Hey ttyce,
So, the answer is yes. I use 2 tortoises to move all four linkages. You will need 2 bellcranks (see my pictures). I made mine of brass and made a small base from 0.125 square styrene with a hole in the middle (see pic). Then you just need the circuitron remote activator and 1 extra cable for EACH stall motor (or a total of 2 remote activators and 2 extra cables....). You MIGHT be able to do this with just one tortoise, but it would be tricky to get all the tweaking/movement just right.... hope this helps...
A overall view of my 2 tortoises and linkages... (sorry one on right is above my support so hard to see....)
A close up of my setup with homemade bellcrank.
Of note, I wire both motors in parallel with one switch fliping the voltage polarity, making switching easy.
Brian
I know it can be done with 2, I think it can be done with one. What I can't remember is exactly which pieces you need to do it. Unfortunately, Circuitron does not have a website. If I recall correctly, you need a CIR-6100 and a CIR-6101 to control a single crossover with one Tortoise. I think you need two additional 6101's for the other two points. I'll try to look at me single crossover later, and see if I can tell for sure.
Jeff But it's a dry heat!
Welcome to the forums.
In the realm of, "Anything is possible," you could throw all four switches of a double crossover with a single tortoise, or use two tortoises and have each throw the two turnouts diagonally opposite each other. (Trying to use one Tortoise at each end would result in having to throw both every time you wanted to have a train pass through on the other straight route, which would get old in a hurry if you have a busy double track main.)
IMHO, you would be creating a maintenance nightmare which would have an annoyance factor far more costly than the price of a couple of stall motors.
The main problem is that the Tortoise IS a stall motor. Any excess friction or maladjustment in the linkage would cause one or more turnouts to throw incompletely (can you spell derailment?) And maladjustment would be the nightmare - every change in temperature or humidity would probably put something out of whack.
This is one case where the advantage goes to the huge old twin-coil switch machines I use. Since they have a LOT of throwing power, they can be used with linkages that flex or use springs to compensate for minor misalignment. Even then, I've found it better in the long run to power each set of points with its own machine. The only ones that move four points at once power the ends of double slip switches.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
The answer is yes. And while I don't have any pictures of a double here is a thread for a single crossover. The concept is the same. Easy and reliable. We have many members of the club who don't even know there is only one motor on the turnouts , because they have never needed adjusting or to be repaired. Like ShadowNix we made our own cranks and levers using simple brass tubing, piano wire, and strips of circuit boards.
http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/879300/ShowPost.aspx
Wasn't there an article in MR a while back about that?
tomikawaTT wrote: Welcome to the forums.In the realm of, "Anything is possible," you could throw all four switches of a double crossover with a single tortoise, or use two tortoises and have each throw the two turnouts diagonally opposite each other. (Trying to use one Tortoise at each end would result in having to throw both every time you wanted to have a train pass through on the other straight route, which would get old in a hurry if you have a busy double track main.)IMHO, you would be creating a maintenance nightmare which would have an annoyance factor far more costly than the price of a couple of stall motors.The main problem is that the Tortoise IS a stall motor. Any excess friction or maladjustment in the linkage would cause one or more turnouts to throw incompletely (can you spell derailment?) And maladjustment would be the nightmare - every change in temperature or humidity would probably put something out of whack.This is one case where the advantage goes to the huge old twin-coil switch machines I use. Since they have a LOT of throwing power, they can be used with linkages that flex or use springs to compensate for minor misalignment. Even then, I've found it better in the long run to power each set of points with its own machine. The only ones that move four points at once power the ends of double slip switches.Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Chuck is right... getting 2 to work with one tortoise is tricky enough, much less 4...YIKESS....trust me... I spent HOURS getting this to work just rigtht with 2... I did use 2, one at each end, but it isn't annoying to me, since I wire so they both go together...really there are only 2 ways for the crossover...straight or crossing, so a single switch for all works fine. Good luck.
ShadowNix wrote: tomikawaTT wrote: Welcome to the forums.In the realm of, "Anything is possible," you could throw all four switches of a double crossover with a single tortoise, or use two tortoises and have each throw the two turnouts diagonally opposite each other. (Trying to use one Tortoise at each end would result in having to throw both every time you wanted to have a train pass through on the other straight route, which would get old in a hurry if you have a busy double track main.)IMHO, you would be creating a maintenance nightmare which would have an annoyance factor far more costly than the price of a couple of stall motors.The main problem is that the Tortoise IS a stall motor. Any excess friction or maladjustment in the linkage would cause one or more turnouts to throw incompletely (can you spell derailment?) And maladjustment would be the nightmare - every change in temperature or humidity would probably put something out of whack.This is one case where the advantage goes to the huge old twin-coil switch machines I use. Since they have a LOT of throwing power, they can be used with linkages that flex or use springs to compensate for minor misalignment. Even then, I've found it better in the long run to power each set of points with its own machine. The only ones that move four points at once power the ends of double slip switches.Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)Chuck is right... getting 2 to work with one tortoise is tricky enough, much less 4...YIKESS....trust me... I spent HOURS getting this to work just rigtht with 2... I did use 2, one at each end, but it isn't annoying to me, since I wire so they both go together...really there are only 2 ways for the crossover...straight or crossing, so a single switch for all works fine. Good luck.Brian
That's interesting. Using the circuitron parts I found it easier to get my single crossover to work that a single turnout done the 'normal' way. The actuators are independent of each other, so they can be 'tweaked' independently, if need be.