Alternative Tortoise switch machines mountings

Vince, Look at the linkages, couplings, pivots etc. in the RC Plane section of your LHS - let your imagination run wild. There's all kinds of ways to extend the operation of your Tortii...

Also, check out Walthers Book - they have linkage kits for remoting, for semaphores, and crossing gates. Work great. See:

Or, search for Tortoise on the home page

RC Planes....good idea. What's an "LHS?"

"KTØT" wrote in

You may also want to consider other machines for remote linkage mounting: Builder's in Scale and American Limited both offer machines which seem more adaptable to longer remote linkages.

There are doubtless others, including just buying the switchmaster type motors (Torquemaster sells similar motors which are not the original Hankscraft motors, but look the same. I don't know if they are as good: the Builder's in Scale website has some unkind words to say, but their product is the one being copied. I won't get in the middle of that argument).

Good Luck!

Ed

in article 0P94b.22617$ snipped-for-privacy@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com, KTØT at snipped-for-privacy@mn.rr.com wrote on 8/30/03 3:46 PM:

I was not necessarily advocating either of the products I mentioned; it is just that as non-enclosed machines, they might be more adaptable to remote operations; both have instructions for putting the machine pretty far from a turnout. Personally, I've adopted Tortoise for my layout; easy to install, auxiliary contacts (two), and very installation.

Ed.

in article 59t4b.240624$Oz4.63988@rwcrnsc54, Paul Newhouse at snipped-for-privacy@pimin.rockhead.com wrote on 8/31/03 1:46 PM:

Do consider Roto Motor, Scale Shops, and SwitchMaster for your applications - some as low as $6.65!

Bruce

What about all the others? Surely one or two have been defective.

The pictures at

look like the ones we are replacing a lot of. The plastic tubing that connects the motor to the screw gets too slippery to hold so the motor runs and runs and nothing happens. The metal "fingers" that provide the electrical contacts are exposed so they get hooked by stuff and get bent out of shape. And they collect a lot of dust & cruft. They tend to make a lot of noise and operate way/whey/weigh to fast. But, they just look like those in the pictures.

Those that aren't too beat up are being pressed into service on non-critical applications. Like running the doors on the engine house.

That is the goal!

Paul

I've mounted mine similarly on 2.5" wide, 4" long, 3/4" pine. I varnished it and mounted the torti with double sided foam tape. They ain't going anywhere for a least as long as the turnouts (Pilz Elite) work. I've got it set up that I'll be able to lift the entire turnout + tortoise out as a unit for repairs. I figure if I'm set up for maintenance, I'll never have to actually do any.

Ed. in article Cfz4b.143083$ snipped-for-privacy@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net, Paul Newhouse at snipped-for-privacy@pimin.rockhead.com wrote on 8/31/03 8:43 PM:

Just a word about the price of Tortoise. I bought them from Trainland for $120 per dozen. They get a little more for smaller quantities. Ed