An HO scale switching shelf layout based on an alternate history of Hill City, Minnesota in the year 1920. In this alternate history, the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range railroad has expanded into more than an ore carrier, and is servicing Hill City as a general purpose railroad.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Turnout controls
I'm not a fan of powered turnout controls - they're expensive, "one more thing to break", and to me, they take away part of the interaction with the railroad. I prefer simple, manual controls. That said, I don't want to have to reach nearly 3 feet across a finished layout to throw a ground throw. After browsing around the hobby shop for a while today, I came up with an option that I really like - control cables used for R/C airplanes. Turns out it's fairly common knowledge, but I just discovered it today.
This works great! There's enough tension within the sleeve to hold the turnout points in place, yet the operation is very smooth. I haven't figured out what the user control will look like yet, maybe a simply knob in the fascia, maybe something more, not sure yet.
Here's a video I shot showing the turnout in action:
I've used those wires in tube arrangements on several previous layouts and I really like them. I think they might be on Wingetts recycling too... Keep it simple...
I've used those wires in tube arrangements on several previous layouts and I really like them. I think they might be on Wingetts recycling too...
ReplyDeleteKeep it simple...