mwrosebury2000 Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Hi, I have decided to have some working semaphore signals on my layout and some dummy point rods. Most of my signals will be from the Dapol range so the cables / rods to these will be just cosmetic. I am going to have a go at building a signal from a brass kit or the Ratio range (I have both in my kits box). This will have 3 working arms and 1 dummy. Is their any computer program that I can check that the rods and cables would work before going and making a mistake or failing that any good books that are basically an idiots guide? The layout is OO LMS/BR era (if that makes any difference)? The SB is about 12 inch from the custom built signal & has room to fit servos in it. I would like this signal to have working rodding but if this fails it will be servos under the base boards. I don't think the counter balance on the signal will be operational as this would be a step too far. Any help would be greatly received. Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
7TunnelShunter Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Hi Mark, Forgive me if I have misunderstood - your request is about working the semaphore signal? Points are worked by the rodding that runs along next to the track and is available as a cosmetic items from Wills and other suppliers. Semaphore signals were pulled by wires that ran through pulleys mounted on vertical posts usually position close to the cess - i.e. at the base of an cutting/top of the embankment on the far side of any 'path' beside the track. In stations they generally were routed along against the platform face while point rodding usually went in the 6 foot. Like telegraph wires, the wires for operating semaphore signals would be too small to be accurately modelled in 00 - so if you really want to go to the trouble of having one signal operated by wires emerging from the signal box they will be over scale, as will be the pulleys needed at each change of direction. My advice is model the point rodding and the signal operating wire carrying posts as cosmetic items and invest your time and effort in getting good below baseboard servos with a nice bounce to drive the signals. The choice is of course yours and good luck with whatever you decide to do. Best wishes Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon A Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Chris Pendlenton's layout featured some working point rodding. To get signalling working in 00 will be very difficult as what are casting on the real thing are etched in the model so do not have the mass to return the signal to danger. The only option is to have weights connected to the signal below track level. Gordon A Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold TheSignalEngineer Posted August 16, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 16, 2016 Modelling the operation of points and signals would be very difficult if not impossible. At 4mm scale point rodding would be approx 0.4mm with crank arms at about 3mm-4mm long. Scale signal wire would make human hair look decidedly chunky. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwrosebury2000 Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 Thanks for the replies and advice guys. The servos will go under the base boards and all the rodding will be cosmetic, although overscale I might add brass wire to the signals to represent the cables to stop people saying I forgot to add them. Who knows what the future holds, anybody doing research into spiders silk as a cable for model applications? Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharris Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Scale signal wire would make human hair look decidedly chunky. I don't know how expensive it is, whether it's available in non-industrial quantities, or how easy it is to work with, but it is possible to find tungsten wire all the way down to 4 microns - in 4mm scale that scales up to 0.012" (0.3mm) in real-life - is that going a little far even for signal wires? http://www.luma-metall.com/servizi/tungsten-wire/ What is the diameter of a real life signal cable? - other suppliers (e.g. http://www.wireandstuff.co.uk/products/Ultra-Fine-Wire-0.1-0.2-.html) will go down to 50 microns with nickel chrome wire - that scales up to about 0.15" (~4mm) in real life. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold TheSignalEngineer Posted August 16, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 16, 2016 Prototype 7-strand galvanised signal wire is approximately 4.5mm diameter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micknich2003 Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Here's a short lenght of signal wire and a shackle, approx 3/16in or 4.5mm dia. I use 0.3mm for "Down Wires" on my 4mm scale signals, it looks OK, but vastly over scale, in real terms it's near spot on for "Gauge 3". Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharris Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Prototype 7-strand galvanised signal wire is approximately 4.5mm diameter. In that case, 60 micron wire should be pretty much spot-on for 4mm scale if I've done my sums right - quite possibly better for cosmetic cables than working ones though. http://www.wireandstuff.co.uk/products/Nickel-Chrome-80-20--NiCr8020--Wire---0.06mm--60-Micron---44-AWG----139.87-ohms-m-221.html#SID=16 Disclaimer: I have no experience with the company, so don't know how reliable they are. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwrosebury2000 Posted August 17, 2016 Author Share Posted August 17, 2016 Thanks 0.05mm & 0.06mm wire ordered. Think I might be crazy. Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted August 19, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 19, 2016 Think I might be crazy. Yes, but in a good way Al. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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