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Reply to "The 300 LOFT ELECTRIC RAILROAD: It still runs..."

@Pantenary

Nate:

Thanks for the link to your plans. Yours is a most impressive post. Your detail and photos are most helpful. The post must have taken you a huge amount of time.

I have several questions for you.

  • Are your solder joint done with high temperature silver solder or regular tin/lead soft solder?
  • The brass rods from Lowes, are they brazing rods?
  • Did you anneal the rods to facilitate the intricate bends required?

Bravo on a great piece of work and thank you for your generosity in sharing your technique in such great and informative detail.

Hi Randy:

Thank you for your comments.  I have done a terrible job at posting updates over the last few years; too much happening outside the railroad.  I've made several changes since I last posted on it.  The original post did take some time, but it was worth it to me in order to share the system.  I find it very satisfying to share with others, albeit online.  Sadly, not a single person in my vicinity is into model railroading, or appreciates the work behind something like this as the forum members do.

So, as far as your questions go:

1.  Regular Kesters '44' and a 100w Weller.  I've only had one joint fail (which was noted in the original post) and that was not primarily attributed to the solder joint, but bad mechanical design that I ended up modifying.

2.  Nope, just the regular brass rod found with all the threaded rod and metal shapes.  Nothing special about it.

3.  No annealing, just carefully applied elbow grease and the jigs that I outlined in the post.  No special processes.

See,. that was one of the project parameters for myself:  easy to acquire materials, and no 'special' processes to do things.  Generally speaking, the system is faithful to KISS methods.  While I greatly enjoy this niche if the hobby, it can be tedious and harder to maintain then a conventional 3R system.  I didn't want any odd materials or methods to make it more difficult than it was.

NOTE, I'll try to get some new pictures and videos up soon.  It's been too long.  The system has undergone some good updates and additions, but also has gone long stretches (months even) with no activity or runs.  Such is life, I suppose.

Last edited by Pantenary

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