Crocodiles

Following a Belgian example

After placing the signals on my layout, I missed something else: crocodiles next to them. In real life, they are used to transmit the semaphore information to the train engineer. As they didn't seem to complicated to construct in miniature, I decided to give it a go:

After gathering the information, I made a scale drawing, using my code 83 rails as a template. To reduce the damage risk while cleaning rails, I decided to construct them a bit lower than in reality, so they wouldn't by higher then the rails.

The most difficult part of the crocodiles is the 'waggling strips' in the center part. After some trying, I used two gears, firmly mounted round a steel rod. Between these gears, a 1,5 mm wide strip of sheet brass is rolled to shape. From these wobble-shaped strips, I cut three pieces and drilled through them using a 0.5 mm drill. Some small pieces of brass wire are then put through these holes.
From a 1x2,5 mm brass U-shaped profile, a 20mm long piece is cut and bent to shape. Another 3 mm wide strip of sheet is folded to a 8mm V-shape. These parts are soldered together. This isn't easy to do, but once done, the hard part of construction is over.

Using soldering paste, the 'waggling strips' are soldered to their connecting rods. These rods are clipped short. From the V-shape, foot supports are bent and some mounting holes are drilled through them. On the edges, a 1,5mm wide U-shaped piece of sheet brass is soldered in place and bent, mounting holes are drilled. Finally, the supports are cut to shape.

After a thorough cleaning, the crocodile is painted and glued to the layout. With little effort and barely any expenses, my layout looks a bit more 'real'.