I have a stub-end yard with Peco “finger throw” switches. The runaround is parallel to the yard ladder and the shortest yard tracks are at the front of the module so I don’t have to reach across / over occupied tracks to throw switches.
Most designs use the space on the other side of the ladder track (opposite the yard tracks) for engine service or something but my space is such that I’d have to reach over track(s) or buildings to throw the ladder and runaround switches off the yard lead, probably knocking stuff over or off the service tracks.
Any ideas how to use that space short of adding switch machines to the ladder / runaround turnouts?
There are ways to manually throw switches. Cables, like throttle cables, are one way. Caboose manual throws with piano wire under the tracks is another.
We have used piano wire inside a brass tube conected to a DPDT slide switch (one side of the switch is used for power routing the frog and the other can be used for a signal). It works very well. I don’t know how much a throtle cable costs but a slide switch, 3’ length of piano wire and brass tube comes to about $3. I know the advantage of using the finger flick method is it is simple and you don’t have to have any control pannel or track diagram to confuse oporaters.
By adding one additional switch and running the lead parallel to the ladder you could add a major industry in that area. One of my major industries will be the ACME supermarket warehouse in Philadelphia that received nearly every commodity stocked by rail so box cars and refrigerator cars will be frquent and numerous visitors.
Funny you should ask this… I was thinking just today that we used to use bicycle spokes to provide point rodding between switch throws and the switch… thing I can’t recall is the thread that had to be cut onto the shortened spokes… about 6BA I think (here in the UK). We would build up a rodding run just the same as the real thing uses but somewhat out of scale (usually beneath the baseboard/ out of sight). bell cranks and other levers are quite easily cut from brass sheet or similar.
Here the throttle cables are known as Bowden cables… a good source is push bike shops (again) or Motorcycle shops.
Another way of doing it that I have seen work is pneumatic… using thin plastic tube and syringes such as those used for injecting insulin… joints are made using the nib out of ball point pens with the ball removed.