Terry Burr said:Direct connection through mechanical rods. Pretty large / heavy stuff with appropriate bell cranks to go around corners. One reason the levers were so tall was to give the guy pulling them enough leverage to move points that could be quite a distance away.
Not to hijack a thread (which i guess i am) but how did the 1:1 switch levers work, by cable? Or did the levers actuate a motor?
Happy RRing,
Jerry
There is a restored switch tower near me in South Norwalk, CT. The SONO Switch Tower Museum. This composite photo from their website shows a lever bank that was used to control a crossover and a branch junction on the New Haven line…
(http://www.westctnrhs.org/graphic.gif)
The points were long ago disconnected from the levers, but the levers still are connected to a lot of working linkage. Visitors are welcome to TRY and pull them 
The SONO Tower website is http://www.westctnrhs.org/tower.htm - It’s kind of light on information but has some pictures.
Thanks for the info
Mike,
If you do come the ECLSTS, keep this building portable enough to enter in the modeling contest. I think you have a winner.
Ric, I’ll be there and would love to shake your hand and apologize for any offense. But as to entering this building–“I’m not worthy!”
Thanks for the compliment!
mike omalley said:
Well I tried doing as Bruce suggested, and it came out better than I was able to show in photos. We put up a switch towar in front of our car barn. It’s got lights over the doors and interior lights(http://www.lscdata.com/users/lownote/_forumfiles/tower.jpg)
The switch levers are easy to see at night, when its lit up, but really hard to photograph
(http://www.lscdata.com/users/lownote/_forumfiles/interior64.jpg)
We did a lot of detailing of the interior–there’s a desk with a radio, and a phone, and a lamp, and a magazine, and two really great Prieser figures The levers are on the right
(http://www.lscdata.com/users/lownote/_forumfiles/levers2.jpg)
I wish I could get a good shot of the effect when it’s lit Meanwhile my wife is making a skating rink–should be up in a day or two
Mike, You constructively criticize your work, but these close up pictures tell another story. The inside shot through the window is excellent. Even the paint around the window looks like the old railroad buildings with many layers. We are heading to my Mom’s in Oklahoma after Christmas. One of my “take along projects” will be an “Aristo Interlocking Tower”, I use for a “Yard Tower”, that I wish to paint. I’ll be very satisfied if I can get that type of finish. It must be the “Christmas Spirit” causing us to be so nice to each other. I’m getting all misty.
I agree with Ric. I don’t know if you intended it or it was an accident, but the paint effect on the window frames and siding is fantastic. Makes it look like there are 20 or 30 coats of old paint under the latest fresh one. The interior details are fantastic too.
It can’t hurt to enter in the contest, but if you’d rather just show it, bring it by the alcove in the layout room. There is usually space there for LSC folks to show their stuff in a non-competitive arena I’m not sure yet if I can make it this year, but I’d like to, and I’d love to see this up close.
Nice work. That’s the problem with pictures…you really can’t see all you can in person. It’s always neat to peer into a building like that.
Thanks again–the paint is exterior latex, I forget the brand. There’s a layer of clear primer, then a red primer, then two coats of the outer color. I did try to leave a lot of texture and that is the finish I was aiming for, so I’m glad it worked. My wife did the roof by painting it with a gray undercoat then painting black over the gray and wiping off the black.
I’ve seen Bruce’s building in real life, so I know I’ve got a ways to go. Too many details on this thing were done without enough care. The floor isn’t level, for example. But maybe I’ll bring it along to the ECLSTs
Don’t kid yourself, that’s a great looking model.
As for my stuff, you just don’t know where all my mistakes are! 
(No fair looking too closely)
I managed to get a decent-ish night shot
(http://www.lscdata.com/users/lownote/_forumfiles/towernight.jpg)
While that certainly was worth the effort I knew you could do it. Great photos, here and in the ice rink thread
Nice work, Mike!
That does look nice. There are times that I wish I had lit all my buildings - it’s just such a neat view.
