Tortise and elevations.
- Thread starter mike8693
- Start date
Do you mean using the Tortises for under layout switch machines? Six inches is probably doable with some stout piano wire. Fourteen inches seems like you're going to be stretching the laws of physics. 
You would really need some hefty brass or steel rod to stand up to the kind of stress that the throw length would put on both the Tortise and the switch. I'm not really sure the standard Tortises has enough torque to reliably throw a switch from 14 inches. If your switches are sprung, like Peco's, it might work since the switch has a short travel and the points are held in position by the switch's spring. If they are unsprung, like Atlas, the Tortise probably doesn't have the torque to tightly hold the points against the stock rail. Is there a way you can conceal the Tortises in the scenery for these extremely long throws?
You would really need some hefty brass or steel rod to stand up to the kind of stress that the throw length would put on both the Tortise and the switch. I'm not really sure the standard Tortises has enough torque to reliably throw a switch from 14 inches. If your switches are sprung, like Peco's, it might work since the switch has a short travel and the points are held in position by the switch's spring. If they are unsprung, like Atlas, the Tortise probably doesn't have the torque to tightly hold the points against the stock rail. Is there a way you can conceal the Tortises in the scenery for these extremely long throws?
