PlugIn Signals – by Paul Mack Photos by the author
Figure 1: Signal is removed from its base showing the original mounting tube and wires going under the module.
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W
hile getting ready for a recent Free-mo event I realized I hadn’t fixed some things that got broken at the last event, namely one of the signals on my module called Grommit. I didn’t have time to fix it before the meet but had time to think about how to fix it. Grommit is a single to double Page 66 • Issue 11 • January 2011 • PlugIn Signals, page 1
shops. It is similar to medium density fiberboard (MDF) but without the fibrous texture. It sands and takes paint very well without sealing. I cut blocks 0.4 inches square on the table saw and hand sand them. I cut the blocks into one inch lengths, paint them Floquil Concrete and glue them into holes in the polyurethane foam I use for a scenery base. ORS signals use a 3/32 brass tube for a mast. Previously when I installed the signal I drilled a hole for the mast and the wires came down the mast and were hardwired under the module. This time I made a jig to replace the signal base’s cast on bolt detail with .022” brass wire. The jig is
a small piece of .080” styrene with marks indicating the top, bottom and front. It has a 3/32” hole in it that fits over the ORS signal mast. The jig has .0225” holes where the bolts are. I put the base on the jig and drill from the side marked bottom, paying attention to which side is the front. I’ve modified my bases with a few extra pieces of styrene to look more like the signals the Northern Pacific used. If you use the stock bases, you can skip that part as they are non-directional. Next I put the jig on the RenShape signal block and drill the holes from the side marked top, again paying attention to which way the signal faces. I drilled these holes out to 1/16”. Continued on page 68 ...
track transition module, which basically means it has a turnout on it. I use Oregon Rail Supply signals to indicate the turnout position. The main problem is they are somewhat fragile and get in the way when carrying the module to and from the car, in and out of the venue and when installing the fitter rails between the modules. Being the smart guy that I am, I realized if they weren’t there when carting the module around they wouldn’t get broken, so I came up with a way of making them removable. I mount the signals on small blocks of RenShape, a high density polyurethane material often found in model
Figure 2: The signal mast has another Oregon Rail Supply base mounted to it for drilling where the molded on bolts are. The extra base was also used to make the jig in the next photo.
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