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Switch Machine For Shinohara Double Crossover
Lou is planning a double crossover and posts this question:
“I am planning to install an HO Shinohara double crossover on my system. The tracks sit on 1/2″ plywood base board and cork road bed. Although all my rolling stock runs on DCC all the switches run on DC.
My question is what make and model switch machine will work best mounted under the base board? Do I need 4 switch machines or can I get away with less if some how ganging them up to operate the turnouts?”
SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION
I used a twin coil machine under each switch. I have seen people use 2 tortoise machines but I was not impressed with their operation or performance. Yes, you can wire the machines to operate from 4 to 8 buttons. I did a pair for each machine
With crossovers, where switches are laid back to back and operate as a set, tortoise machines are ganged up to throw in sets of two off one switch, You do not power on switch and leave the other one unattended or you are asking for derailments and trouble.
With crossovers, where switches are laid back to back and operate as a set, tortoise machines are ganged up to throw in sets of two off one switch, You do not power on switch and leave the other one unattended or you are asking for derailments and trouble.
Do not use servos unless you drive them with servo software, where you can set the “throw angle” do not just put 12 volts to them and drive them hard against their throw wires, which will bend and distort them. Tortoise have stall motors where the serv0 will keep going. Again use servo circuitry where you can set the throw limits of them for each end of the switch throw.
When all the turnout motors are installed, you could simplify its operation by wiring up the crossover to operate in just two states: 1) Both lines straight ahead; 2) Both lines crossed over.
Therefore (if you can devise a mechanical system to do it), they could all be operated by one turnout motor.
The manufacturer’s instructions will tell you how to wire the accessory switches and contacts that route the power to the tracks.
With a double crossover the points all move in opposite directions when aligning for either normal (straight) or reverse (crossing) movements. It would very complicated to mechanically link the points to one or even two machines. The easiest solution is to have four machines all wired to one double throw toggle switch so that all points are either in the normal or reverse positions at the same time.
_____R_________R______
N \ / N
x
______N___/_\____N______
R R
Thanks Phil, Robert, and Frank
I took your advise and used 4 Tortoise switch machines with 2 double post double throw toggle switches. The only adjustment that was needed was…I exchange the throw wire that came with the Tortoise machines with a heavier piano wire.
Thanks again,
Lou