Thursday, June 7, 2012

Switch Machines

I have begun to fit the Tortoise switch machines. Since I have no plywood or board of any kind beneath the pink foam I needed to add some before I could proceed. I cut pieces of Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF), two for each machine. One piece for the actual Tortoise and one for the terminal strip I already had connected to each machine. I did that for a previous layout and the strips come in handy when the machines are moved to a new layout. Makes the electrical connection much easier. The reason I used MDF was just because I happened to have a piece lying around.

Here is a picture of the two pieces of MDF for one machine, glued to the foam with "No Nails". The hole for the actuating wire was made from above, at an earlier time when I built the turnout (in place).



And here a switch machine in place. Tested and working on the first try, but not yet permanently connected electrically. 



The second machine was not that easy. The actuating wire needed some tweaking before the turnout worked as it should.

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