3 way "tramway' style points

tramcar trev

tramcar trev

all manner of mechanical apparatus...
I have at long last started to go where no G scale tramway moddler has gone before. I'm building a set of 3 way points which will eventualy end up as my depot fan. I'm going to try and copy the only set I know of in existence currently in use at the Brisbane Tramway Museum. Does anyone know of any others? I gather that they were relatively common in the UK during the days of proper tramways. In the pic it can be seen I have the sleepers screwed down to the drawing and an outside rail rolled to fit...... then I ran out of rail, I'll have to get more before I proceed.... There are some really nice 3 way hand laid points but they all seem to be of the Stub style, I'll try and remain as authentic as I can.

Saves having to make a Traverser....

I'm also thinking that inside the depot building I'll run a "Dolter" style power supply as all my buildings will be removeable and removable overhead has obvious technical problems. After seeing what the Canberra winter weather can do to phenolic resin Vero board I have no choice but to make my buildings removable.... all my colour light staff Vero board "PCB's" were destroyed by frost.....
More on this project as work progresses...

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Me too!
 
Best of luck Trev. May the force be with you.
 
I should not have mentioned this..... All the esteemed ones looking over my shoulder makes me nervous.... I spose if they don't work I can always just admit failure and build a traverser...
 
tramcar trev said:
I should not have mentioned this..... All the esteemed ones looking over my shoulder makes me nervous.... I spose if they don't work I can always just admit failure and build a traverser...
Click to expand...

You could do both... :)

(And I don't mean admit failure).
 
As I'm under such scrutiny from the spectator gallery I decided to do this correctly and make it harder than it is; I milled away the clearance for the straight throw moveable blade in the left hand divergent rail. Normally I would just have filed it.....
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"I decided to do this correctly and make it harder than it is"

Don't you hate when someone is looking over your shoulder? :impatient:
 
Madman said:
"I decided to do this correctly and make it harder than it is"

Don't you hate when someone is looking over your shoulder? :impatient:
Click to expand...
Yeah... I could serialise this into a production Cecil B DeMille would be proud of....:D:D:D:D:D:D
 
The artwork for the etched brass cover where the point hook get inserted....
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yes I'm going to make this project as difficult as humanly possible 8|
Strewth it came out BIG, its 35 X 12.5mm
 
Neat work Trev:thumbup:
 
tramcar trev said:
I have at long last started to go where no G scale tramway moddler has gone before. I'm building a set of 3 way points which will eventualy end up as my depot fan. I'm going to try and copy the only set I know of in existence currently in use at the Brisbane Tramway Museum. Does anyone know of any others? I gather that they were relatively common in the UK during the days of proper tramways. In the pic it can be seen I have the sleepers screwed down to the drawing and an outside rail rolled to fit...... then I ran out of rail, I'll have to get more before I proceed.... There are some really nice 3 way hand laid points but they all seem to be of the Stub style, I'll try and remain as authentic as I can.

Saves having to make a Traverser....

I'm also thinking that inside the depot building I'll run a "Dolter" style power supply as all my buildings will be removeable and removable overhead has obvious technical problems. After seeing what the Canberra winter weather can do to phenolic resin Vero board I have no choice but to make my buildings removable.... all my colour light staff Vero board "PCB's" were destroyed by frost.....
More on this project as work progresses...

images
images
Click to expand...
I think they cheat nowadays. Three-way points are actually two ordinary points, left and right, displaced by a metre or so. Simpler than having one blade with three options is two blades each with two options (and I guess that the parts are standard).
This is Prague:
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tramcar trev said:
I have at long last started to go where no G scale tramway moddler has gone before. I'm building a set of 3 way points which will eventualy end up as my depot fan. I'm going to try and copy the only set I know of in existence currently in use at the Brisbane Tramway Museum. Does anyone know of any others? I gather that they were relatively common in the UK during the days of proper tramways.
Click to expand...

I'm afraid that they may have cheated; 3-way points were two points laid about a metre apart; two blades with two settings less complex than one blade with three, and they could probably use standard parts. This is Prague...

Praguegrandjunction-1.jpg
 
More supplies of rail have been purchased and this has allowed me to progress with the 3 way points. You may be watching a world first in progress here so do pay attention, questions will be asked, probably by me when I forget what I have done.
[*]When you?re making points its important to make sure all the bits fit before you start soldering parts in place.[*]I found that rather than using a soldering iron that a better job is obtained by putting a dab of solder paste where the joint is to be made and heating with my ?micro? butane torch. It?s just the right diameter to lay it on its side so it can heat up the rail and the sleeper and does a brilliant job, with the soldering iron its far to easy to knock something out of place.[*]MAKE SURE everything is rolled to the proper radius or machined to fit where it has to go and I have found that if you try and hold bits that are not the right radius in place and solder them that soon, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but soon; the solder yields to the force and the joint breaks causing a major job to repair it.[*]Read 1 again.[*]I found from experience it is a lot easier if I roll all the curved rails to the correct radius then cut them to fit.[*]Leave the straight tracks till the curved rails are soldered down. [*] READ 1 AGAIN!!!!!![*]I?ve just about got it sorted apart from the hard bit, making the blades move and arranging the pivot points for the moving blades, the moving blades in the pic?s wont work because, well because I did not read 1 enough times?. Fortunately I can roll some more rails to the right curve and make ones that will fit?..[*] Dinner was a welcome relief tonight, this is very tedious work.[*]The flangeways will be cut when the lot is assembled. A diamond sanding disk in a rotary tool does a very nice job....
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No store bought track gauge for you, ha.:bigsmile: I didn't think so Trev. How much simpler could it be.:clap: And it's adjustable too.:thumbup: If you don't start making them and selling them, someone else might.:impatient:
 
What? Industrial espionage on GSC? Naaaaah :cool:
Neat engineering Trev :thumbup:
 
philkelly said:
tramcar trev said:
I have at long last started to go where no G scale tramway moddler has gone before. I'm building a set of 3 way points which will eventualy end up as my depot fan. I'm going to try and copy the only set I know of in existence currently in use at the Brisbane Tramway Museum. Does anyone know of any others? I gather that they were relatively common in the UK during the days of proper tramways.
Click to expand...

I'm afraid that they may have cheated; 3-way points were two points laid about a metre apart; two blades with two settings less complex than one blade with three, and they could probably use standard parts. This is Prague...

Praguegrandjunction-1.jpg
Click to expand...
Oh wow I just get right off over cobblestone streets with tram tracks. Its the effect I'm going to achieve on my tramway especially along "Memory Lane". Yes they did cheat but so what the 3 way ones like I'm replicating are according to the current owners a PITA to actually change....
 
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