Dapol signals

[EJI]

Perhaps I should have titled this 'the art of compromise'. I am building a small light railway terminus 3mm scale and I will only require one home signal and I am wondering as a compromise which is a better option N or 00 gauge. Without any dimensions to hand I am thinking 00 will be the better choice? Obviously the attraction is to have a working signal. 

Any dimensions advice welcome 

Thanks. 

[Izzy]

The one Dapol N gauge signal I tried years ago was well over scale, easily more 3mm than 2mm, but I gave up on them when it and two replacements failed in short order. Hopefully they are better now.

 

Bob

[whart57]

It's probably possible to carefully stick a small Plastikard overlay on the arm of the N gauge one to make it more 3mm scale sized. I'd suggest making it look more Victorian - your light railway having acquired a second hand signal - by making the arm wider at the end than by the post. The shorter post can be explained away with "it's a light railway, innit".

[EJI]

Thanks for the info. 

Bob I had my suspicions about reliability from what I had read elsewhere. As I am only requiring one I may resort to scratchbuilding. Many years ago in RM there was an article by a modeller who had built a single arm signal with the bounce. I might dig the article out or experiment myself. 

Eric 

[TT100 Diesels]

If it is any help, I use Triang TT signals. These are motorised by a Peco point solenoid mounted on a home made base from plasticard, same principle as the Peco ones you can buy but home made as I needed to make them wider so I could incorporate slotted holes for adjustment. The drive is via 0.4mm n/s rod through 90 degrees up out of the baseboard through 2mm o/d brass tube. All a bit crude but effective. See pic below, sorry its a bit busy under there.

 

 

And a view of the top side of the above pic.

 

 

The signal itself is bonded into a short length of brass tube which in turn is soldered into a larger diameter brass tube, this is a nice fit into the baseboard and allows the 2mm brass tube for the drive wire to poke into.

 

 

Still got to sort the cosmetics round the bases and add ladders, but its the bare bones of the set up.

 

Hope this makes sense....

 

Only slight issue is that they are wired up to local terminals under the base board so have been jury rigged to test them (ok) but still need to do a control panel and wiring looms!! So can't vouch for long term reliability yet.

 

Hope this is of some use.

 

Cheers

 

TT100 Diesels

 

[Grovenor]

Those TT3 signals look nicely done but using RC Servos rather than solenoid point motors will make a much better job.

Plenty of info on here in using Servos for signal operation.

eg The series by Steve Hewitt.

 

Edited September 24, 2023 by Grovenor
added link.

[EJI]

21 hours ago, TT100 Diesels said:

If it is any help, I use Triang TT signals. These are motorised by a Peco point solenoid mounted on a home made base from plasticard, same principle as the Peco ones you can buy but home made as I needed to make them wider so I could incorporate slotted holes for adjustment. The drive is via 0.4mm n/s rod through 90 degrees up out of the baseboard through 2mm o/d brass tube. All a bit crude but effective. See pic below, sorry its a bit busy under there.

 

 

And a view of the top side of the above pic.

 

 

The signal itself is bonded into a short length of brass tube which in turn is soldered into a larger diameter brass tube, this is a nice fit into the baseboard and allows the 2mm brass tube for the drive wire to poke into.

 

 

Still got to sort the cosmetics round the bases and add ladders, but its the bare bones of the set up.

 

Hope this makes sense....

 

Only slight issue is that they are wired up to local terminals under the base board so have been jury rigged to test them (ok) but still need to do a control panel and wiring looms!! So can't vouch for long term reliability yet.

 

Hope this is of some use.

 

Cheers

 

TT100 Diesels

 

Thanks TT100, excellent pictures and description. That has given me some food for thought. 

[EJI]

21 hours ago, Grovenor said:

Those TT3 signals look nicely done but using RC Servos rather than solenoid point motors will make a much better job.

Plenty of info on here in using Servos for signal operation.

eg The series by Steve Hewitt.

 

Thanks Grovenor, as with TT100 this has set me thinking. 

[Phil Mason]

Another approach is to make your own. I've made numerous ones both in TT and N using 12v relays. 
 

In exhibition use, these have proven themselves to be 100% reliable, unlike Dapol. Gosh, that's done it, with an exhibition coming up! 
 

I like TT100's method because it  only requires a small hole in the baseboard but there is an advantage to having the signal and mechanism as a 'plug in' standalone bit of kit. Many years ago we had some tall co-acting signals that we remove when the layout was being transported and it also makes it easier if any maintenance is required. 
 

Building a signal is straightforward enough. My method is to remove the plastic case from the relay and solder on an arm to the rocker. A hole is required in the cover for the arm and it's then replaced. 
 

I glue a piece of copper clad paxolin to the relay and solder the signal post and ladder to that. The other components are an etched arm from the society and a crank of some sort to convert the horizontal movement of the relay to a vertical one required for the signal. This is another advantage of TT100's method - by using the swan-neck wire in tube the need for the crank is eliminated. 

Here's an N gauge one:

it's just a thought, probably too late for this thread but an illustration of how there are various approaches to the same problem. Whichever method you use, it's a great feeling to get something mechanical working. 
 

One of the most effective signalling installations I've seen used firework rocket sticks and lead weights. Total genius. I've forgotten the name of the layout (N gauge). The main thing is "don't be afraid", have fun fiddling about. 
 

Phil

Edited March 27 by Phil Mason
Pictures added

[peak experience]

On 24/09/2023 at 20:06, TT100 Diesels said:

Off topic ,but I'd love to see some pics of the ZZA snow plough

 

 

And a view of the top side of the above pic.

 

 

The signal itself is bonded into a short length of brass tube which in turn is soldered into a larger diameter brass tube, this is a nice fit into the baseboard and allows the 2mm brass tube for the drive wire to poke into.