Flex Link Installation

John Socha-Leialoha
October 2007

I recently installed a Blue Point on Mark Bridgwater's Feather River Route N Scale layout. At first glance it seemed simple enough. There was a Peco turnout that would be hidden by a building and I need to use a Flex Link to bring the knob to the fascia. But I soon found out it was as simple as I expected for several reasons:

The turnout was firmly glued down and there was no hole for the link wire.
There was hidden staging track directly under the turnout, making it very difficult to install screws
There was a lot of bench work behind the fascia where he wanted to knob installed
There was a helix close to the fascia where the knob needed to be installed, making it difficult to screw a block of wood behind the fascia

In other words, I was faced with close to the worst possible installation where installation of the turnout controller was never considered when the turnout was installed. Bet you've never done that.

Installing the Blue Point and Bracket

	The turnout is in a corner that is hard to get to. There is another deck above this turnout and hidden staging directly under the turnout. Additionally, the turnout was already glued firmly in place along with all the track work on either side. Fortunately, there was just enough room to drill a 1/4" hole right next to the throw bar.
	Next I prepared the bracket used to hold the outer tube in place at the Blue Point end. At the top left you can see a black clamp that is held in place by a 6-32 screw and Nyloc nut. We supply a Nyloc so it won't come lose over time.
	Decide how you want to mount the Blue Point, then clip one of the supplied clevises to the throw bar of the Blue Point, as shown here. The clevis is the brass clip sticking out of the right side of the Blue Point's throw bar. You can attach it to either side.
	I find it easiest to install a turnout when the wire is straight up. I position the points half way between the open and closed position and hold the points in place with masking tape. Then I add the wire to the Blue Point and use another piece of masking tape to hold the lever in the middle, upright position. Finally, I place double-side tape to the Blue Point and bracket so I can push them in place and check to see if the wire is straight up and down. This is a little tricky, but the double-side tape is a big help.
	Did I mention this was tricky? I couldn't get a screw driver in to add the two screws in the back with the Blue Point in place. So once I had everything lined up (again, double-side tape really helps here), I carefully removed the Blue Point, leaving the bracket in place. Next I added two #4 wood screws to the bracket where I couldn't reach with a screwdriver with the Blue Point in place. I added two screws and made them just tight enough so I could slip the Blue Point back in place. Finally, I added a screw to the front, as you can see here. Note: Make sure the screw holding the black bracket is on the same side as the slider on the Blue Point.
	Because of the hidden staging under the turnout, and the turnout was firmly glued in place, I couldn't drill a hole directly under the throw bar. Instead, I had to drill a hole next to the turnout, then bend the wire into a J shape to slip into the throw bar's hole from above, as you can see here. I also needed to remove the spring from the Peco turnout. These turnouts have an integral spring that holds the snaps the points firmly from one side to the other and holds them in place. However, this spring needs to be removed when you use a turnout controller instead of manual throw. Unfortunately, the spring wasn't accessible--you need to remove it from below, but the turnout was firmly glued in place. I studied another turnout that hadn't been installed and figured out how to use a hobby knife to remove some plastic, and then pry out the spring from above. But again, this was tricky because I couldn't get my head in to have a close look (because of the upper level and backdrop). Did I mention this wasn't an easy install?

Preparing the Fascia

	I used a 3-inch hole saw to cut a hole in the fascia. You can see the hidden staging on the right. There is only about 6 inches of room between this staging yard and the bottom of the plywood where I mounted the Blue Point and bracket in the previous section. You can also see some of the benchwork behind the hole that got in my way.
	I cut a piece of 3/4" plywood about 4 inches square. Next I drilled a 11/64 whole in the very center of this block. I then took a small block of wood about 1" long and mounted it to the plywood with a #6 wood screw and wood glue (the screw on the right). Finally, I used the included #6 flat-head wood screw to attach the second black bracket to this block so the tube will be centered directly over the 11/64" hole in the plywood.
	Screw one of the one inch 2-56 threaded rods into the end of the inner tube of the Flex Link. Then screw the other end into the clevis on the Blue Point. Once you've done this, you can slide the outer tube over the inner tube and through the black bracket. Finally, use the small screw included to tighten the black clamp around the other tube so it's held firmly in place. Finally, push the throw bar of the Blue Point away from the black clamp, as shown here, so the inner tube extends away from the clamp. You're now done with installation at the Blue Point end.
	Cut the Flex Link at the other end to the correct length. This is fairly easy to do using a sharp hobby knife. Screw the block to the back side of the fascia with the 11/64" hole centered inside the hole you cut using a hole saw. Slide the Flex Link through the clamp but don't tighten the small included screw just yet. On the front side, slide the long 2-56 flat-head screw through the small hole in the clear knob. Then slide the included piece of 5/32 plastic tube over the screw and slide this tube through the 11/64 hole in the block of wood. Using a small screw driver, screw the 2-56 screw into the inner tube of the flex link until the screw is tight. Finally, adjust the Flex Link tube until the knob almost touches the front of the block, then tighten the screw on the black clamp to hold the Flex Link tube firmly in place.
	The clear knob is now installed. You should now be able to use the knob to throw the turnout. When you're happy with the operation, you can remove the knob, by unscrewing the 2-56 screw and then repaint the fascia, hole, and block the same color. You could also spray-paint the knob if you want it to be a specific color. Or mount an LED behind the knob, which can be connected to one set of contacts on the Blue Point to show turnout position.
	Here is an overall view of the entire installation. The turnout is near the top of this picture, just to the right of the building I've been building for Mark. By the way, the black switches show some turnout controls that Joe Warner installed. He drilled holes through the toggle switches and run spring wire through tubing place in channels cut into the Homasote. These work well for the most part, and provides some of the inspiration for creating the Blue Point turnout controllers. However, only Joe was able to install them and get them working--other people tried, but in the end Joe had to make them work. Additionally, the plastic toggle switches tend to fail for some reason, so they're hard to adjust and not very reliable. The Blue Point is much more reliable and easier to install.