Quick Question re Mounting Tortoise Switch Machines

[bagman]

Hi there

When preparing the roadbed for mounting the Tortoise, where do you guys drill the hole through the roadbed ?

Should I mark the hole for drilling with the throw-bar centered on the previoulsy drawn track center line ? i.e. center the throw-bar between the stock rails and mark the cork roadbed through the hole in the throw-bar.

regards

 

[larak]

That's probably the most common way to do it. You can also throw from either side of the turnout if your throwbar is long enough (and you drill a hole). Sometimes this alternate method will allow you to avoid an under table obstruction.

Karl 

[Sperandeo]

I like to drill the hole right under the switch rod (the prototype term for what model railroaders usually call a "throw bar") as "bagman" proposed. That way no linkage or cranks are needed – having built, installed, and maintained a lot of those, I'll never use them again – and the turnout will cover the hole. If you like, you can use a couple of short strips of masking tape to cover most of the hole, leaving just an open slot for the actuator wire to reach up to the switch rod.

good luck with your layout,

Andy

[dstarr]

That's what I'm doing.  Drill a 1/2 inch hole down thru the roadbed right under the throw bar.  Actually, drill the hole, spike the turnout down lined up with the hole, and then lay track away from the turnout.  The hole is invisible after you nail the turnout down on top of it.  Use a 1/2 inch twist drill, a spade bit will chew up foam and plywood. 

   Things to do.  Make a tortoise drilling template.  Put in a 1/2 dowel to locate the template off the hole, and  have four holes for the tortoise mount screws.  Slap in place, drill with trusty 1/4" hand held drill.  Screw tortoise in place underneath table.  Fiddle operation rod up into turnout throwbar.  Wire up to power and check the action.

 

[rolleiman]

Still a work in progress but...

http://www.rolleiman.com/trains/clinic5.html 

[markpierce]

Usually the hole is placed between the rails, under the connection of the two point rails.  While a round hole is typical, a skinny rectangular hole is more elegant.

Mark

[JulesB]

Hi there

When preparing the roadbed for mounting the Tortoise, where do you guys drill the hole through the roadbed ?

Should I mark the hole for drilling with the throw-bar centered on the previoulsy drawn track center line ? i.e. center the throw-bar between the stock rails and mark the cork roadbed through the hole in the throw-bar.

regards

 

I found a very accurate way to do this.

Make sure your cork roadbed is very straight. Lay the turnout where you want it. Take a piece of music wire or a 1" piece of actuating wire and push it thru the throwbar hole. You can then lift the turnout out of the way, but you have a location for your 3/8" actuating hole.

Now using a 1/16" drill. Drill a pilot hole for the 3/8" actuating hole. Before you remove the bit from your drill. Drill two holes down thru the centerline of the roadway about 4-5" on each side of the actuating pilot hole. Push two finish nails down thru. Go under the layout and use a straight edge or ruler to draw a straight pencil line from nail to nail. You now have a reference line under your track line to eyeball your Tortoise so it's lined up correctly. The actuating wire works best when it's perpendicular to the roadway. You can find finish nails that push in and pull out snugly by hand.

I take the actuating wire and bend a 90 degree angle at the top, it usually gets cut off anyhow, just about 3/16" from the end. After putting the turnout in place I can see the wire  hanging from under the layout, this makes it easy to line stuff up and use an ice pick to make starter dents to start your screws that hold the Tortoise. I back off the screw for the actuating wire and stick it into the machine from under. Otherwise you'll go nuts trying to push the wire up thru the trowbar, to small a hole, no hair around it! If you do it like I do you can actually let the machine hang for a minute when you realize you forgot your screw driver up top.

Jules

 

[bagman]

Hi guys

 

Thank you all so much for replying.

There are some great suggestions there which will make my job a lot easier.

Greatly appreciate you all taking the time to reply.

regards

 

[donhalshanks]

I mount my tortoise with heavy duty velcro (under the turnout and on the tortoise) and it has worked fine.  I use a little heavier wire than the one provided, and make it a couple inches longer, then push it up through the throw hole (which is pretty easy since it is longer), and bring the tortoise up to the velcro.  I can adjust the tortoise if needed by detaching it from the velcro and repositioning.  Then I snip off the extra length of the wire.

Hal