This will be the home page for the Off The Rails range of (mostly) 7mm scale model railway products.

Click Here to go to our online shop where the full range of our products may be viewed and purchased.

In the meantime here is some "work in progress" which may be of interest.

Switches
Check Rails
Acute Crossings
Obtuse Crossings
Slip Roads

Instructions
Gallery

The Prototype

All of the prototype information below was extracted from LNER Standard Railway Equipment - Permanent Way, 1926 available from the North Eastern Railway Association.

Switches

Switch	Straight Planing Length	Switch Rail Length	Switch Radius	Stock Rail Length	S1 Chairs	P Chairs	Cast Iron Distance Blocks	Switch Chairs	L1 Chairs
A	5' 6"	20' 0"	482' 7.3 chains	27' 6"	4	10	4 (A1L, A1R, A2L, A2R)	8	4
B	7' 4"	22' 6"	613' 9.3 chains	30' 0"	4	12	4 (B1L, B1R, B2L, B2R)	8	4
C	9' 2"	28' 6"	960' 14.5 chains	36' 0"	4	14	4 (C1L, C1R, C2L, C2R)	10	4
D	11' 0"	28' 6"	1379' 20.9 chains	36' 0"	4	16	4 (D1L, D1R, D2L, D2R)	12	4
E	14' 8"	28' 6"	2445' 37.0 chains	36' 0"	4	18	4 (E1L, E1R, E2L, E2R)	18	4

In the switch tables below the cells coloured yellow show where the soleplates are fitted; the cells coloured grey show where the switch anchors are located; the vertical black lines indicate the positions of the rail joins; the dimensions show the distances between the centres of adjacent chairs.

A Switch

P
A1L

P
A2L

1PLA

2PLA

3PLA

4PLA

A1R
P

A2R
P

1PRA

2PRA

3PRA

4PRA

1'0"

2'4"

2'4½"

2'3½"

2'4"

2'2"

B Switch

P
B1L

P
B2L

1PLB

2PLB

3PLB

4PLB

B1R
P

B2R
P

1PRB

2PRB

3PRB

4PRB

1'0"

2'4"

2'4½"

2'4"

2'4½"

2'2"

C Switch

P
C1L

P
C2L

1PLC

2PLC

3PLC

4PLC

5PLC

C1R
P

C2R
P

1PRC

2PRC

3PRC

4PRC

5PRC

1'0"

2'4"

2'4½"

2'6"

2'2"

D Switch

P
D1L

P
D2L

1PLD

2PLD

3PLD

4PLD

5PLD

6PLD

D1R
P

D2R
P

1PRD

2PRD

3PRD

4PRD

5PRD

6PRD

1'0"

2'4"

2'4½"

2'6"

2'2"

2'0"

2'6"

E Switch

P
E1L

P
E2L

1PLE

2PLE

3PLE

4PLE

5PLE

6PLE

7PLE

8PLE

9PLE

E1R
P

E2R
P

1PRE

2PRE

3PRE

4PRE

5PRE

6PRE

7PRE

8PRE

9PRE

1'0"

2'4"

2'4½"

2'6"

2'2"

2'0"

2'6"

Check Rails

Typical LNER check rail dimensions are shown in the illustration below.

Typical LNER Check Rail Dimensions

Acute Crossings

Acute Crossing	Chairs – usually at 2'6" intervals												Knuckle Radius	Crossing Angle	Check Rail	Wing Rail	Point Rail	Splice Rail
1 in 1½					1½A								1'0"	36°52'11"	10'6"	12'2⅜"	9'1"	8'7½"
1 in 1¾					1¾A								1'3"	31°53'26"	11'6"	13'2"	9'1"	8'7½"
1 in 2					2A								1'6"	28° 4'20"	10'6"	14'3½"	9'1"	8'7½"
1 in 2½					2½A	2½B							2'0"	22°37'12"	12'6"	16'2½"	9'1"	8'7½"
1 in 3				3X	3A	3B							2'11"	18°55'29"	13'0"	18'5½"	9'1"	8'5¼"
1 in 3½				3½X	3½A	3½B							4'1"	16°15'36"	12'6"	9'6"	9'1"	8'5¼"
1 in 4				4X	4A	4B							5'4"	14°15' 0"	13'0"	12'3"	13'3"	13'9"
1 in 4½				4½X	4½A	4½B	4½C						6'0"	12°40'49"	13'0"	12'3"	11'8"	12'?"
1 in 5				5X	5A	5B	5C						6'8"	11°25'16"	13'0"	12'3"	12'2"	12'10"
1 in 5½				5½X	5½A	5½B	5½C						7'4"	10°23'20"	13'0"	12'3"	13'3"	11'8"
1 in 6				6X	6A	6B	6C						8'0"	9°31'38"	13'0"	12'3"	11'8"	12'2"
1 in 6½			6½Y	6½X	6½A	6½B	6½C						8'8"	8°47'51"	13'0"	12'3"	12'10"	13'3"
1 in 7			7Y	7X	7A	7B	7C	7D					9'4"	8°10'16"	13'0"	12'3"	13'3"	13'9"
1 in 7½			7½Y	7½X	7½A	7½B	7½C	7½D					10'0"	7°37'41"	13'0"	12'3"	16'7"	17'0"
1 in 8			8Y	8X	8A	8B	8C	8D					10'8"	7° 9'10"	13'0"	12'3"	15'1½"	15'1½"
1 in 9			9Y	9X	9A	9B	9C	9D	9E				12'0"	6°21'34"	13'0"	12'3"	16'7"	17'0"
1 in 10			10Y	10X	10A	10B	10C	10D	10E				13'4"	5°43'30"	13'0"	12'3"	13'9"	13'9"
1 in 11		11Z	11Y	11X	11A	11B	11C	11D	11E				14'8"	5°12'18"	15'6"	14'9"	14'9"	15'1½"
1 in 12		12Z	12Y	12X	12A	12B	12C	12D	12E	12F			16'0"	4°46'19"	15'6"	14'9"	16'7"	17'0"
1 in 14		14Z	14Y	14X	14A	14B	14C	14D	14E	14F	14G		18'8"	4° 5'27"	15'6"	14'9"	16'7"	15'5"
1 in 16	16Z1	16Z	16Y	16X	16A	16B	16C	16D	16E	16F	16G	16H	21'4"	3°34'47"	18'0"	17'3"	16'7"	15'1½"
Acute Crossing	Chairs – usually at 2'6" intervals												Knuckle Radius	Crossing Angle	Check Rail	Wing Rail	Point Rail	Splice Rail

