[Robert Stokes]

This question is not really about DCC but model railway electrics in general. I didn't know which section to put it in.

I have recently bought, secondhand, some Tortoise slow-acting point motors. I now need some DPDT switches to use with them. Obviously I could get some toggle or slide switches from Maplins or other on-line retailers, but I would like ones that look something like the levers in an old-fashioned signal box. I am thinking of something similar to the passing contact switches that Peco and Hornby sell for use with their point motors.

Does anyone know of a suitable type and the source? Thank you for any help you can give.

 

[John Webb]

I have seen several exhibition layouts in which the toggles of the switches have been extended by an imitation signalbox lever. But I've never had the chance to find out if they are home-made or 'off the shelf' from someone.

Peco do a changeover switch PL23 indentical to their passing contact switches.
Hornby have an R046 'on-on' switch for their colour light signal which they also sell separately.
Other alternatives are Gem or Model Signal Engineering lever frames fitted so that each lever operates a microswitch.

On my own layout I got coloured sleeves from All Components which slip over the toggles to give appropriate colours.

Regards,
John Webb

 

[Robert Stokes]

Thank you John.

The Peco PL23 is definitely a single pole change-over switch and I think that the Hornby R046 is as well. That means that I would need two for each point linked together and they are not cheap! The Hornby ones are about £5 a time new, so a pair would cost more than each Tortoise did.

I can get suitable DPDT toggle switches for £1.50 each or less so I may try the idea of extending the toggle. After buying the switches, I will look out some metal tubing that would be a tight fit on the toggle, but sufficiently thin to easily flatten the other end into a representation of a lever.

Cheers, Robert

 

[John Webb]

Sorry, I somehow missed the DP bit! I have some Fulgerex motors - these too normally use a DPDT switch, but I stayed with SPDT switches by using a power supply with both +12 and -12 outputs. This has the advantage that point positions can be signalled to LEDs by a single cable just by changing polarity via one switch on the point motor.

The imitation levers I saw had been made out of solid square brass, I presume drilled out at the bottom end to go over the toggle and shaped at the top to a round handle. A brass strip was soldered on to represent the catch handle, although not working. The square section looked a bit heavy and thick for a real lever.
A brass strip soldered onto a short section of tube to go over the toggle might look better - particularly if the switches are out of sight below a quadrant plate.

Regards,
John