working ground levers?

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jon price
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working ground levers?

Postby jon price » Sun May 17, 2015 12:07 pm

This is some way off for me, but affects how I control my turnouts so needs to be considered early in the planning stage. I'm modelling a yard which has ground levers at every turnout. As far as I can see from the plan these are not in ground frames but are individual. I know there are several sources for non-working levers, but has anyone made working levers? I'm not looking for the lever to be a control mechanism particularly as it seems to me they would be too fragile for this, but since they are a visible feature they should at least move across when the direction changes, so be somehow tied in to the actual control system. Any thoughts (preferably backed up by practical experience!)
Connah's Quay Workshop threads: viewforum.php?f=125

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jim s-w
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Re: working ground levers?

Postby jim s-w » Sun May 17, 2015 12:12 pm

Hi Jon

I was told by the good folk on here that the levers usually return to the same place after they are thrown. So it's not like they point one way then the other. The movement would only be when the point is actually throwing and without a mini bod to stand there and throw it it might look a litte odd.

HTH

Jim
Jim Smith-Wright

http://www.p4newstreet.com

Over thinking often leads to under doing!

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jon price
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Re: working ground levers?

Postby jon price » Sun May 17, 2015 12:48 pm

Thanks for this. I thought the lever was thrown across. I'm not concerned about them moving per se, and if they always point the same way I don't need them to move at all, so I can still dither about deciding on the actual control method. Given the exposed position I think I will look at the plastic ones rather than the white metal.
Connah's Quay Workshop threads: viewforum.php?f=125

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Noel
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Re: working ground levers?

Postby Noel » Sun May 17, 2015 2:53 pm

There is more than one sort of ground lever, so you will need to consider which your prototype used. The 'L' shaped sort on the GWR/BR WR return to the same position after being thrown, and normally 'lean' towards the 'facing' direction of the point but I think that some straight levers, if not all, may change angle when thrown.

There has been some previous discussion on pages 2 & 3 of one of Jim S-W's threads:
http://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3805&start=50

Noel
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Noel

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steamraiser
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Re: working ground levers?

Postby steamraiser » Sun May 17, 2015 9:08 pm

From memory Ambis Engineering do / did an etched ground lever in 00 / 4mm and a mechanism that makes the lever twitch when the point is changed.

Gordon A
Bristol

Terry Bendall
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Re: working ground levers?

Postby Terry Bendall » Mon May 18, 2015 7:23 am

jim s-w wrote:I was told by the good folk on here that the levers usually return to the same place after they are thrown


I was one of the people who posted that information, based on my experience of working on the Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway where, although it is 2 ft gauge, we used "full size" point levers. In the yard by our station we haver both straight and L shaped ones and both types return to the same position once the point have been thrown. Like Jim, I am not convinced that the work involved in making t\hem move would be sensible. I used etched brass levers from Shire Scenes which are quite robust. The advantage of etched brass ones if that they can be straightened up if they get bent.

Terry Bendall

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Will L
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Re: working ground levers?

Postby Will L » Mon May 18, 2015 9:05 am

I used cast metal point levers on a layout for a while and found them far too vulnerable to damage, and I'm not convinced that etched brass ones would be much better as they would be fairly easy to bend out of shape. I bent brass wire to the right shape, beat them flat with a hammer and then finished then square with a file. Thus work hardened, they were more inclined to take a lump out of your finger than bend. They did sometimes pull out but were otherwise undamaged so could be easily replaced with a dab of glue.

Andrew Ullyott
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Re: working ground levers?

Postby Andrew Ullyott » Mon May 18, 2015 2:48 pm

They're not to scale, but Caboose Industries do a manual point level with incorporated switch for frog polarity.
I got mine direct from the US.

Terry Bendall
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Re: working ground levers?

Postby Terry Bendall » Tue May 19, 2015 3:53 pm

Will L wrote: I'm not convinced that etched brass ones would be much better as they would be fairly easy to bend out of shape


They can bend Will but the advantage of brass is that they can be straigtened up again. However you ideas sounds perfectly feasible to do.

Terry Bendall


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