Obtuse Crossings

Obtuse Crossing	Chairs							Knuckle Radius	Check Rail	Point Rail	Wing Rail
1 in 1½			D1½AL		D1½AR			1'0"	9'4"	12'2⅜"	14'5"
1 in 1¾			D1¾AL		D1¾AR			1'3"	9'10"	13'2"	15'0"
1 in 2			D2AL		D2AR			1'6"	14'5"	14'3½"	14'5"
1 in 2½			D2½AL		D2½AR			2'0"	14'5"	16'2½"	14'5"
1 in 3			D3AL		D3AR			2'11"	14'5"	18'5½"	13'6"
1 in 3½			D3½AL		D3½AR			4'1"	15'5"	11'1⅝"	14'5"
1 in 4		D4BL	D4AL		D4AR	D4BR		5'4"	15'5"	10'7½"	14'5"
1 in 4½		D4½BL	D4½AL		D4½AR	D4½BR		6'0"	15'5"	12'10½"	14'5"
1 in 5		D5BL	D5AL		D5AR	D5BR		6'8"	15'5"	15'1½"	14'5"
1 in 5½		D5½BL	D5½AL	D5½N	D5½AR	D5½BR		7'4"	15'5"	17'4½"	14'5"
1 in 6		D6BL	D6AL	D6N	D6AR	D6BR		8'0"	15'5"	18'7¾"	14'5"
1 in 6½		D6½BL	D6½AL	D6½N	D6½AR	D6½BR		8'8"	16'5"	11'1½"	15'5"
1 in 7		D7BL	D7AL	D7N	D7AR	D7BR		9'4"	16'5"	13'6"	15'5"
1 in 7½	D7½CL	D7½BL	D7½AL	D7½N	D7½AR	D7½BR	D7½CR	10'0"	16'5"	13'4¾"	15'5"
1 in 8	D8CL	D8BL	D8AL	D8N	D8AR	D8BR	D8CR	—	16'5"	13'3¼"	15'5"
Obtuse Crossing	Chairs							Knuckle Radius	Check Rail	Point Rail	Wing Rail

Slip Roads

	Switch Type	Check Rails	Slip Road Radius
1 in 7 Single Slip	B	11'8"	484' 7.3 chains
1 in 7 Double Slip	B	11'8"	484' 7.3 chains
1 in 7½ Single Slip	B	11'8"	571' 8.6 chains
1 in 7½ Double Slip	B	11'8"	571' 8.6 chains
1 in 8 Single Slip	B	15'5"	700' 10.6 chains
1 in 8 Double Slip	B	15'5"	700' 10.6 chains

In the tables below only one half of the slip is shown; the other half is mirrored left to right at the central SN timber with those Left and Right chairs being mirrored top to bottom. The cells coloured yellow show where the soleplates are fitted; the vertical black lines show the location of the rail joins; the dimensions show the distances between the ends of adjacent timbers (note that some are skewed hence the seperate dimensions for each end of the timber).

