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Mechanical Switching

Started by jsmvmd, April 27, 2007, 05:51:34 PM

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jsmvmd

April 27, 2007, 05:51:34 PM
Dear Friends,

My buddy Ted, an electro-mechanical genius told me of HO switching machines he made as a lad to mimic the hand thrown switches he used to see used growing up in Phila.  This was done with a group of levers in the control tower, and the agent would "line the switches" from the tower by muscling he levers.  In the real world there were cables that were fed through underground conduit, several hundred feet in some cases.

Ted constructed a similar setup using switch machines and thread or cord from the control panel to the indiviual switches, and said he had a lot of fun doing it.

I could imagine this done similarly with small cable, or a bell crank with push rods, like is done in some large model airplanes.

Has anyone done this?  Doesn't sound too practical, but Ted had to make all his stuff since he didn't have the $ to buy it. Therefore, he made do.

Comments anyone?

Best, Jack

lanny

#1
April 28, 2007, 12:02:44 AM
Hi Jack,

What I have done is not exactly what your buddy, Ted, has done, but it worked well for me. Some years back I built an 'S' scale layout. All turnouts were hand thrown. I wanted all the 'throws' to be on the very front edge of the layout, out of scenery way, where I could easily control them, even in my yard area.

I used 'piano wire' and hollow styrene tubing, connecting the piano wire underneath each turnout and threading it through the tubing (for rigidity) to the layout edge. Some lengths were as much as 18" long.

I bent a 'v' shape in the end of the wire to allow it to flex 'open' and 'closed', and used two track spikes (offset) to lock the wire in the desired position. The styrene tubes were painted black or brown and threaded between the ties, and when I added ballast, they were not noticable.

This method proved to be quite economical and reliable  for my 'S' scale layout. I used code #100 track and # 6 turnouts that were 'pre-built' but had to be spiked to wood ties.

I don't know if this would work in HO with anything less than code #100 track.

If you do try piano wire, remember that it is a very 'hard' wire ... don't use track cutters to cut it. Use a good quality wire cutter and wear safety glasses. You can bend it using care and some effort. Its inflexibility makes it a great material to use on long distance manual turnouts.

If you are very careful, you wouldn't need the tubing ... just using spikes to keep the wire from bending also works fine (at least in 'S' scale).

lanny nicolet

ICRR Steam & "Green Diamond" era modeler

ebtbob

#2
April 28, 2007, 08:39:56 AM
Good Morning All,

       I hope Tim Anders sees this thread.   While at my house a few weeks back,  Tim left me a picture of some handthrows he made that look like the Armstrong levers that were used in towers,  with cable going out to the turnouts.

Bob
Bob Rule, Jr.
Hatboro, Pa
In God We Trust
Not so much in Congress
GATSME MRRC - www.gatsme.org

Nigel

#3
April 28, 2007, 06:30:21 PM
Automotive chock cables used to be very common for actuating turnouts.  In addition to Lanny's method, bicycle shifter cables are another alternative.
Nigel
N&W 1950 - 1955

jsmvmd

#5
April 29, 2007, 12:00:42 AM
Friends,

Thanks to all for your comments and links, especially!  I think I will try something like  you suggested.

Bob,

I will contact you via email when we can get together for some rr pix.

Best, Jack
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