Sunset Valley Railroad Actuator

SVR Actuator

The actuator is screwed to the headblocks of the switch and the throw pin is inserted into a hole drilled in the throwbar. Up to ½” movement is possible, most turnouts need about ¼”. It comes with a straight barb connector. You can order an elbow (ELL) to make a right angle turn out of the actuator. Please see installation instructions below.

 To install the actuator. 

Firstly determine which side of the switch you should mount the actuator so that the switch is set to the main when not energized. Offer the actuator up to the headblocks (the two long ties) of the switch so that the throw pin is under the switch throwbar. Note the position and drill a .086” (#44 drill) hole in the throwbar, see photos. It’s desirable to have the hole a little bigger than the pin, to allow for some lateral movement. Sunset Valley switches already have a suitable hole molded in the throwbar. Insert the throw pin into the hole and let the actuator plate rest on the headblocks. Now pull the plate back about 1/8” to apply some spring tension to the point rails, and mark the position of the mounting holes in the headblocks. Drill .079”dia holes (#49 drill) in the headblocks and attach the plate with #2-56x3/8” screws. Check for free movement of the throwbar. The actuator has ½” of movement, and will give a 20oz force to close the point rails in both directions.

The actuator can be mounted under the switch so that it is invisible, see photos.  You can also attach a switchstand (with the handle removed) to be mounted on the headblock, operated by a wire or paper clip on the throwbar, as seen in the photo . When the pneumatic actuator is activated it will throw the switch and turn the switchstand 90 degrees so you can see from a distance that the switch actually changed. (You can't keep the handle on the switchstand to operate it manually as well as pneumatically). When mounted this way, to protect the moving parts from stones and dirt, cut an 8” long piece of 1” landscape pipe lengthwise to make a trough under the headblocks.