Manual turnout lever with ability to throw a switch?

[AndrueC]

Hi.

 

I'm in the process of adding signalling and motors to my turnouts. Unfortunately there are a couple of places where installing motors is not practical (basically because I have to remove the centering springs and just can't) so as second-best I was thinking of having manual levers which would also throw a microswitch for signals. It seems like an obvious thing for someone to have manufactured but I haven't found any.

 

Do such things exist or is it fairly easy to attach a microswitch to a manual lever anyway?

 

I'm modelling in N scale but the lever doesn't have to be to scale.

 

Thanks.

[brossard]

These guys might have have what you need:

 

https://www.cabooseind.com/

 

They have N scale switches.

 

I played around with one some time a go.  They work well and include frog polarity switching.

 

John

[Grovenor]

Using Servos as point motors they work perfectly with the centering springs left in place.

But there are also plenty of options for levers eg the GEM castings or etched kits from the Scalefour Society or from Mike Clark (Masokits), or you can just use electrical slide switches as levers. A bit of googling will find any or all of these.

[KingEdwardII]

5 hours ago, AndrueC said:

(basically because I have to remove the centering springs and just can't)

With some point motors, at least, you don't need to remove the springs - they work just fine.

 

I use MTB MP1 point motors and some of my points have the springs still installed.

 

Yours,  Mike.

[AndrueC]

1 hour ago, KingEdwardII said:

With some point motors, at least, you don't need to remove the springs - they work just fine.

 

I use MTB MP1 point motors and some of my points have the springs still installed.

 

Yours,  Mike.

Yeah the Cobalt SS just don't have the oomph to make the points even twitch. This is for Setrack turnouts.

[DCB]

It's a big ask to throw a microswitch with the same throw as an N gauge point.   I think you will need some extra travel on the rod over and above the point throw.   Surely finding a more powerful point motor CDU combo is the easy way out.

I have the opposite problem, I'm relaying with elderly OO track and the points don't have over center springs

[DavidB-AU]

The wire-in-tube method might be suitable. The switch is the "lever".

 

 

If the throw distance of the switch doesn't quite match the points, you can add some tolerance into the wire which also acts as a replacement spring. This is a commercial product but you can bend wire yourself to suit.

 

[AndrueC]

Point motors aren't an essential feature of this layout - in fact I'd thought about but dismissed them originally. I didn't think I'd get as far as I have as quickly as I did. So I can accept the limitations imposed in having to retrofit them.

 

Still there are some good ideas there, thanks.

[Steven B]

11 hours ago, DCB said:

It's a big ask to throw a microswitch with the same throw as an N gauge point. 

I've used this method on a number of occasions for frog power switching. I've never had a problem other than getting them mounted in the right place.

 

Mounting them to the tie-bar is up against the far end of a lever operated micro-switch is asking for trouble, but operating then closer to the fulcrum of the lever works well.

 

Steven B.