What's the point. Part 2.

 Nice and recovered after my marathon I felt ready to finish off the turnout. The onerous task facing me was the spiking of the rails. 

Some people like spiking rail, some don't. I've not decided where I sit in the two camps. I don't particularly enjoy the task. It's something I have to be in the mood to do. But it's pretty much the only way to do what I want to get the effect I'm after. Out came my spikes and spiking tool  and away I went.

All the parts ready to go. The rail is code 148. That's a LOT of rail to cut and file away to make blades and vees. That took quite some time, and all the while I was fettling them. Filing a bit here and there to make the blades fit as I assembled the track.

I started at the vee. I really should have modelled the turnout with a crossing reinforcement plate. As it would supply some support to the vee. It could have been superglues to the plate, along with parts of the wing rails, should I make another. 

The blades, a lot of filing to be done on these to get them to fit. A tie bar system will have to be devised.

Done. For now. It needs a reliable pivot system for the blades and a tie bar. There's no doubt that it looks the part. But all the filing and spiking. It's just something I need to be in the mood for.

A vee skip chassis will navigate the turnout carefully

A last look at the project.

There we are then. I'll probably call this one good and give it a rusty paint job, like I did my original section of track, and put it on a shelf and look at it. Like I say, I don't know if I'll make one for a layout. I find spiking quite tedious and the filing of the rails hard work. Even with a Dremel to help things along. People with a proper workshop would be able to mill the correct profiles for the blades and vee in an instant.

Don't get me wrong, I feel great about the achievement. Perhaps I'll change my mind at some point.