August 17, 2024
Anderson and Girvan are both operational now, but the fascia needs installation. Reading is the last town that needs Tortoises and wiring. I think that will have to wait because I have the area filled with buildings. Rather than place them around the layout, I’ve decided to paint and ballast all track except Redding. Things go faster if I do as much as I can at once. I have not installed any staging track yet.
Here are a few hints that I do when installing Tortoises:
- Original throw rods are replaced with K&S .039 wire. Purchased in 3′ lengths and inexpensive compared to buying from Fast Tracks. I do a couple of dozen at once. Since my Tortoises are from previous layout, no drilling of rod hole was required.
- Hold the rod with an alligator clip before trying to insert in Tortoise hole.
- A mechanic’s chair from Harbor Freight makes working under the layout easier. Tools are kept on ladder for easy reach.
- Finger light purchased on Amazon makes getting rod into hole easier if there are shadows.
- Strip all wires on the Tortoise before installing. I did this to a few dozen while watching TV.
- A good wire stripper is almost mandatory. Again Amazon.
- 1.5 mm solder works well for soldering to 12-gauge buss. 1 mm for feeders.
- When soldering to buss, put iron directly on 12-gauge wire and flow solder then touch to feeders. This is much quicker than placing iron on top of feeders initially. Sorry for the blurry photo.