The Crossover

The crossover seems to be the starting point of every project so far on the Burbank Branch; so it is with Turnout linkages and Tortoise switch machines.

I decided to use a very old and common linkage that is very versatile.I drill a hole through the road bed centered on the track centerline just behind the throwbar. The hole is just big enough for a 1/16th inch brass tube to fit snugly. I bend a piece of .032 music wire to act as a swing lever and thread it though the brass tub inserting a pin into the hole in the throwbar.

From there the Tortoise switch machines will be linked to the music wire linkage.

The crossover requires special consideration because I don't want a train to run into a closed turnout. The two turnouts need to be linked together in such a way that the 2 sets of point are thrown together so there is an open path through the crossover.

Thanks to the Tortoise and a few RC plane parts, the linkage is not to difficult to construct.

It consists of some balljoint couplings and two 90 degree bellcranks.

In the above photo you can also see the bottom of the brass guide tubes for the music wire and the music wire linkages.