Unifrog side-mounted point motors

[billtee]

Can anyone advise me on side-mounted point motor for O gauge Unifrog turnouts?
I do not have room for a normal Peco point motor, either above or below my baseboard, and my one and only Unifrog turnout (used because it is of a tighter radius than a normal Peco point, and is also about 1” shorter!) is right in a awkward corner where it is very difficult to reach.
I can only use a side-mounted point motor, but the Unifrog tiebar is completely different to the normal Peco finescale O gauge turnouts, with the ‘knob’ on each end of the tiebar considerably smaller.

I have looked at Peco’s (very, very awkward to readily use on my iPhone) website but there are no details about Unifrog turnouts at all, certainly none regarding motorising them. Could I use an OO side-mounted point motor, even though the hole in the operating part of the point motor would be larger? Would this type of point motor still fit down the side of the Unifrog turnout as they do for OO turnouts? 

I normally use slow-acting Cobalt point motors, but they just can’t be used where the turnout is situated!

I did consider one of those tiny DCC Concepts point motors which use linear motors, but they are diabolically expensive.

Although there is a little bit of space beside the curved side of the Unifrog turnout, it would be impossible to disguise such a point motor above the baseboard, even if I had room, and directly below the baseboard is a cupboard which I do not want to chop about. At least I can mount a side point motor on the straight side of the Unifrog turnout, though there is another track running parallel to it with about 1” of clear baseboard between the ballast shoulders for each track.

Can anyone help me, please?

Thank you for any advice on this matter - it is causing me a lot of worry!

Bill

[billtee]

Don’t worry, fellow modellers. I have sorted out the problem, by using a small home-made crank and an old Gaugemaster solenoid-type point motor. It will all fit under a delivery platform I will be squeezing in eventually.
Bill

[John ks]

 

If you wanted to use a Cobalt then something like this may work

It shows 2 possible ways to connect to a point

 

 

The brass bit is out of a connector strip 

To setup 

Leave the screws loose

set the point motor to centre position

Set the point to mid position

Tighten screws

 

The horizontal wire to the point can be as long as necessary

For long runs it will need support it (in a tube, through eyebolts or similar)

I usually use piano wire around 0.8 to 1mm dia

I find the wire with the tortoises is a bit small

 

John