Questions, Answers & Tips -
orders, or track warrants, required much more vigilance than
the modern CTC/TCS operations. They also had quite a bit
more character, in a way. I miss them as a railfan, but not as
a professional railroader. Modern signaled operation is much
safer and more efficient.”
– MRH
TIPS
A jig for preparing feeder wires
Whether you use IDCs (suitcase connectors), crimps, or solder
to make connections to your bus wires, you still need to tin and
solder feeders to your track.
Build a simple jig (5) from scrap wood to hold a group of feeder
wires to be tinned. It takes about 5 minutes to build the jig and
you’ll save lots of time preparing your feeders because you
won’t have to pick up the iron for each wire. Just like switching,
“fewer movements” means “done faster.”
Use a small block of plywood for the base and a thin sheet of
plywood or Masonite for the actual jig. Drill holes the size of your
feeder wire about 3/8” apart, to hold the wires while you tin them.
Strip the ends of your wires and load them into the jig. Use
some weights to hold the wires in place while you solder them.
Now you can tin 10 or more wires in one move.
– Bill Brillinger
MRH-Feb 2013