1 in 7 Single Slip

CCL

S1J

7SBR

7SAR

7SN

P
B1L

P
B2L

1PLB

7S2PL

7L1SR

S1J

D7BL

D7AL

D7N

CCR

B1R
P

B2R
P

1PRB

7S2PR

7L1SL

1'3"

2'5¾"
2'3¼"

2'1½"
2'4"

2'4"

2'3½"

2'3"

2'4"

2'3"

2'2"

1'11¾"

2'1"

2'4²³⁄₃₂"

1'9¹⁷⁄₃₂"

1 in 7 Double Slip

CCL

P
B1L

P
B2L

1PLB

7S2PL

7L1SR

7SBR

7SAR

7SN

7DPA

7DPB

P
B1L

P
B2L

1PLB

7S2PL

7L1SR

B1R
P

B2R
P

1PRB

7S2PR

7L1SL

7SBL

7SAL

7SN

CCR

B1R
P

B2R
P

1PRB

7S2PR

7L1SL

1'3"

2'3¼"

2'4"

2'3½"

2'3"

2'4"

2'3"

2'2"

1'11¾"

2'1"

2'4²³⁄₃₂"

1'9¹⁷⁄₃₂"

1 in 7½ Single Slip

S1J

7½SBR

7½SAR

7½SN

P
B1L

P
B2L

7½S1PL

7½S2PL

7½L1SR

D7½BL

D7½AL

D7½N

S1J

B1R
P

B2R
P

7½S1PR

7½S2PR

7½L1SL

1'0½"

2'0¹⁄₈"
1'9⁵⁄₈"

2'2½"
2'5"

2'5"

2'5¹¹⁄₁₆"

2'4"

2'2"

1'11¾"

2'1"

2'3¹⁵⁄₃₂"

1'10²⁵⁄₃₂"

1 in 7½ Double Slip

S1J

P
B1L

P
B2L

7½S1PL

7½S2PL

7½L1SR

7½SBR

7½SAR

7½SN

7½DPA

P
B1L

P
B2L

7½S1PL

7½S2PL

7½L1SR

B1R
P

B2R
P

7½S1PR

7½S2PR

7½L1SL

7½SBL

7½SAL

7½SN

S1J

B1R
P

B2R
P

7½S1PR

7½S2PR

7½L1SL

1'0½"

1'9⁵⁄₈"

2'5"

2'5¹¹⁄₁₆"

2'4"

2'2"

1'11¾"

2'1"

2'3¹⁵⁄₃₂"

1'10²⁵⁄₃₂"

1 in 8 Single Slip

CCL

8SCR

8SBR

8SAR

8SN

P
B1L

P
B2L

1PLC

8S2PL

6PLE

8SSCL

D8BL

D8AL

D8N

CCR

B1R
P

B2R
P

1PRC

8S2PR

6PRE

1'1"

2'7½"
2'5"

2'1"
2'3½"

2'4"

2'3"

2'4"

2'2"

2'2⁹⁄₁₆"

2'2"

2'2⁷⁄₃₂"

2'0¹⁄₃₂"

1 in 8 Double Slip

CCL

P
B1L

P
B2L

1PLC

8S2PL

6PLE

8SCR

8SBR

8SAR

8SN

8DPA

8DPB

P
B1L

P
B2L

1PLC

8S2PL

6PLE

B1R
P

B2R
P

1PRC

8S2PR

6PRE

8SCL

8SBL

8SAL

8SN

CCR

B1R
P

B2R
P

1PRC

8S2PR

6PRE

1'1"

2'5"

2'3½"

2'4"

2'3"

2'4"

2'2"

2'2⁹⁄₁₆"

2'0"

2'2⁷⁄₃₂"

2'0¹⁄₃₂"

Off The Rails Products

Instructions

Buffer Stops

Still being written

Chairs

You MUST clean the waxy manufacturing coating off before painting or glueing. If you've an ultra-sonic cleaner then give it at least two cleaning cycles, using fresh water each time. Otherwise hand-hot water with a very small amount of lanolin-free detergent (often found in a box next to the washing machine!) and a brush. Then rinse with plain water and brush again. Keep changing the rinse water (and cleaning the brush) until all traces of the wax have disappeared.

Check Rail Chairs — CC, CCL and CCR

Measure the sprue across here Inspect your check-rail chairs for possible dimensional errors before you go too far. I have had a couple of prints which have been up to 20% oversize in one direction. The culprits are the smaller prints with the layers running as shown in the image left (the layers won't be this easy to spot!). Measure the sprue around the reference number as indicated by the blue arrows in the image right, which should be the same dimension as the flangeway (1.75mm in this example). If you have any problems then please contact Shapeways Customer Service.

The running rail is correctly inclined at 1:20 but the check-rail, like the prototype, is verTical and this is indicated by a “T” underneath. You may wish to further highlight the check-rail jaws (especially the end ones) with a felt-tipped pen before removing from the sprue with a sharp knife.

Thread the chairs onto the previously prepared check-rail (see Check Rails for details) and then slide the running rail through the other jaws. Check the height of the rail against adjacent chairs and adjust if necessary by rubbing the base of the chairs on some fine abrasive paper.

Use check-rail-gauges to position the check-rail the correct distance from the crossing nose or opposite running rail and then glue the check-rail-chairs to the timbers. Use either a cyano-acrylate "superglue" or, for less instant bonding, something like Uhu; Bostick; epoxy resin or an impact adhesive in non-impact mode may be suitable.

Gallery

Still being photographed