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Offline analogmike  
#1 Posted : 24 April 2019 14:23:11(UTC)
analogmike

United States   
Joined: 02/08/2014(UTC)
Posts: 737
Location: NEW JERSEY, USA
Hello all,
Purely by accident I noticed a gap in the outer rail of one of my curved switches. I was surprized because after all these years only now I saw it.
I believe the factory did this so they would be able to just use rail from a 5200 and a make-up section (not sure of the #).
There is no rail joiner here and some degree of misalignment can be an issue with age and condition of the switch.
I am curious though, Did this gap ever have any other purpose such as an insulated rail for signaling a relay etc?
Thanks,
Mikey

5140 gap 011.JPG

5140 gap 009.JPG
I love the smell of smoke fluid in the morning .
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Offline Crazy Harry  
#2 Posted : 24 April 2019 14:53:49(UTC)
Crazy Harry

Canada   
Joined: 18/11/2008(UTC)
Posts: 476
Location: Oakville, Ontario
Hi Mikey,

My 5142 (5140R) doesn't have that gap - the outer rail is a single piece. I only have this one curved switch in my M track collection. I believe it was bought in the late 60s or early 70s. I does have the tiny lantern box to show switch direction.

This doesn't answer your question, but probably creates more confusion. Maybe there was a change in manufacturing methods of these switches somewhere in Marklin's history?

Cheers,

Harold.
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Offline kiwiAlan  
#3 Posted : 24 April 2019 15:30:06(UTC)
kiwiAlan

United Kingdom   
Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC)
Posts: 8,082
Location: ENGLAND, Didcot
Originally Posted by: analogmike Go to Quoted Post
Hello all,
Purely by accident I noticed a gap in the outer rail of one of my curved switches. I was surprized because after all these years only now I saw it.
I believe the factory did this so they would be able to just use rail from a 5200 and a make-up section (not sure of the #).
There is no rail joiner here and some degree of misalignment can be an issue with age and condition of the switch.
I am curious though, Did this gap ever have any other purpose such as an insulated rail for signaling a relay etc?
Thanks,
Mikey


I wonder if this was a very early production where they did use the rails from the standard parts to see how popular this point was in terms of sales before making custom parts.

I think I would look at fitting a rail joiner to ensure they stayed inline. Th ejoiner may need to be shortened to fit between the sleepers though.

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Offline xxup  
#4 Posted : 24 April 2019 15:34:47(UTC)
xxup

Australia   
Joined: 15/03/2003(UTC)
Posts: 9,457
Location: Australia
I have heaps of these and will check tomorrow.. I have never noticed a gap either.. Blushing
Adrian
UserPostedImage
Australia flag by abFlags.com
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Offline dominator  
#5 Posted : 24 April 2019 22:12:39(UTC)
dominator

New Zealand   
Joined: 20/01/2015(UTC)
Posts: 1,195
Location: Kerikeri
JHI Mikey, I just checked. Both curves on those points are 5100. The join almost coincides with the outer rail on the 5100 track. I think from yours to mine, and using the socket as a guide, the outer rail on the 5100 is just a smidgeon longer, but maybe the socket can be in different places. Who knows, but that's my guess. None of my 5140 sets have that join though.
Dereck
Northland. NZ REMEMBER 0228 for ä
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Offline dominator  
#6 Posted : 25 April 2019 06:46:57(UTC)
dominator

New Zealand   
Joined: 20/01/2015(UTC)
Posts: 1,195
Location: Kerikeri
Maybe workers throughout the world are the same. A practical joke every now and again, and the quality controller saw it and let it go through.

Save it. You know, mistakes can be worth a lot of money in the future.
Dereck
Northland. NZ REMEMBER 0228 for ä
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Offline analogmike  
#7 Posted : 26 April 2019 14:03:36(UTC)
analogmike

United States   
Joined: 02/08/2014(UTC)
Posts: 737
Location: NEW JERSEY, USA
Thanks for all the replies,
last night I went digging and thought for sure that I would find the right hand switch of the pair, but no...All I found out was that I have way too many of these damn things in my collection. This isn't counting the nine more on the layout. It's confirmed: I am an official Marklin hoarder!
Chuff, Chuff, Chuff BigGrin

Maybe I can post it on Ebay for like $9,000,000.00 "Rare! One of a kind! Exclusive! Don't miss out on this highly collectible Marklin artifact! LOL
Mikey

5140 003.JPG
I love the smell of smoke fluid in the morning .
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Offline xxup  
#8 Posted : 26 April 2019 14:32:23(UTC)
xxup

Australia   
Joined: 15/03/2003(UTC)
Posts: 9,457
Location: Australia
Sounds to me like your layout must be too small if you have all those track pieces left over.. LOL
Adrian
UserPostedImage
Australia flag by abFlags.com
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Offline michelvr  
#9 Posted : 26 April 2019 15:11:41(UTC)
michelvr

Canada   
Joined: 06/07/2012(UTC)
Posts: 1,287
Originally Posted by: xxup Go to Quoted Post
Sounds to me like your layout must be too small if you have all those track pieces left over.. LOL



Might be even worse than what we are being led to believe.

Can you imagine being told to “ mind the gap” with that turnout!

The horrors!Flapper
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Offline dominator  
#10 Posted : 26 April 2019 23:37:59(UTC)
dominator

New Zealand   
Joined: 20/01/2015(UTC)
Posts: 1,195
Location: Kerikeri
Maybe I can post it on Ebay for like $9,000,000.00 "Rare! One of a kind! Exclusive! Don't miss out on this highly collectible Marklin artifact! LOL
Mikey


Attaboy. Goforit

D
Northland. NZ REMEMBER 0228 for ä
Offline Michael4  
#11 Posted : 27 April 2019 09:15:07(UTC)
Michael4

United Kingdom   
Joined: 02/02/2017(UTC)
Posts: 637
Location: England, South Coast
Hello, can you tell me postage cost to Outer Mongolia?
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