Now that the modules were ready and the cork in place , i thought it best to install the Kadee 309 electromagnets first up, since at this stage there are no tracks to interfere in the process which i intended to use…..

The Kadee 309 has been updated from it’s old avatar , the 307 . It can now can be easily mounted under the tracks without losing its magnetic field. The new version – the 309 has four plates as opposed to two plates in the older 307 version . This results in a larger electromagnetic field and thus the uncouplers can be placed underneath the track ……

kadee 309 packagedkadee 309 whats in the box

kadee 309 old and newkadee 307 installed

Kadee 307s were mounted above the ties resulting in an unpleasant and un-prototypical look……..

To kick things off , a loco is placed on the cork roughly where it would be expected to come to a stop on the relevant track. A  jig which would center the electromagnet on where it needed  to be is placed behind the loco coupler. The jig has the same engravings as the cork has , ie a centerline and two rail lines 8.675mm from the centerline …making it very easy to align correctly. Pins are inserted to keep it from moving around……

kadee 309 centering jig kadee 309 loco placed kadee 309 centering jig located

I then made another jig whose dimensions were setup to match the hole for the electromagnet. This was then snugged onto the centering jig …….

kadee 309 routing jig kadee 309 routing jig placed

and now i could remove the centering jig ……

kadee 309 centering jig removed

This paves the way for the Festool OF2200 router to make its entry seen here placed on the routing jig………

kadee 309 festool router in place

by adjusting the router cutting height …………….

kadee 309 festool router height

…..i was able to route the hole in about 4 passes ……

kadee 309 routed hole pass 1kadee 309 routed hole pass 2
kadee 309 routed hole pass 3kadee 309 hole routed
kadee 309 hole routed with pcs

I removed the routing template next to reveal the hole in all its glory !!

kadee 309 hole routed without jig

and now all the holes routed away …….

kadee 309 all holes routed

next tool to be used was the dremel drill machine alongwith a router base and bit ……

kadee 309 dremel routerkadee 309 dremel router 2

i needed this to route the egg shaped / dome like ends of the Kadee 309 electromagnet so it could fit flush with the cork …. and for that i made this jig……..

kadee 309 dome jig kadee 309 dome jig in place

here we see the dremel router on the egg shaped router jig……..

kadee 309 dremel router on dome jig

and here we see the egg shapes routed away ….

kadee 309 dome jigs routed away

and the electromagnet put into place……

kadee 309 place in hole

and all Ems placed…….

kadee 309 all in hole

and from below …..

kadee 309 from beneath

secured in place with small screws which was quite fiddly to do ……

kadee 309 being screwed in placekadee 309 screwed in place

next was to put a cover onto the ems so that when ballasting the track the ballast would not fall thru … i used glue dots to use as a means to hold the covers so that they could be removed when needed….

kadee 309 glue dots

the cover in place …….

kadee 309 cover in place

and for all the tracks……..

kadee 309 all covers in place

the test track was placed on them and it was all flush ….

kadee 309 flush test

finally the EMS were applied with test power ….

no power …..

kadee 309 test closed

Eureka !!! …… with power ……. all is well !!! …….Alles Klar !!!

kadee 309 test open

next in the series –installing tortoises

previous in the series….cork underlay

 

 



		
			

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