Remove the broken tie and its insulators

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The kit consists of a new tie with a center rail insulator, a new short rail, a short rail base flange insulator, a 3-48 by 3/16 screw, and a stepped insulator for the screw.

Remove the broken tie and its insulators.

If the long rail has a punch mark in the outer base flange where the original tie was located, file it smooth to allow the new tie to slide into position.

Disconnect the wire from the short control rail. Use desoldering braid (Radio Shack 64-2090B or equal) to clean solder off the base of the short rail.

Slide the short rail out of the switch base insulator. Take care not to twist the rail to avoid breaking the switch base rail clamps. A thin screw driver can pry the rail away from the cast frog on the base and a larger screw driver can continue the removal.

Insert the new short rail. If the tie on the straight end is being replaced, note the tapped hole in the rail must be at the end away from the switch. The short rail insulator should be on the rail at the tapped hole where the new tie will be fastened.

Carefully slide the new tie onto the long rail and center rail. Keep the tie square across the rails and avoid twisting it to keep from breaking the cast spikes on the tie.

With the hole in the new tie centered on the tapped hole in the short rail, insert the 3-48 screw with the stepped insulator up through the tie, through the hole in the short rail insulator, and into the tapped hole in the short rail.

Spark test the new short rail to be sure it is insulated from the long rail. If the test fails, either the 3-48 screw is not centered in the new tie or the base insulator has failed. Loosen the screw and adjust the tie. If this corrects the short, retighten the screw. If not, remove the screw, new short rail, and switch base insulator. Replace the insulator with one from the broken tie and reassemble the short rail and screw.

After the assembly is complete and has passed the spark test, re-solder the control wire to the cleaned area of the new short rail. Use a flux that contains no acid to avoid future corrosion around the solder joint.

If desired, the long rail can be staked to the new tie using a sharp center punch or a 3/32 inch cold chisel. This is not essential, since the mounting screw on the short rail makes a very secure attachment.