Turnout throws

See the latest issue of N Scale Railroading magazine. Some guy is using choke-like cables set into a groove on top of the foam. Unusual but effective. Can be use with a dpdt switch.

-John

2 : inch foam. I will also be using Atlas code 55 turnouts. These turnouts : require some device to hold the points against the stock rails. I'm not a : fan of using Cabboose Industries groundthrows in this scale; they're much : too big for my taste. I know, why not use Peco turnouts as they already : have the internal spring to hold the points. I just happen to like the : overall look of the Atlas. Any suggestions as to what to use for manual : control? There have been articles about homemade springs and such. Can : anyone recall these articles and/or offer their own ideas? : : Thanks in advance for any suggestions. : : 73, : Karl P. Schaller K0TBT

Hi Karl,

Mark Mathu & Joe Ellis wrote the following last year- hope they don't mind my copying it to you... The ASCII sketch will look better if you change your View/Text Size to Fixed.

At the risk of competing with myself here's another one, since you mentioned using Atlas Code 55.

Obviously, you really ought to power the frogs on these for optimum performance... and, if you're like me, you might want working dwarf signals showing the direction the turnout is thrown.

I'm going to try using a DPDT slide switch to control these. My module is foam, so I'm cutting a square of 1/16" plywood to mount the switch to, and gluing it over a hole in the foam. The turnout is moved by a piece of wire fitted into a hole drilled in the switch lever. One side of the DPDT switch provides the power to the turnout, the other side powers the signals (opposite-biased pairs of SMT LEDs fed by half-wave rectified AC of opposite polarity on each side) (Damn... that almost sounded like I knew what I was talking about!)

Anyway, here's the trick... shape and paint the lever of the slide switch to look like a telephone or relay box! Perhaps put a square of styrene around it to simulate a "concrete base". You could even move it back from the rails a bit and make it look like a tree stump, rock, propane tank, or truck on the road... if you can remember where it is afterward!