I just installed 2 NJI crossing gates and because the base of the layout is 2 inches thick plus the 5/8" plywood the actuating wires aren't long enough to hook to any type of actuator. I could always work them manually but what's the point.
Why don't you just solder some additional lengths of wire so that you have sufficient length to reach an actuator?
Rich
Alton Junction
By 'actuating wires' do you mean electrical wire for the LEDs or the wire to mechanically raise and lower the gates? If you need longer stiff wire to make the gates move, music wire from any good hardware store can be used for this.
Hi,
And welcome to the forum !
I am not certain if you are making a statement or asking a question. Would you please clarify?
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
mobilman44 Hi, And welcome to the forum ! I am not certain if you are making a statement or asking a question. Would you please clarify?
My interpretation of the initial post is that the wires are too short to reach an actuator switch and he is giving up prematurely without looking for a solution.
To quote one of my favorite movie lines: "The world is what you make of it, Friend. If it doesn't fit, make alterations."
Or see my signature block for more inspiration.
There's always a way to do something, given enough time, money, and / or effort. Please see recommended solutions above.
FWIW, your base is probably over-engineered. 2" foam, supported at 18" to 2' intervals would probably support your weight. The plywood is overkill.
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
To answer some of the comments/replies. The wire that does the mechanical movement of the arms is the problem. Soldering sounds good but unforturnately I'm terrible at soldering(need more practice). Also, I used 2 1" thick pieces of foam knowing that I could build down as well as up., and because of the room size I couldn't just do a wall shelf or a walk in so I used 5/8 plywood to stand up to me crawling on it when first doing track laying and some scenery work. The layout is an "L" with one leg 47" X 85" and the other is 47" X 53". Thanks for the input, as this is my first attempt at building a model layout.
Big inner To answer some of the comments/replies. The wire that does the mechanical movement of the arms is the problem. Soldering sounds good but unforturnately I'm terrible at soldering(need more practice). Thanks for the input, as this is my first attempt at building a model layout.
To answer some of the comments/replies. The wire that does the mechanical movement of the arms is the problem. Soldering sounds good but unforturnately I'm terrible at soldering(need more practice).
Thanks for the input, as this is my first attempt at building a model layout.
Big Inner,
I mean this positively, not negatively. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and learn to solder. Get yourself an inexpensive roll of 60/40 rosin-core solder from Radio Shack and practice on some scrap wire. Take two pieces of wire and twist them together so that the wires are extended in a straight line. Place the tip of the soldering iron on the twisted wire to apply heat. Then, place the end of the strand of solder on the heated wires and watch the solder quickly spread and absorb. That is it. Once you have mastered that technique after a few minutes and a couple of trial and error attempts, you are ready to solder the wires on your crossing gate and move on.
Do it! Good luck and report back on your success.
I have second some of Rich's comments.
First of all, just to make sure you understand the issue: I never would have been able to construct or operate my current layout with the skill set I had when I (re-) entered the hobby 11 years ago. I have learned a lot since then, and have mastered (or at least become a passable hand at) things I thought were beyond me. Being willing to try new things, and to redo if it doesn't come out right (which means being able to admit to a lack of complete success), is really the ONLY essential attribute in this hobby. My first layout was a 4x8 that I know going in wasn't a permanent arrangement, but a test-bed where I would practice the skills and techniques I would need later.
Another cautionary note -- you mentioned that you had to crawl on your layout to reach certain areas for tracklaying (although, FWIW, 2" of foamboard supported by joists at 18" intervals would have supported your weight). How are you planning to reach these areas to clean track or fix a derailment when you have scenery and structures in place? Since you probably don't want to rip out and start from scratch, you might want to consider investing approximately $250 in a topside creeper (Google it!) to support you without touching your layout when you have a long reach. Most of us with normal body proportions care comfortable reaching 24" (without support) and can stretch to an absolute maximum of 30".
Most of my layout is 40 inches off the floor and 30 inches deep. I wouldn't make it any deeper. If it was higher, I wouldn't be able to reach the 30 inches. One side is 48 inches deep and higher off the floor, but that side is not against the wall, so I have access to both sides.
The secret to a good solder joint is to first make a solid mechanical connection, heat it and apply to solder to the joint, not the soldering iron. Do not rely on the solder for a strong mechanical bond.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
I've often said that we're born able to do 3 things -- sleep, cry, and eliminate waste. Everything else is a learned skill (even eating). It's just a question of deciding to learn it. Newborns learn to eat pretty quickly because their survival depends on it.
Most of us will never be Van Gogh or Michelangelo, but we can learn to paint well enough to succeed.
Hi again,
To get to the basics, you don't want to bite off more than you can chew when building that first layout.
Yes, there are exceptions, guys (or gals) that build a fantastic layout right from the start. But these are folks that either already had all the needed skills or are extremely fast to learn.
I suggest that most of us are not in those categories (for that first layout), and our best chance of success is to start out with the tried and true "framed out plywood", track on cork or whatever roadbed, uncomplicated track plan, and uncomplicated wiring.
Take each step at a time and use it as a learning experience, and "make it right" before moving on to the next step. IMHO, this is the way to go, and in the long run will give you much satisfaction - and very likely much more incentive (and knowledge/experience) to built that "new and improved" next layout.
