Control rail for Gargraves track

[stuartmit]

Sounds like an excellent scheme, but how do you precisely determine the height; how do you know how deep to groove the ties?

[Roger Bielen]

I've used 1/16" X 1/4" brass strip with bevels ground on the ends and the wire soldered to them.  I grooved the Gargrave's ties as needed for installation with super glue.

[stuartmit]

Further comment--If you intend to use with an car which has a metal based unloading receiver like the Milk car, you must drill over sized holes throught the base where the #4 screws go through; otherwise they will be in contact with both the hot and ground leads throught the screws and short circuit; found that out on first try at operation

[stuartmit]

I may have another scheme for installing control rails to operate Lionel operating cars on Gargraves track. Of course there is the recent article about using the Atlas product in CTT a month or 2 back, but my local guy was out of them and I was impatient, so here is a scheme using 027 rail which shows promise.

Take a half section of 027 straight track and dismantle it to use the rails. With a Dremel, grind eachboth ends on the top surface top surface at about 20 degrees so the slider shoe will ride up rather than impact the rail directly. Solder several inches of approriate gauge wire (22 I think) to the rail.  Grind into the flange of the 027 rail to remove a V shaped portion of metal about 1/8" wide at the edge of the flange. do this three times. This should allow you to mount these on the Gragrave ties and catch the head of a #4 flat head machine screw. Drill an appropriate sized hole (3/32?)between the 027 rail and the outside running rail, with the 027 rail spaced in from the running rail by the width of the Gargraves tie which will give you aprrox 1/4" which seems to be about right, by comparison to a 6019 unit.

Install two rails with staggered spacing typical of a 6019. Ground the lead from one and bring the other to a normally open pushbutton connected to your constant voltage auxilliary power line.

I just rigged this up this pm, and am checking it but it seems to work; perhaps I will try removing them rails and applying some glue to the underside of the 027 rail as an additional holding mechanism.

 Whaddaya think?  Too much aggravation when the Atlas item cost about 15.00? maybe so, but for tonight I wanted something happening and it seems to be!