Point control

Oct 05, 2005 6 Replies
M

I'm building a small town branch line layout in N for my son and we've opted for the "wire in tube" method of changing the points. I've received the wire and tube this morning, and it's not rocket science to work out how it functions, however I would like operate these points by a small lever frame. The idea is that with a pivot in the middle of the lever, the inner cable can be attached to the bottom of the lever which would be below baseboard level. Rather than try and make something like this (for around a dozen points) does anyone know of a suitable system, or plans for making a small frame. I have a source for plasticard, or



0.8mm copper clad PCB (could etch the copper off). Alternatively does anyone know of a cheap source of ready made frames that could be adapted.

Regards



Malcolm


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P

Malcolm said the following on 05/10/2005 11:31: Rather than try and make something like

There are several lever frame kits around, and the one I have experience of is the SHAG lever frame marketed by the Scalefour Society

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You have to be a member of the Society to buy direct, but they are usually available at the various Scalefour forums, which are open to the public.

Others are those by Brassmasters

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and Model Signal Engineering at
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, but I don't have personal experience of these. The Brassmasters one has the advantage of being readily available and relatively cheap!

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M

Paul,

Some nice looking frames there, just a bit too big for what I'm looking for. However they have provided me with some ideas on how to make something that should work :-)

Malcolm

Paul Boyd wrote:

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J

In message , Paul Boyd writes

What about GEM? They advertise in the Modeller, and do 4-lever and

8-lever frames.
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P

On 05/10/2005 18:12, Jane Sullivan wrote,

Yes, I'd forgotten about them, and they're worth a look. I seem to remember these are quite small, so may be more like the sort of thing Malcolm is after.

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N

The SHAG lever frame is very good (I use them), but you'll need three for a dozen turnouts which is a fair expense in both money and time to assemble.

Amongst the clever bits in the SHAG design is the spacing of the levers. They pivot on a piece of brass bar, the spacing between the levers being done by short lengths of brass tube which slides over the bar and separate the levers. This is with K&S tube and bar which slide inside each other. You could easily copy this aspect of the design with a home-brew version.

The locking of the levers at each end of their travel is probably a luxury you could omit.

- Nigel

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C

The message from Paul Boyd contains these words:

Try their website:

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