12V 7860 Signal 'stop' rail creation and repair

[Andromeda]

Ever thought that the price for the 'stop' rails was a little too high?

I did, so I thought to modify a stock straight rail.

As you can see from the picture below, I have made a good approximation in my first attempt.

I used a Mk I rail, but you can see in the picture on the left there is a Mk II rail. Belatedly I found that these come with two plug contact points, so making them easier to convert:-)!

Differences to note: The square plastic piece that sits in between the break in the rail. And the extra plastic directly underneath the plug socket to accommodate the hole.

The rail was cut using a dremel, and the plug contact was formed by making small cuts and then folding with pliers. The hole was drilled with my dremel mounted horizontally on a piece of board in lathe like fashion. A piece of plastic was temporarily MEK'd to the top to minimize burring.

The plastic pieces were measured and cut from a doner piece of track, and then welded in place with MEK mixed with a small amount of plastic shaving from the cutting.

The end result is not bad. Next time I will seek out the Mk II's with plug holes, as these already have the two plug contacts formed!

You could use this technique to replace your original stop rails that have gone rusty. Take care not to mix Mk I and Mk II rails as they are slightly different, the male connecting pin on a Mk II has plastic reinforcement. see pictures above. And make sure you use the plug holed variety, ogeL did make rails without connection points!

[JopieK]

Nice job! Thanks for this nice tutorial!

[Heppeng]

I am impressed! At a glance it is indistinguishable from the real thing. I have also made my own isolating rails, simply by taking a rail out, cutting with a dremel and replacing. It does the job, but yours is much neater!

[Andromeda]

Nice job! Thanks for this nice tutorial!

I am impressed! At a glance it is indistinguishable from the real thing. I have also made my own isolating rails, simply by taking a rail out, cutting with a dremel and replacing. It does the job, but yours is much neater!

Thanks for the positive feedback!

@Heppeng, if the above MkII socket-ed rails were used, you could make a double isolator. MEK (these base of most solvent weld products) is so similar to what ogeL used to weld their components? And it welds really well, esp when used with a little plastic material to fill in any deficits!