Steve Watson SteveWatson

This is my yard throat, and the lead to the service area. The turnouts are all Fast Tracks, and I'm using their Bullfrog system to control them.

rdThroat.jpg 

Obviously, the operator needs some way to associate the control knob with its turnout. I decided to do this by putting the track schematic on the fascia with striping tape, and placing the controls on the diagram. It's...somewhat successful. It can still take me a couple of tries to get the right turnout.

Controls.jpg 

The result is that the underneath is a bit of a maze of control linkages:

ullfrogs.jpg 

One of the drawbacks of this scheme is that the location of the control knob is fixed, which means the linkage has to bend whichever way is required to get the the turnout. This is a problem for turnouts at the front of the benchwork, the control for which is at the bottom of the fascia -- the tube only bends so tight before it kinks. I solved this problem by mounting the Bullfrog facing backwards, and bending the tube around in a wide arc so it enters the Bullfrog from behind. However, I have a further restriction: I want the push-pull of the knob to be consistent with the throw of the points. Mounting the Bullfrog backwards violates that. To solve that problem, I have to introduce a bellcrank into the control path to convert "push" to "pull" and vice versa. The picture below shows two turnouts (the ones on the service lead) where I've done this. The controls are indicated by black arrows, the backwards Bullfrogs by blue, and the bellcranks by green. They are made out of whatever bits of soft metal I happen to have on hand (as you can see, one of them is a scrap of brass hinge):

lCranks2.jpg 

Reply 0
UPWilly

Brilliant

Mechanical versus electrical - solves the "scientific" problem so often encountered by most modelers. Of course, to do this arrangement, one need to have a flexible body - could not imagine this with my stiff physique.

Yes, I would say "madness" is a good descriptor.

 

Bill D.

egendpic.jpg 

N Scale (1:160), not N Gauge. DC (analog), Stapleton PWM Throttle.

Proto-freelance Southwest U.S. 2nd half 20th Century.

Keep on trackin'

Reply 0
35tac

Bullfrog Madness!

Relative to your bell crank issues. You could connect with a hobby shop that serves radio control and control line model airplanes. They have numerous bell crank designs that adapt easily to the connectors on your Bull Frog setups. Would make your set up uperate much better.Actually your control pushrod are used in both R/C and U/C. Look up Sullivan products or check out Brodak Mfg for bell cranks used for elevators, flaps, aelerons or other controls.

 

Wayne

 

Reply 0
railandsail

Wow, that looks rather

Wow, that looks rather crowded under there !

What scale are you modeling?...and why didn't you consider just hand throwing those turnouts that are very near the edge of the layout?

 

 

Reply 0
Steve Watson SteveWatson

Replies:

@Brian: N scale. Re hand-throws: Partly, I like consistency of interface, and I don't want visible ground throws on the layout. And if I don't use Bullfrogs, then what? Keep in mind that Fast Tracks turnouts don't have a locking mechanism, so that has to be part of the throw, and you also need to switch the frog polarity.

@Wayne: I know that the control rods come from Sullivan, which is a R/C product -- I have used Sullivan and Dubro clevises in many places (see the pictures), because they're waaaay easier to install than the connectors that come with the Bullfrog kits. The trouble with bellcranks is, as usual I don't know until I start the job that I need a part, and the R/C shop is the other end of town, and anyway I'm staying in my bubble these days .

 

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