Saturday, October 16, 2010

Getting My Point

Am_Fet scribes:

My phone seemed to spend most of Saturday informing me that people were trying to get in touch via txt message. Hoping beyond hope that it was Courtenay Cox admitting she'd made a dreadful mistake picking up with that David bloke and she'd love to have me back (complete with suggestive photos), I was devastated to find it was just a bunch of drunken workmates reminding me that they were out "gooning" (The Royal and Noble Art of Chasing Trains) and I wasnt....luckily without the same kind of photos.

One txt was worth replying to, however...Cabbage had finished with his preliminary investigations into his "FastTracks" purchases and was ready to pass them on (Well, okay...I may have been badgering him for weeks on this...)

So this is what I grabbed from his place Saturday evening in return for a box of S scale stuff that I will never need/use/finish:



The parts are for an N gauge #7 point (enough bits to make 5) and for those who have spent the last 5 years under a rock/listening to Radio New Zealand, a quick rundown on the items supplied by FastTracks. Top left is the filing jig to create the correct angles on both the frog and point blades with the complete assembly/soldering jig below. The bag is full of PCB sleepers (to be cut to length) and to the right is a stack of laser cut wooden sleepers that get glued to the structurally completed point towards the end of the construction sequence.

I've just spent the last 45 minutes watching the construction videos here and very well done they are too....almost makes it look easy. But what in the name of Mary MacKillop is "Soddering"?? Coming from Lower Hutt with the unpleasantness in the hobby in the recent past you can understand my unease...

So the next step? Trying to smuggle all of this into work so a lunch hour can be devoted to "giving it a crack". The bits shown in the photo should prove easy, but its the metre lengths of code 55 rail I'm worried about. I might have to hide them inside a high powered rifle, or maybe with a Samurai Sword so they arent as conspicuous and embarrassing.....



Oh, and Courtenay? That boat has well and truly sailed, luv...

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