CTValleyRR I have second some of Rich's comments. Another cautionary note -- you mentioned that you had to crawl on your layout to reach certain areas for tracklaying (although, FWIW, 2" of foamboard supported by joists at 18" intervals would have supported your weight). How are you planning to reach these areas to clean track or fix a derailment when you have scenery and structures in place? Since you probably don't want to rip out and start from scratch, you might want to consider investing approximately $250 in a topside creeper (Google it!) to support you without touching your layout when you have a long reach. Most of us with normal body proportions care comfortable reaching 24" (without support) and can stretch to an absolute maximum of 30".
The topside creeper works wonders for any of those tough spots. Saves all that back pain from hours leaning over the layout.
Another option that you should consider is to cut out some sort of access hatch. Not sure what radius used for the rear track rounding the corner, if space available, leave the corner open for access. Removable foam sectio even if this track is to be hidden under hill or ?. If this is not possible, some other form of access should be provided to reach any of that part of the layout. This will make tracklaying, scenery and such much easier. Later, access for major derailments, track cleaning and repairs.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
Big Inner
When I flew R/C aircraft we would often have to mechanically connect wire pushrods end to end. There are nylon connecters that are made for this that cost pennies. You will be able to find them at a good R/C store. We also would use wood dowels to accomplish this. As I am unsure of what the situation is and without seeing it, I can not make a solid recommendation. Post a pic.
As far as soldering goes. Soldering is not meant to be a method of connecting things mechanically. It is for making solid electrical connections. There are lots of good online videos showing how to solder. Check out You-Tube or just Google the topic. You will need to learn eventually for trouble free railroading.
Something else you might consider is cutting a hole through the wood and cutting out enough foam from underneath to make the bench thinner. If you do this glue or caulk a small 1/4 " thick piece of plywood in the gouged out part so you have something to mount the device to.
An access hatch is a good idea. In the photo below I have a hole in the middle to pop out of. It is twice as big as I need it. I made it that big for construction purposes only. When I get done in the area I will put in the foam piece I saved and make the access hole half the size as I (hopefully) will not need to get to the back often. I will then put a liftout on the other half. There are people on here that have come up with some wonderful ways to disguise the hole with a liftout of one thing or another. I am planning on a barn or something on mine.
As far as using plywood and foam, that is a lot of construction for a MRR. We are not building things to hold up refrigerators and waterbeds, just a few ounces or pounds at most of trains. Mine is 2" of foam on 1' x 4' open grid and I get up on it with no fear of it collapsing under me. I do lay down a small piece of plywood to kneel on to avoid putting dents in the foam. Good luck and post photo's. I love Photo's.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Thanks for the tips. The size of my layout(if you've read the other posts)is considerably wide, but I've figured out a way to move the whole layout to get behind it. I used those 5 to 6" furniture slides and it works really well when I have to do scenery, clean track, and fix derails. This might be a hint for other model railroaders who have the same "problem".
The best way is to add an access hole. Moving the layout around will get you sick of it in a hurry. You can also go to your local hobby shop that does RC and pick up some music wire. try to get the same thickness of the wire on the gate. Then you can cut it to the length you need.
Springfield PA
I recently did a successful installation of a pair of these gates. The actuator wire, unfortunately, is stainless steel (as I recall) so you can't easily solder on an extension. When I was installing mine, the actuator wires broke loose inside the gates. I e-mailed NJI, and they got back to me right away. They admitted that the quality control on that assembly was poor. So, instead of sending them back and hoping for a better replacement, I modified the design and put the actuator wire outside, attached to the counterweight.
These pictures also have the styrene base plate I made up and glued to the metal base. This is a wider view with the wire loosly placed where it will hook up to the Cicuitron linkage for Tortoise control.
Mounting the actuator wire on the counterweight has another advantage. Inside the mechanism, the connection is very close to the rotation axis for the gate arm, so a very small movement results in a large movement of the gate. Outside, the lever arm is longer, so the gate moves more slowly. This results in a much more realistic gate motion.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
The OP already had a soldering iron.
Dont know why you cant get an answer, but possibly it could be that they import the thing from wherever and the people here in the US dont actually know (Walthers wont know, they are a distributer).
If you want to know the diameter or thickness of something try one of these:
http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-dial-caliper-66541.html
I think stanley makes a plastic one, but I dont remember what those cost.
Or you could use a wire that is slightly smaller than the hole. Take the crossing signal to your LHS and compare sizes.
Drilling out the hole with a small hand drill shouldnt damage anything (if you use a power drill all bets are off).
pkramer6HOW ABOUT THIS>>> instead of buying a soldering iron, rosin core and hodge podging it togeather, OR buying more special drill bits and tools to use.....
Those tools are used for attaching wires to power your track, soldering rail joiners on curves so they don't bend out of shape (applies to atlas flex track), installing DCC decoders and hooking your feeders up to your layouts wiring bus.
The terminal rail joiners are a rip-off (rail joiners are $4 per 48 or $0.12 each and 22ga copper wire is about $0.09 per foot, so a terminal rail joiner costs about $0.30-0.40 to make). Terminal rail joiners cost $4 for a pair and if you have much more than a oval on a sheet of plywood, its actually cheaper to learn how to solder.... A really cheap soldering iron only costs $10. A Weller (a good iron) will run you somewhere between $25 and $40 online. So for the cost of 2-10 sets of terminal joiners you could have a soldering iron that can be use for lots of other things (I built my own multivolt meter from a kit, using a soldering iron).
Also are these the crossing gates with the internal control wire? If it is then you cant replace it with a longer one.