Sunset Valley Railroad

Hooking up  the solenoids to an Airwire 900 system

Hooking up  the solenoids to a Java Model Railroad Interface (JMRI)

(Courtesy Eric Reuter)

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ELL                             $4.45

 To install the actuator.

Firstly determine which side of the switch you should mount the actuator so that the switch is set to the most used direction when not energized. Offer the actuator under 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 5/32" hole in the throwbar, see photo. Insert the throw pin into the hole and let the actuator plate rest under 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.
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.

The toggle switch has a nickel plated lever, however this can still rust a little in very humid outdoor environments. This white plastic cover will hide and reduce rusting.

COVER                     $0.65

 An advanced application of 24 solenoids and indicators integrated with an AirWire 900 control    (Courtesy Jim Cary)

A nice installation of three actuators with some added weathering. The nearest switch has the actuator underneath it and is almost invisible  (Courtesy Paul Burch)

Manifold

Manifolds have 6 outlets and are used for controlling multiple switches. To change it to a 4 outlet connect a piece of hose between 2 outlets. To change it to a 5 outlet replace the plug at the end with a barb and connect a piece of hose between 2 outlets. To change it to a 7 outlet replace the plug with a barb. To make more outlets, daisy chain manifolds together.
MANIFOLD 6               Currently Unavailable

Indicator

Indicator, to tell if the line to each switch is activated. No electrical power required. Just tee off the line to the switch. The bezel color turns from black to red

INDICATOR RED        $21.60

Green available

Adaptor set

Adaptor set to connect the system to an air compressor. Has a 1/8”NPT and a ¼” NPT male fitting

ADAPTOR                  $5.30

Tee and Union

Use a Tee to operate two turnouts simultaneously from one toggle switch. Use a Union to join two pieces of hose.

TEE                             $5.30
UNION                        $4.50

Pneumatic switch operator system

The Sunset Valley pneumatic switch operating system is a simple and robust way to remotely operate your G gauge switches, using industrially rated components for reliability and long life. The system will work with all popular makes of G gauge switches. Installation is very simple. All you need is an actuator, a toggle switch and some hose, as can be seen in the photo, together with a compressed air supply (the hoses can be up to 200 ft long). Our system fits to Del-Aire and EZ Aire components

Cylinder and toggle availability coming soon.