3 way "tramway' style points

[tramcar trev]

Fort hos of you who haven't caught up with the latest I have added a touch of ballast (especially hand selected from a gutter in Minginup WA) and the scene is almost complete, details like the 2 oily tracks (from the leaky gear cases on old trams) will be added when we get down to the fine detail with great skill and an airbrush. The rail frogs have also to be filled with silver bearing solder and profiled to support the flanges on the cars as they pass thru other wise the wheels can ?fall? through the space. This will be done insitu with solder and some plaster of Paris ?damns? (as in Tinkers Damns? then the groove will be made using a profiled rubber abrasive wheel in the ?rotary tool?. The Plaster then is easily scraped and vacuumed away?. Trust me, this is the easiest way to do it??? I think?.. I did try laying a short brass strip in the place where I want the flange to run but it was just too tedious and needed soldering anyway. If you look at the previous post with the picture of the prototype points you can see what I mean?.

Note also that the 3 way overhead frog has been made and is ready for the overhead when it is installed?.. Now all I have to do is put it somewhere I won?t loose it. Its machined from 1/8? brass then given a blast with my blasting gun; http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Gravity-...ols&hash=item35c16a70a0&_uhb=1#ht_1228wt_1097 which is really handy for small projects. It works wonders on weathering stone setts?.

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[trammayo]

The points are brilliant job Trev - top marks
The three-way frog - now apart skilled workmanship, the idea of blasting it to make it look like a casting is clever indeed!

Cant wait to see your line up and running!

 

[Nodrog1826]

Peoples skills on GSC never fails to impress me..

Nice job Trev......

 

[tramcar trev]

Cant wait to see your line up and running!

Neither can I!!!
Actually the blasting of the frog was for practical reasons, the soft brass I used burrs very easily when machined and the grit blast got rid of the burrs as well as the cosmetic bit....
I'ts an excellent bit of kit the blaster; set the air pressure to around 10 - 15 PSI and it positively rips linework of bachmann trams ( with minimal abrasion of the actual painted surface) so that they can be repainted without the linework underneath showing thru.... Slightly more expensive than a Fibre eraser pen though.....

 

[Dtsteam]

Wonderful stuff Trev. How do you take the centre road ? and given the short gap at the frog, do you need to fill in the flangeway ?

 

[tramcar trev]

Wonderful stuff Trev. How do you take the centre road ? and given the short gap at the frog, do you need to fill in the flangeway ?

Both blades are moved to the centre, they then act as check rails to stop the tram turning left or right. I did spend hours trying to get 4 moving blades in but I failed to get them to be able to move given the constraints of the non scale wheels that run through them.
But you get 26 brownie points for noticing that there was only 2 moving blades.....
Yes I probably don't need to fill the flangeways in. It was something I was going to do just for the stress of it.

 

[DoctorM]

It was something I was going to do just for the stress of it.

Another engineer who works better when under pressure then!

 

[vsmith]

Excellent! When do they go on sale?

 

[Madman]

Wonderful stuff Trev. How do you take the centre road ? and given the short gap at the frog, do you need to fill in the flangeway ?

Both blades are moved to the centre, they then act as check rails to stop the tram turning left or right. I did spend hours trying to get 4 moving blades in but I failed to get them to be able to move given the constraints of the non scale wheels that run through them.
But you get 26 brownie points for noticing that there was only 2 moving blades.....
Yes I probably don't need to fill the flangeways in. It was something I was going to do just for the stress of it.

That is some excellent machinist's work Trev. But my head still hurts trying to visually run wheels through it :wits:

 

[tramcar trev]

Wonderful stuff Trev. How do you take the centre road ? and given the short gap at the frog, do you need to fill in the flangeway ?

Both blades are moved to the centre, they then act as check rails to stop the tram turning left or right. I did spend hours trying to get 4 moving blades in but I failed to get them to be able to move given the constraints of the non scale wheels that run through them.
But you get 26 brownie points for noticing that there was only 2 moving blades.....
Yes I probably don't need to fill the flangeways in. It was something I was going to do just for the stress of it.

That is some excellent machinist's work Trev. But my head still hurts trying to visually run wheels through it :wits:

Ok well a picture or 3 is worth the effort then. Check these out;​

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Just imagine you are a flange on a wheel, you will soon work out which way you have to go....​

 

[Nodrog1826]

Could you post a pic of the operating mechanisim? Trev

Just carnt get my head around how it works to get the ctr road........

 

[Gizzy]

Could you post a pic of the operating mechanisim? Trev

Just carnt get my head around how it works to get the ctr road........

I struggled too, until I realised the backs of the wheel and the axle would keep the wheel tread on the rail....

 

[Nodrog1826]

Could you post a pic of the operating mechanisim? Trev
Just carnt get my head around how it works to get the ctr road........

I struggled too, until I realised the backs of the wheel and the axle would keep the wheel tread on the rail....

Its not wheel bit for me, but rather, how a bar in the hole can set the blades, i get L and R, but its the getting of both switch rails to go straight at the same time...

 

[Gizzy]

For the centre road, the backs of the wheels would travel along the rails as shown here in red....

 

[Gizzy]

Could you post a pic of the operating mechanisim? Trev
Just carnt get my head around how it works to get the ctr road........

I struggled too, until I realised the backs of the wheel and the axle would keep the wheel tread on the rail....

Its not wheel bit for me, but rather, how a bar in the hole can set the blades, i get L and R, but its the getting of both switch rails to go straight at the same time...

Ah right, I see what you mean now Gord?

I was wondering if a slider under the 'checker plate' moves....

 

[tramcar trev]

I was wondering if a slider under the 'checker plate' moves....

Oh hell no... jesus guys these were a right PITA to make there should be 2 bars underneath the cast iron cover alas the modis operandi is by way of digital control. that is with my finger.... hey it works for me...

 

[Gizzy]

Ah I've sussed it!

Re-read Trev's post 26, only 2 of the 4 sets blades move.

I've highlighted the pivots as shown.

Very clever....

 

[Nodrog1826]

I was wondering if a slider under the 'checker plate' moves....

Oh hell no... jesus guys these were a right PITA to make there should be 2 bars underneath the cast iron cover alas the modis operandi is by way of digital control. that is with my finger.... hey it works for me...

Ah i get it, Trev, good old hand of god switching.......just wondered if you had figured some sort of eccentric drive as it were.

 

[Dinas Bryn]

Morning a great job, I'm very interested as I was surprised that very few in G scale make points, I started in the1947's making oo 18.5 points then when went on to O guage, looked at G scale but as the rail was so dear I didn't try, now over 80 hands and sight are long gone Les

 

[tramcar trev]

Morning a great job, I'm very interested as I was surprised that very few in G scale make points, I started in the1947's making oo 18.5 points then when went on to O guage, looked at G scale but as the rail was so dear I didn't try, now over 80 hands and sight are long gone Les

As I said somewhere I get great satisfaction out of making all the bits for my tramway, tedious and frustrating at times but the culminating pleasure we all treasure beyond measure is the gratifying feeling when we have done a good job....
Plus of course if there was a commercial manufacturer of G scale tramway points they would be way out of my price range anyway.....
Another chap pointed out that the skills of the forum members amazed him and that I think is the essence of the forum to share skills and experience....
Thank you all for your praise, I needed a lift.... Its Saturday and SWMBO has seen an advert for a robotic vacuum cleaner so I'm off to be josstled in the pre Xmas crowds to see one ( what's the bet we come home with one?)