Merlin VS Points

pauly · Post by **pauly** » Thu May 24, 2012 4:21 pm

My Merlin Mayflower will not go through point curves, like at all!

its fine goign over a point set straight ahead but if its switched off the straight it just refuses to go trhough, evertime it derails on the point, I spent an hour this evening trying to get her to go through points consistantly and I just cant get it to work.

Anyone her go experiance with Merlin Mayflowers and LGB Points?

KjellAn · Post by **KjellAn** » Thu May 24, 2012 4:33 pm

Have you checked the back-to-back gauge on the wheels of your Merlin.
Try to make them more narrow. I think the LGB points are too "wide" for "finescale" wheels.

Chris Cairns · Post by **Chris Cairns** » Thu May 24, 2012 7:34 pm

Your answer may lie in modifying the check rails as in these postings: -

http://www.gscalecentral.co.uk/f/m138278.aspx
(Merlin is mentioned in Message 24).

http://modelsteam.myfreeforum.org/ftopi ... -asc-0.php

Chris Cairns.

pauly · Post by **pauly** » Thu May 24, 2012 7:51 pm

Great so I need to make brass shims for my R1 points, I cant work with Brass to save my bloody life

Narrow Minded · Post by **Narrow Minded** » Thu May 24, 2012 8:07 pm

I did my "mainline" R1's back in March

It's easy enough when you buy the right width strip, just a couple of bends

It made an improvement but I reckon I'm still going to replace 'em with wider radius turnouts when I get the chance.

Narrow Minded · Post by **Narrow Minded** » Thu May 24, 2012 10:18 pm

Keith&Joanna:71165 wrote:Hot soldering iron, melt a channel in the plastic frog where the wheel rim jumps up and rides over the frog.

What????!

The height of the plastic frog (or depth, looking at it from a different perspective, relative to the wheel flange) should be adequate - it's approximately level with the moulded chair bolt heads, and certainly isn't the problem.

If you run a 4 wheel wagon over the points and look closely, the moulded "check rail" does absolutely nothing - it's too far from the stock rail.
Running the wagon through the points with a little "outward pressure" (towards the curve), it's as sweet as a nut. Run it through with "inward pressure" (towards the frog) and it jumps out at the nose causing a derailment.
(Nothing to do with wheel rims clouting the plastic

)

The shim on the check rail should cure this for most four and six coupled loco's, unfortunately it's not been too succesful for The Earl & The Countess

Narrow Minded · Post by **Narrow Minded** » Thu May 24, 2012 11:38 pm

I've just tried this;

a length of 00 track fitted very roughly just for trial purposes, and it works like a dream!

I can't even push the wagon onto the nose of the frog!!!

Methinks some further testing / investigation might still save me from repacing a load of trackwork!

pauly · Post by **pauly** » Thu May 24, 2012 11:43 pm

Narrow Minded:71175 wrote:I've just tried this;

a length of 00 track fitted very roughly just for trial purposes, and it works like a dream!
I can't even push the wagon onto the nose of the frog!!!

Methinks some further testing / investigation might still save me from repacing a load of trackwork!

what code of track is that, Ill pick up a few lenghs of my own tomorrow at the model shop.

Narrow Minded · Post by **Narrow Minded** » Fri May 25, 2012 12:31 am

I dunno what code rail it is without "Googling" it - it's out of my scrap box, fairly fine (not like the old coarse stuff)

It's marked as R609 Hornby Made In Austria.

pauly · Post by **pauly** » Fri May 25, 2012 1:05 am

Narrow Minded:71177 wrote:I dunno what code rail it is without "Googling" it - it's out of my scrap box, fairly fine (not like the old coarse stuff)
It's marked as R609 Hornby Made In Austria.

Ill just get some lenghs of standard hornby rail, shouldnt have to be that precise.

Keith S · Post by **Keith S** » Fri May 25, 2012 5:59 am

Pauly, I don't have any points on my "railway" (A pile of tracks under my bed at the moment). You could sell me your Merlin engine and it wouldn't have any problems over here. I love that engine. Sell it to me!

Chris Cairns · Post by **Chris Cairns** » Fri May 25, 2012 11:36 am

This has been a very productive topic.

