Independant siding levers - distance from toe?

[Gordon A]

Something I cannot find is the normal minimum distance a siding lever is from the toe of the point, and how much longer should the two switch timbers be that the lever is bolted to.

 

Gordon A

[The Stationmaster]

Something I cannot find is the normal minimum distance a siding lever is from the toe of the point, and how much longer should the two switch timbers be that the lever is bolted to.

 

Gordon A

 

Far enough out to clear somebody riding on the step of a pilot - probably a few feet but i never bothered to measure (you don't when you walk past things like that everyday).

[micknich2003]

Here's a typical example, Sculcoates Yard H&BRly, mid '80's.

[Gordon A]

Thanks Micknich, it looks like about 4 feet from the adjacent rail.

 

Gordon A

[43110andyb]

A few photos here from a previous thread I posted might help-

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/35314-hand-points/

[Gordon A]

Thanks Andyb, your photos appear to show the levers closer to the rails than I expected.

 

Gordon A

[The Stationmaster]

Thanks Andyb, your photos appear to show the levers closer to the rails than I expected.

 

Gordon A

 

There should be sufficient room for somebody to walk between a vehicle on the track and the handlever.  I think the only ones that might be closer in are much older two-way levers at ground level (as seen in Mick Nicholson's pic above although that example is spaced quite a way out).  I have never seen one way levers (such as those in the link - they are incidentally one way levers as the mechanism clearly shows) mounted close in apart from the ones that fold down completely to ground level and, again, some older examples of those tended to be closer in than is the case wit more recent installations.

[43110andyb]

They are confusingly classed as 'treble leverage- 2way' pull levers. Makers stamped on the the top plates of the ones pictured in the link at Thirsk yard.

[The Stationmaster]

They are confusingly classed as 'treble leverage- 2way' pull levers. Makers stamped on the the top plates of the ones pictured in the link at Thirsk yard.

 

Very confusingly  - they are definitely one way levers judging by the mechanisms,  i.e. the lever is only pulled one way to move the points either way.  The spring is part of the mechanism to ensure that a shaped metal plate in teh mechanism moves over centre each time the lever is pulled and it changes the direction in which the drive rod moves (a very simplified descrition!).

[43110andyb]

Yes I can definatly vouch that they are one way pull to move either way! But before we carried out the maintenance work they were one pull to move neither way

[russ p]

Sometimes they can be whole track from the points they operate, normally I would say about three feet

[bécasse]

Apologies for the late posting on this but I have only just found this drawing which I made half-a-century ago and which shows the centreline of the point lever to be 5ft-4in from the centreline of the nearest rail.