Trackside Railway Phones
AX052-OO Lineside Phones
Trackside / Signal Telephones are an essential trackside detail for any modern image OO scale model railway layout. Seen all over the UK rail network from level crossings, on signals, wall mounted & on posts. It’s one of those details that is often missed as they blend into the real scene & also often missed off many layouts of the period. The AX052-OO Trackside phones can be found here:
https://www.scalemodelscenery.co.uk/ax052-oo-trackside–signal-telephones—oo–4mm–176-6885-p.asp
The pack is available with a choice of four & eight lineside phones, the one we are using in this article is the pack of eight option. These resin 3D printed phones are in grey so no need for painting & can be used straight from the packet. Include in each pack are:
- Pack of 4 contains 2 x wall & 2 x post mounted telephones (1mm grey rod included)
- Pack of 8 contains 4 x wall & 4 x post mounted telephones (1mm grey rod included)
The wall mounted ones have a flat rear face whilst the ones for mounting on a post have 4 small feet on the rear, the feet fit either side of the 1mm rod post. The S008 Road Signs Posts Pack is also compatible with the AX052-OO telephones kit. The S008 can be found here:
Let’s Get Started…
You’ll need the following tools…
- Cutting mat
- Sharp craft knife
- Plastic Glue
- Tweezers
In the eight pack divide the phone boxes up into two piles, ones with rear feet & ones without.
Using a sharp craft knife or pair of cutters, cut the 1mm rod into suitable lengths. Aim to have the rods long enough so that the phones will be somewhere around the waist or lower chest height of a model figure when mounted on the layout.
Carefully glue the posts onto the back of the phones with the feet. Make sure that the phones will sit square & true on top of the posts. Leave to one side for the glue to set.
Move on to the wall mounted phones. Apply a small amount of glue to the rear flat face of the phone box.
Then place the phone onto a flat surface & hold the phone long enough for the glue set. Here, one phone has been mounted onto the bridge pillar wall.
For the post mounted ones, drill a hole (use a drill bit slightly bigger than 1mm). Here we are using a handheld twist type drill.
Apply a small amount of glue to the end of the post. Here we are using Loctite 60 Second glue, but any Super Phatic / Super Glue will do.
Insert the glued post into the drilled hole. Hold the post for a minute or two whilst the glue sets. Make sure the post is sitting true in the hole.
Once the glue has set, the phones can be further enhanced by painting & weathering. In some places like a level crossing these phones are painted yellow but the choice is yours.
Happy modelling.
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