I already have Tortoise switch motors for my Ross turnouts but I like the look of the hand throws also. Will A Tortoise switch motor turn the hand throws if they are both connected to the turnout? Choo Choo Kenny
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I'm going on a limb here and say "no". The ground throws rotate 180 degrees. There's a mechanism that moves the point from side to side. My guess is the tortoise will end up not moving anything. Force it, and that little plastic pin on the far left will likely break off.
Tom is right, the answer is NO. The Caboose mechanism cannot be moved by a Tortoise.
I also want the look and and an indicator for some manual switches. I was thinking of making a simple stand out of brass strips which would have a couple of holes in it. A short piece of piano wire with small crank bent on the bottom, and an indicator flag soldered to the top. I would use these in conjunction with some choke cable style throws that we are installing.
No they won't move the manual throw. If you want it just for looks..... that's exactly what we did.
We still run the switch with a Tortoise, but mount the ground throw there just for looks. Especially where switches are far from the edge... the ground throw is just for looks, and does not function.
The lead in the top of this photo that goes inside the concrete diesel building has 3 switches. They are all powered by Tortoise machines as they are well beyond reach. In real life these would be hand throws, so I wanted it to look like they are. So I just trimmed the throw bar so it don't interfere with the movement of the Tortoise. Power control and the look of a hand throw. The control panel tells us which which the switch is lined 
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or if you want a mainline switch motor:
although not sure where you can get these any more... Keil-Line is no longer so maybe someone can 3D print some. I need a bunch more as well
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Posted by: Austin Bill
"You might take a look at the NJ International website."
http://www.njinternational.com/oswitch.htm
Nice looking stuff, not a lot of info though. I take it they move easily?
Thanks everyone for your input. I was not sure if they would throw with the Tortoise motor but at least now I know. I guess the 1/4 turn #50 red and green lanterns will be good enough. Take care and again thanks. Choo Choo Kenny
