I had a couple of friends over to run trains over the last couple of weeks, and it made me realize that the whole operation needs to slow down even more. The chains that will retain the keepers and locks on the turnout controls have been dangling long enough. It’s time to get the locks.
While it might be feasible to find some inexpensive luggage locks that would work, I decided that I want my locks to look and more importantly to behave similarly to railroad locks. On railroad locks, the key goes in the front, not the bottom of the lock, and there is a little weather door to keep rain and snow out of the mechanism. The turnout control itself already requires a whole hand to throw a switch, and the weather door and key should require two! It’s about as far from pushing a button as you can get.
I’ll confess, I didn’t waste much time looking for tiny locks with keyholes on the front, covered by even tinier doors. I’m fairly certain I would lose the key if I ever did find such locks, and that would put a quick stop to operations. So, I decided to simply make my own locks – something that was inconceivable before I got a 3D printer.
There are loads of photos of railroad locks online from which I could draw inspiration. I even found a couple that show how they work, which helped significantly with the design. I’m going to try a magnetic latch rather than a proper mechanical one, as I believe it will make it easier to form the hoop, and should obviate the need for any sort of spring.
Real railroad locks have chunky square hoops. Unfortunately, I didn’t design the turnout controls with sufficient chunkiness in mind. So, the hoops are necessarily lighter. However, the design evokes the feeling of a railroad lock, and that is sufficient for now.
Pembroke:87 