I remember that there was a way to manually control a turnout with just a bit of wire. You just took a wire the size of a large heavy duty staple and bend it into a modified Z shape and that was that. Just use your uncoupling tool to push it back and forth as needed.
I’ve checked my back issues and haven’t found anything on this. I also did a search on the forums. After about 15 pages of checking messages I found this reference to it…
The wire spring between the rails is a “poor man’s” Peco, so to speak. It allows you to use your finger to throw the turnout by moving the point rails.
You need to drill two holes (one if the throw bar already has one). The other hole goes in the tie next to the throw bar.
Then bend a piece of wire at about 135*. Then bend each end so it goes straight down. The distance between the vertical parts needs to be equal to the distance between the holes when the turnout is thrown.
The idea is that as the two holes come together as you throw the turnout, the “spring” you made is compressed, and then “springs” open to hold the turnout in the fully thrown position.
Sorry - no pictures…
This is what I’m looking for. Anyone using this these days? Any pictures? Does it keep enough pressure on the frogs? I would like to try this on Atlas HO Code 83 CL #4 and #6 TO’s… If not I’ll use the Caboose ground throws but would like to check this out.
It should work quite well. It applies enough pressure on the points (a rather suprising amount, in the case of stock Peco turnouts) to keep them solidly against the stock rails. You wouldn’t need to use wire more than .010" in diameter. You could even go smaller, I would think.
I would add one item to the instructions above: Drill the h
There have been a surprising number of posts over the years in the forum about using spring wire to control turnouts. I found an old post the says that the article about how to do this is on Page 80 in the January 2001 MR. I have this issue in my library somewhere. I’ll try to dig it out, but can someone tell me how to post a picture here in the forum??
Abbie
If you still have the May 2003 there was an article: “Easy turnout controls Simple, reliable, and inexpensive Gerry Leone”. This may help you. I don’t have that issue anymore; I donated a big stack of them for the troops in Iraq.
Posting a picture requires that you upload it to the internet, to a site that can host the picture, like Photobucket for example. Then you just link to that location.
Here is what I did about ten years ago for my turnouts. The wire is .047 music wire. The supports are short pieces of slightly larger I.D. brass tube soldered inside cotter pins. Cotter pins pressed into hole drilled in plywood. Not a Z but works for me. Trial & error.
In the past I used non-insulated crimp-on ring connectors with the tube through the ring and soldered, then the wire end of the crimp-on cemented in a hole.
I think we may be going in two seperate directions here-one seems to be a variant on wire-in-tube control,where the blades are held by friction,the other seems to be the Peco over centre spring-one uses .046 gauge (electric guitar bottom E) the other uses .010- guitar top E -the principal behind the latter is:-The turnout control actually moves through the same plane as the turnout,the control plate has a curve built into it so that the point of contact for the control spring either stretches or compress at need
For my money-PECO is the way to go-you want-they have it
