Mechanical point and signal operation

[Happy Hippo]

Frank,

 

Don't worry about any hijacking of threads. It is all the fruit of knowledge into the communal pot. Are you still taking Pen Y Bont to the Wolverhampton show in Nov? If so, I'll introduce myself to you.

 

Mike,

 

Thank you for the drawing for the point operating mechanisms for Battersby North. I particularly like the ability to fine tune the system by using an intermediate connector between the lever and the actuator.

 

It is similar to the idea I had about crossing baseboard joints on my proposed portable railway.

 

Jon,

 

I see the point that Beeman is making, and you make a very valid observation. We claim to be modellers, but we all have differing criteria at which we start to buy in rtr and off the shelf goods.

 

If we are not careful we become box openers and installers. As an example, for my large scale garden railway, I make my own wheels..........well I drew up the wheel profile in Cad and got a cnc machining company to make them in sets of varying diameters and the axles, but I turn the insulating bushes and then build all the components together to make a wheel set,

 

Yet I'm quite happy to buy a rtr OO gauge loco and run it straight out of the box until I can get around to a bit of extra detailing.

 

Back on the large scale front, the wagons that the wheels go under are made from timber, plastic and metal raw components. They are pulled around by a live steamer I designed and built myself, although I did sub contract out the boiler construction.

 

So on the one hand I am a scratchbuilder, then I'm an assembler of pre made components and finally an out of the box collector.

 

Do I qualify as a modeller? In 1;13/7 scale, I could be seen as a hair shirted scratch builder, but those who do not know of this interest would claim I was merely a collector of rtr.

 

I think there does come a point at which making takes second place to buying in order to actually finish something and get it running.

 

Secondly, and more importantly, there are modellers out there who have no ability, knowledge or even the confidence to do anything other that collect rtr and assemble a couple of Metcalfe card kits, It might no be my idea of real modelling, but they might just be in a wheelchair and suffering from cerebral palsy, the fact that they have the determination to build a railway in model form gets my full support and all the encouragement they need.

 

Sorry I've gone off topic there.

 

Regards

 

Richard

[beeman]

Re Mike Knowles post,Instead of 'purchasing' steel rod why not use redundant umbrella spokes, strong and ideal, ok for the electrical connectors and save the pennies, and further to comment by 'jonhall' dont know where he is coming from, the comparisons re. my findings of wire and tube were purely due to the friction created by long runs/bends, been there done it and abandoned it.some 30 years back, Ironic how all the railways used rods/cable and bellcranks pre electric days .The points Richard [Happy Hippo] makes are all valid and perhaps in one way or another apply to each of us 'Modellers' . I have always taken one view within reason, , ' If I can do/make it myself, I do not pay others to do it for me', The old adage applies 'If you do not try, how do you know you wo'nt succeed.' Never underestimate your abilities, Beeman

[t-b-g]

As with many such matters, the Rev peter Denny cracked this problem on Buckingham many years ago! He has the lever on one board, arranged to push a brass rod contained within the end timber of one board. In the "normal" position, the brass rod is flush ith the end of the board. On the next board, a similar brass rod is contained within the end timber of the next board. This rod is held in position by a spring and is linked to the point. When the point is changed, the rod is pushed through into the next board and when the lever id returned, the spring does the job of changing the point back. There are no physical connections, nothing to disconnect and nothing proyruding from the boards when they are taken apart. It isn't easy to make sense of it in photographs but I have tried some.....

 

One has extra cranks because it is a cross over. the return spring on that one is the white rubber band! Not as durable as a metal spring and they need replacing every few years. The metal spring ones have been in use for 40 years (and more) in some cases with very little attention.

 

I haven't photographed the lever side as this is just a direct push rod via a crank.

[jonhall]

 

and further to comment by 'jonhall' dont know where he is coming from, the comparisons re. my findings of wire and tube were purely due to the friction created by long runs/bends, been there done it and abandoned it.some 30 years back,

 

 

And if you had said that I wouldn't have bitten, but in fact you said

 

 

'Seems to me that unless most can purchase EVERYTHING RTR and off the shelf the 'art' of making it yourself is almost dead.'

 

 

which isn't the same thing at all, perhaps if you had typed - 'I tried that, but prefer this method because...' in the first place it would of actually been more helpful?

 

 

Ironic how all the railways used rods/cable and bellcranks pre electric days.

 

yes I'm sure in the late 1800's they tried plastic wire in tube and concluded that rods/cable and bellcranks were better (or perhaps not), I don't suppose post electricity the real railway uses a capacitor discharge unit to fire a HUGE solenoid to make their electric point motors work either.

 

 

The points Richard [Happy Hippo] makes are all valid and perhaps in one way or another apply to each of us 'Modellers' . I have always taken one view within reason, , ' If I can do/make it myself, I do not pay others to do it for me', The old adage applies 'If you do not try, how do you know you wo'nt succeed.' Never underestimate your abilities, Beeman

 

I'm rather more of the view that with limited time available I'll concentrate doing the bits that I enjoy, and if there are bits that I don't enjoy that can be avoided/reduced by buying 'off the shelf' then why wouldn't I take that route?

 

Jon

[Dukedog]

It's been a while since I looked at this thread, and I am going to try and go down the "Bluepoint" route.

 

The only problem I have is who supplies these devices?

 

I have tried Bromsgrove models link on Goggle and the page no longer exists. All I can find is the manufacturers web site in the USA.

 

Is there a UK agent/ supplier?

 

Any help appreciated.

 

Cheers

Frank