Brush insulating sleeve insertion tool

Brush insulating sleeve insertion tool by Mark’s Trains

The Graham Farish Poole built chassis was manufactured with brass brush sleeves to transfer track power to the motor brushes via the chassis. However with digital control the motor brushes need to be isolated from the chassis to prevent a dead short circuit, as currently it is a metal – metal fit.

The decoder essentially needs to sit between the rail pick-ups and the motor brushes within the electronic circuit. To overcome this issue we have manufactured the MarWick Brush Insulating Sleeve which isolates the lower brush from the chassis enabling DCC control, but installation can be a little fiddly for some with the possibility of loosing the sleeve altogether as it lands on the floor somewhere.

So to aid the installation process of the MarWick Brush Insulating Sleeve we have manufactured a tool in-house, to make the insertion into the bottom of GraFar Poole chassis’ much easier, without the risk of dropping the sleeve and loosing it to the carpet. The end result of using this tool is therefore: Carpet 0 – 1 Loco!

To use simply slide the insulated sleeve over the end of the tool, and using the tool guide the sleeve into the brush housing. You can use the tool to gently press the sleeve in flush before withdrawing the tool, leaving the sleeve in place. The brushes can at this stage be re-fitted along with the tensioner spring and modified retainer clip. Full instructions for the sleeve and modifications to the retainer clip can be found on the sleeve product page.

This simple and affordable tool is an essential must-have toolbox item if you convert old Poole chassis locomotives to DCC – either as a professional in the trade or a hobbyist – it will save you much time and effort. We plan to offer a starter kit consisting of 10 sleeves and our new tool over the coming months. To bring up an old saying from my HGV technician days; “It’s better to have and not need, than it is to need and not have”. That probably explains why my toolbox is overflowing with tools which come in handy quite often, and importantly gets you out of a spot of bother when the time calls.