Working N gauge semaphores

LOL! Clay! :o)

I made my own, from an article in N Scale Magazine several years ago.

The basic idea was a piece of 1/16" (about 1.5mm?) brass tubing for the pole. Use a flat jeweler's file to make a slot about 1/4" (5-6mm) long in the side near the top. A piece of fine music or leader wire runs through the tubing and out the slot, then back parallel to the tubing to actuate the semaphore arm. The tubing is drilled and tapped (for a 00-90 machine screw) above the slot that serves as the pivot point for the arm.

I made 8 of them in a single day's work. The layout is gone now (we moved, and I'm starting a new, larger layout) but I saved the semaphores. I'll have to see if I can find them and take a few photos.

Now, they're NOT highly detailed, but they're fine from a couple of feet... and when they start moving, it's pretty impressive. I animated them using pneumatic turnout motors. Some were tied into turnouts as indicators, others operated independantly to protect switchers operating on the main. (Yes, I know... but on a small multilap layout, if the mainline trains ALWAYS have the right-of-way, working the industries takes all night!)

The thing I particularly like about semaphores is that you don't have to be on the "right" side of the signal to see the indication... a big advantage on model railroads where the correct location for a signal may make it invisible from the operator's position!

At the risk of overstating the obvious, have you tried the N-gauge or 2mm Scale societies?

(kim)

Not working, as in RTR, but kits for 2mm scale signals are available here:

I looked at the 2mm society place last night but nothing obvious. It also appears that the only working signals mentioned on one of their featured layouts are the old wire in tube jobbies, not very appropriate for branch signals etc..

I had just always assumed they would be available until I got my ratio kit and realised just how small they are in N. I reckon I can knock something up scratchbuild and actually most of the signals with stop and distant on the same pole can probably be worked together because the stop signals that the 'distants' refer to would not be visible.

Luke

A company called "Model Signal Engineering" make component parts for semaphore signals in several scales including 2mm/N. I'm not sure if they are capable of being assembled as working models or not, but it may be worth exploring the possibility. They have a web page