Points In The Garden

Bufflers Halt · Post by **Bufflers Halt** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 7:42 pm

Can anyone advise me on the best way to change points on a garden railway like air driven or is it possible to use normal points done with electric switch kept indoors of course.

dr5euss · Post by **dr5euss** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 7:54 pm

.................

robk94 · Post by **robk94** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 6:47 pm

You could have a go at making a waterproof box for the motor , then keep it above the ground next to the point, dunno about the wires. Copper tubing?

Infrontcat · Post by **Infrontcat** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 8:21 pm

You could have a go at making a waterproof box for the motor , then keep it above the ground next to the point, dunno about the wires.

That's the sort of set up I was looking to use in my garden. I'll keep you posted if you want. However, for now I'm busy enough buiding boards!!!

robk94 · Post by **robk94** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 8:43 pm

Thanks. Don't know what material you would make the container out of though, most metals rust and wood rots.

Bufflers Halt · Post by **Bufflers Halt** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 2:09 pm

At the moment i dismantled my railway for the winter as i have decided to add flexi track in on the curves to give me a better radius but what i do know is i'll just keep the points as normal and use the hand of god to change them.

Infrontcat · Post by **Infrontcat** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 2:23 pm

Tsk, fair weather modeller...

Actually, it's brass bloody monkeys out there today, so I'd suggest you are indeed wiser than me!

As for the points, I'm thinking about using a dress makers' pins box, hot glueing a short stub of plastic wire housing to one end through a drilled hole This can be lubricated to allow the stiff wire armature to move freely through it whilst keeping the box relatively air tight. The box lid can be secured using electrical tape so it can easily be removed for any maintenance. The box will then be covered up by a platform, signal box, etc.

Hey, I'm just hopeful it'll work rather than expectant! My boards are relatively thin (18" max) so it's likely I may try to simply mount them on the side of the board and use extended armatures. The movement is almost lateral on all the points, so I don't have to worry too much about angles, etc.

Mitzibitzi · Post by **Mitzibitzi** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 2:48 pm

I saw one somewhere that worked hydraulically.

Each point was moved by a length of fishtank air pipe with a 2.5ml childs medicine syringe (the ones you get with bottles of Calpol) on each end and filled with cooking oil. The 'control' end had a little brass box with signal box type levers to push/pull the syringe, which obviously makes the syringe on the other end of the tube do the same, moving the points.

It looked very neat and the author of the article said it worked perfectly, even below freezing.

Think it may have been in Railway Modeller about 15 years back. Somewhere like that, anyway.

Infrontcat · Post by **Infrontcat** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 4:12 pm

Each point was moved by a length of fishtank air pipe with a 2.5ml childs medicine syringe (the ones you get with bottles of Calpol) on each end and filled with cooking oil. The 'control' end had a little brass box with signal box type levers to push/pull the syringe, which obviously makes the syringe on the other end of the tube do the same, moving the points.

Now that sounds very interesting. I did wonder about using some kind of pneumatic/hydraulic system and this may sway me yet...

Thanks for that Mitzi

Tim

ClikC · Post by **ClikC** » Sun Nov 26, 2006 6:17 pm

The only decent garden 00 gauge layouts in the garden I've seen, have all been air driven by the Del-Aire, normally with a Car tyre as a compressed-air reservoir.

http://www.yddraiggoch.demon.co.uk/railway/railway.html

d1nk · Post by **d1nk** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 2:33 pm

if you go to a tech school like mine theyle let do a vacum form alll you have to do is make a mould and take a bit of plastic heat it up pull the lever and the mould will get pulled up in to the plastic put the vacum on and it will for and then u cut it out easy and as for the wires as long as there coated in pvc itll be alright

pete12345 · Post by **pete12345** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 5:58 pm

I know this may seem a dumb solution but... lego pneumatics? They make 2 sizes of cylinder- the small one should work- that you could connect into the points. Their switches could also be lined up neatly somewhere(with a long handle fitted for a bit of realism?) and an old tyre or a compressor would give it the air.

bvdl75 · Post by **bvdl75** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 4:26 am

What about cables and pullys, In germany they used to use loop cables so that it could pull in both directions. IE a pully either side ofthe point cable attached to the movement and both wires run back to the leaver. You could use a high breaking strain fishing line, its low cost for a lot of it.

Andy316 · Post by **Andy316** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 6:00 pm

I'm planning to use the new Peco point motors, (side mounted)

The idea is to wire points to a local decoder hidden in a lineside building....

Not actually got this far yet, still laying track and base.....

Metroman · Post by **Metroman** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 5:55 pm

Hi,
I have two Aristocraft points on my garden layout, both electrically operated. When not in use I have the motor part of the point covered small covers just fitted over the point. As yet I have had no problems at all with the operation of them. They are controlled from a control box that I have made from wood and fed from the garden shed. I have had no preoblems with this set up at all.
Martin.

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Points In The Garden

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