Questions, Answers&Tips -
It's actuatedusingaknobon the fascia. It just requires awood
dowel longenough to reach fromyour fascia to the track, a
woodenknob tofit on theend (soldat craft stores suchas
Hobby Lobby), anda lengthof pianowire. Thewire is attached
to thedowel bypassing throughahole in the far end (away
from theaisle) and thenwrappingaround it. Joeangled the
pianowireaway from the fasciaas it rises from thedowel
through the roadbed so thatwhenyoupushon theactua-
tor knob, you're raising thewire, setting thebrake. Thatway,
if someoneaccidentallybumps theknob, there'sno fear of it
releasinganappliedbrake. A short lengthof pianowirepasses
through thedowel just inside the fascia toact as a stopper to
keep thedowel frompullingoutmore thanabout 1/4"or so
when thebrake is released.
Seemoreabout JoeAtkinson’smodelingof the Iowa
Interstate'sWest End inMay2005:
GeorgeBooth’s solution (4) is very simple: “I useanolderaser
cut tofit tightlybetween the rails. Wedge it inwhenand
where it'sneeded. Nomuss, no fuss, no installation issues. I
had someolddraftingerasers leftover frommyengineering
days, and theywork just fine.”
OnGeorge’sprevious layout, heuseda top-mounted system
similar to JoeAtkinson’s. “I hadapair of interchange trackson
a steepgrade. I neededaway tokeep carson the tracks from
rollingonto themainline.My solutionhad thebonusof being
automatically releasableandeven looked like something that
maybeprototypical,”George said. “Thebrakewas constructed
of brass rodand tubingandwas installed ina recessunder the
MRH-Apr2014
