to secure them in one position. Unfortunately, most of my
turnouts were already installed, wired and scenicked before I
started adding locks to them. Had I decided to incorporate locks
earlier in the construction of my layout, I would have saved
myself a lot of torment.
In the end, I developed a system using inexpensive and readily
available hardware items to retrofit lock-type devices to my lay-
out. It may seem like an overly complex and convoluted setup
that would make Rube Goldberg proud, but the final product is
effective, easily manufactured, and inexpensive to implement.
I found that the best way to hold the points in place was to use
stiff piano wire. The wire extends through the roadbed and
into the turnout’s throwbar. I drilled a hole in the throwbar
9
9: Holes were drilled in the throwbar with a #67 bit.
Any larger, and the wire wouldn’t fit snugly in the
hole, allowing it to move even when locked.
