In street trackage

[Anonymous]

I'd like to know how turnouts were operated when th tracks were imbedded
in the street. I never saw any switch arms etc. Were their moving parts. I'm young so these were gone before my time. Kindjim

[BR60103]

The ones I saw (Kitchener, Ont.) had a manual throw arm in the middle of the track. There was a slot to take the arm in both positions, possibly covered by a metal lid.
Streetcar systems had a single point turnout with a spring mechanism. Most were operated by a large crowbar called a "switch iron". Crowbar was placed between the point and the rail and pulled. Systems that had switches that were operated frequently had electric motors to do this, operated from inside the streetcar.