Tortoise Spring Wire Question

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hey eveyone…

I have a couple of questions on the Tortoise spring wire.

My layout will be thicker than the 1" spec in the Tortoise manual, so I’ll need to make my own actuator wires.

The manual says you can use .025" spring wire.

Question #1 - probably a dumb question -
Is spring wire the same as piano wire?

Question #2 - Is .025" diameter going to be OK with the extended thickness of the layout? My layout will most likely be about 1.5" thick. Oh, it’s HO gauge, Peco turnouts.

Thanks everyone.

2

Hi,
I saw recently in MR that it would probably be a good idea to use .050 wire rather than the thinner wire. I was actually going to replace some of the wire that came with the Tortoise machines with the heavier gauge wire to see if the turnouts would throw better.

I don’t know whether piano wire is what you’re looking for. Hopefully, someone else on this forum will be able to answer that part of your question.

Hope this helps.
Mondo

3

My LHS sells a replacement wire JUST for the tortoise switches. It is no where near as flimsy as the other stuff. I wish I knew wxactly what that was they are selling.

4

David -

Do you remember who made the wire, or any other details? Or the name and number of the hobby shop? I could give them a call and find out what they have.

5

I use the .039 spring wire that i purchased at an LHS…it’s good stiff wire and will really help your tortoise machine performance…I just bend it according to the template that comes with the tortoise and then cut it to the length i need to reach the point rails tie…chuck

6

Piano wire, spring wire, same thing…

I’ve used I .039 for Tortii before.

Anyway, the main thing to watch out for is that if you use wire that’s too stiff, you could damage the Tortoise or the turnout itself, if something binds or gets obstructed. But I think you’d have to go past the .050 that was mentioned to get to that point (pun intended [:D]).

HTH,
Steve

7

Too stiff (thick) wire will only stall the Tortise motor. That’s what the Tortise does no matter what size wire you use. So there should be no damage to the Tortise motor.

However, too large of a hole drilled in the actuator arm might damage the arm… split it etc.

8

Thanks guys, you’re the best.

9

.039 or thereabouts, is better than
050 due to the tremendous pressure it would put on the point and point rail junction. If .039 does not give good electrical connection. then the points should be cleaned. This assumes that you have the turnouts set up for power routing. if .039 causes derailments, your points need alignment. Additional pressure will only make a small problem into a large one.
BB

10

I’ve replaced all wires that came with Tortoises with stiffer 0.032" diameter piano wire. I pre-bend one end, connect it to the T, feed the long length down from the turnout, & then cut it flush.
Walthers carrys it:
#370-501Music Wire - 36" Long, .032" Diameter a package of 4 $1.69, but shipping is $5.00 (for orders up to $20).
I can’t find it locally.

11

With larger wire, you will have to carefully drill a larger hole in the Switch throw, the fulcrum and at the base of the tortoise. Larger wire will not damage the toroise as it stalls anyway.

(BTW Terry, Lake City Hobbies in Geneva usually carries several sizes of Music Wire in stock. That’s where I usually get mine)