard and locking is restored. The adaptor base has an over-centre spring in it too. Sometimes this has to be removed if the solenoid isn't strong enough to move two springs.

Apart from this, I think you are in for some point replacement. Unless an reader knows better. Please suggest away in the comments box and lets see if we can find a solution.

Nailing down the track

Yet another novelty for me - nailing model railway track down. With the hand built stuff we attach one rail to the sleepers, glue these down and then add the second rail. You can't do that with Peco, it has to go down in one go. Glue isn't an option either unless you use superglue as it doesn't grab fast enough.

With a roundy-roundy, the ends of the tracks have to meet up. In this case the main element that was going to affect alignment was the point. Peco have introduced a new range of "mainline" narrow gauge points in response to those modeller who have argued that the hobby has moved on from rabbit-warren layouts to much more prototypical formations. The new points are therefore longer then the old ones and in this case, a larger radius than the rest of the circuit.

With the point being the linchpin, the lengths of flexi were connected to each end of it using fishplates (it's years since I've used these too) ans the who lot shoved around until I was happy everything would line up OK and be reasonably smooth. Peco pins were pushed in through holes drilled in the sleepers. By not hammering these home I was able to pull them out every time I realised the track was in the wrong place - which was quite a lot.

One of the last jobs was to cut the rails back. A peircing saw loaded with a fine blade worked a treat for this and gave me cuts that didn't need cleaning up to fit the fishplates.

Foxdale track progress

While I've been building chassis, my Dad has been hard at work making something to run them on. At one end of the station there is a complex crossover which seemed to obvious place to start.

As is his wont, the 5 points will be made in one lump. The idea is to have the longest lengths of continuous rail possible. The section on the photo includes 2 points and the sidings at the end of them. The rail carries on from the bottom of the picture and should fit in the next points as well. Electrical continuity will be assured and running improved, or at least that's what we've found to date.

Construction takes place on a slab of softboard with plans stuck to it. The track is lifted every so often for a trip to the sink and scrub to remove the flux. That;s why it's not sitting on the plan in the picture.