Securing the Rest
With my layout’s turnouts under lock and key, I turned to other
equipment that would normally be secured on a railroad. Two
of my customers had their spurs protected by fences and gates.
I had already built the gates to be opened and closed by hand.
It was a simple matter to add the same wire and shim combo
to these gates. The wire sticks up enough to act as a stop for
the gate, preventing it from opening. When unlocked, the wire
lowers, allowing the gate to swing over the top of the wire. The
wire is stiff enough to stop the gate, but small enough to be
unobtrusive in the scene.
The same idea was used for a derail on one of my industrial
spurs. I modified a Sequoia Scale Models cast metal derail to
15
15: The completed shim and wire combination is
ready to install under the layout’s sub-roadbed.