Now convinced that the problem with derailing through Mamod/MSS points may be solved by fitting a check rail. Although fitting something to Mazak will prove a challenge.

Chris Cairns.

Narrow Minded · Post by **Narrow Minded** » Fri May 25, 2012 6:28 pm

You've got me at it now

I've had another "play" and here's todays experiment;

Dummy check rail and chair mouldings carefully cut / filed away

Section of R1 curve rail cut to length and notches filed to clear stock rail chair mouldings

New check rail fitted to turnout. Fix in place by your method(s) of choice

(I reckon I'm gonna glue'n'screw mine!)

The major problem with this solution is that it can't be done 'in-situ', and the only time I'm gonna disturb the track by lifting the points will be for a re-lay!

Back to the drawing board

pauly · Post by **pauly** » Fri May 25, 2012 10:06 pm

got myself some 00 rail, Im gonna try it tomorrow.

laurence703 · Post by **laurence703** » Sat May 26, 2012 1:30 pm

Chris Cairns:71193 wrote:This has been a very productive topic.

Now convinced that the problem with derailing through Mamod/MSS points may be solved by fitting a check rail. Although fitting something to Mazak will prove a challenge.

Chris Cairns.

It shouldn't be too hard... Just drill a few holes in the sleepers and bolt a check rail to it made of a piece of steel strip folded into a right angle and flared at the ends.
Should work but I don't have any Mamod points... contemplating getting some proper track eventually and just using the mamod stuff for odd play days on the patio.

GTB · Post by **GTB** » Sat May 26, 2012 4:13 pm

Narrow Minded:71204 wrote: The major problem with this solution is that it can't be done 'in-situ', and the only time I'm gonna disturb the track by lifting the points will be for a re-lay!

Main improvement I'd suggest is to bend the ends of the new check rail, or taper them off with a file, so the flanges are pulled across before they reach the point of the V-crossing (frog). With square ended check rails, there's a chance a flange will hit the end and derail.

Modifying the turnouts in situ will depend on whether you have good access to them from above. If you can get at them, then a Dremel, or similar tool, will make short work of removing the plastic check rails. Easiest way to fit check metal rails to existing trackwork would be to solder pieces of flat brass under the rail at each sleeper location, drill a hole and either pin them in place, or use a suitable self tapping screw.

For long fixed wheelbase locos and rolling stock the choice is either larger radius curves, or gauge widening on curves.

General pontification........... :-)

Given the total inability of most rtr manufacturers outside the US to work to any wheel/track standards except their own, all we can do is pick one and stick with it, modifying either the track or the wheels on other brands to match.

There are five critical dimensions, track gauge (TG), wheel back to back (BB), crossing flangeway (CF), check gauge (CG) and effective flange (EF).

I use the G1MRA 'Standard' (Coarse) standards, but it doesn't really make a lot of difference what you use. The important thing is to be consistent and have wheels that match the track.

I've always used check gauges in my HO modelling and when I moved to large scale I made up a set of wheel and track checking gauges so I can check every wheelset before it runs. Until I have a track of my own, the track gauge is used to check the turnouts on a layout before I decide whether I can run on it or not.

These were milled from some bits of aluminium angle, but they aren't too difficult to make with hand tools if you are careful about marking out.

The Gauge 1 standards for 45mm gauge are available on the net here

http://www.gaugeone.org/Misc/STANDARD%2 ... %20‘1’.pdf

Not using 32mm gauge, I haven't got a link to any standards for that gauge.

have fun,
Graeme

spooner · Post by **spooner** » Sat May 26, 2012 8:05 pm

The 16mm society publish some standards but its up to people to yo use them.

pauly · Post by **pauly** » Sat May 26, 2012 10:26 pm

spooner:71233 wrote:The 16mm society publish some standards but its up to people to yo use them.

standards? dont be so boring!

Iv been trying my best to defy standards all my life

pauly · Post by **pauly** » Sat Jun 02, 2012 1:00 am

Done it and it seems to have worked.

Though the Aristo point I have in the middle of my yard is still a tad dodgey so will require a tad more work, no way in hell am I ripping the whole yard up to get to that 1 point!

Narrow Minded · Post by **Narrow Minded** » Sat Jun 02, 2012 9:40 am

[quote="pauly:71413"]Done it and it seems to have worked.[quote]

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