[0-6-0ST]

Hi,
My brother has recently totaly rearanged his 'OO' layout and wants to operate the majority of the turnouts manually instead of the 20 / 30 solenoids, switches and associated wiring. We are aware of many wonderful levers or wires which may be used but I wondered if there are any manufacturers or clever scratch builders that could advise how to make or where to obtain equivalent lever types as on a prototype say industrial site. I have a picture from my clockwork 'O' gauge stuff which shows the lever equipment I am trying, poorley to explain.

These large heavey levers were all round the ICI site I spent my life on and this is what I / we would like to reproduce on 'OO' gauge points.
Bye Neil

 

[Doug]

I have some. I'll post info on them tomorrow.

They work well, but they don't switch the frog polarity so if you use electrofrog points, you'll need to figure out an easy way to do that.

I use them to test the layout before I wire it all up.

 

[0-6-0ST]

QUOTE (Doug @ 29 Oct 2008, 21:44) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I have some. I'll post info on them tomorrow.

They work well, but they don't switch the frog polarity so if you use electrofrog points, you'll need to figure out an easy way to do that.

I use them to test the layout before I wire it all up.
Thanks Doug, didn't expect such a quick reply to such an obscure question

 

[tiebar]

Hi 0-6-0ST, Gem ( Mercontrol) manufacture some interesting point equipment....could be you would find what you need. Their website is
www.gemmodelrailways.co.uk.

Tiebar

 

[Doug]

The devices that I use are Caboose Industries #202 Sprung Ground Throw Switches.

eBay link here - this is about the price I got mine for.

As I said, I only use these to test my track as I use Tillig points that are not sprung. These levers hold the points over nicely. When I'm happy with the layout, I add an electric point motor under the baseboards.

The Ground Throw Switches don't switch the frog polarity so if you use electrofrog points you may have to come up with another idea. They would work fine with insulfrog points.

 

[alastairq]

I have used similar items from, I believe, Wrenn.....and GEM too.....the GEM one's don't seem to have a positive locking effect, being simply a brass lever pivotted about 2/3rds down, in a whitemetal ''frame''....the other one's I have are similar to Dougs, but in metal, and have a spiral slot cut in the roller, rather than a moulded spiral ridge....these have an inbuilt locking effect...ie, compared to GEM's, the tiebar cannot move the lever.

Regarding polarity switching, I have had some success with those flimsy Peco slide switches, which are meant to mount under their point motors.

I have even had a stack of 4, controlling a complicated double junction...

they can be glued into a slot under the point tie bar, linked via a bit of stiff wire to the tiebar itself.......or.....solder a bit of stiff wire at 90 degrees to the wire connecting the point lever to the tie bar.....and sink the switch into the surface?

or worse still, make the connecting wire [from lever to tiebar] electrically live to the crossing vee.....and solder a piece of [springy?] wire, again at right angles, not very long, but parallel to the board surface....then plant a couple of bits of stiff wire, each linked to the appropriate stock rail [electrically]..so that as the lever/wire/tiebar is thrown, so the [springy[ bit of wire passes from one to another contact??.....can be made small and inconspicuous??

or is this all sounding a bit like Edward Beal?

 

[Gene]

QUOTE (Doug @ 30 Oct 2008, 08:17) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>The devices that I use are Caboose Industries #202 Sprung Ground Throw Switches.
...

To Doug and the OP.....Caboose Industries do make a ground throw that can be wired to switch the frog polarity...we're useing them on our new club layout...heres a link showing them http://www.cabooseind.com//pr1.html

Cheers
Gene

 

[Doug]

Yep, the Caboose 220S is the one to get.

Thanks Gene for the info.

 

[0-6-0ST]

QUOTE (Doug @ 30 Oct 2008, 17:14) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Yep, the Caboose 220S is the one to get.

Thanks Gene for the info.
Thanks for all these fantastic hints and tips on the mechanics. This forum never ceases to amaze at the depth of knowledge out there. I am sure we will be visiting one or more of these suggestions before too long.
Bye Neil

 

[rossi]

QUOTE (Doug @ 30 Oct 2008, 12:17) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>The devices that I use are Caboose Industries #202 Sprung Ground Throw Switches.

eBay link here - this is about the price I got mine for.

As I said, I only use these to test my track as I use Tillig points that are not sprung. These levers hold the points over nicely. When I'm happy with the layout, I add an electric point motor under the baseboards.

The Ground Throw Switches don't switch the frog polarity so if you use electrofrog points you may have to come up with another idea. They would work fine with insulfrog points.

i use these on my walkround American H0 layout I built using Shinohara code 70 points .They worked very well and reliably .Some I installed a bit further away from the points and I used a short section of brass wire in a tube buried into the roadbed to extend it a few inches.I also used the Nscale version on Shinohara code 60 switches on my Nscale layout