LGB 12260 double slip in operation
- Thread starter playmofire
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I have two different LGB double slips Gordon. Which one are you talking about - the earlier type with a long thin motor on one side or the later type with a standard point motor each end?
If you don't have any joy I'll dig one out of the spare track box tomorrow and film it for you.
Your wish is my command Gordon. Please forgive the quality as it is difficult to film with one hand and use the other to operate the slips. It's all done by my fair hand as I don't have any power units accessible ATM. The first one is the older unit which has just one motor. The later job has the two point motors. As you will see the track units are pretty much identical. The operation however is slightly different as the single motor one converts the running from straight through to crossover in one go whereas the other treats each end as a separate point.
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That one is not set up in the same way that the LGB 12660 double slip actually works. It has an actuator for each set of point blades (that is, 4 actuators in total) where as the 12660 has an accuator for both sets of blades at the particular end of the slip (that is, 2 acuators in total).
Watching carefully the original one is very different in operation having 2 operating bars for the rails each end. That reminded me of why I got rid of the one I had as I could not see how to get it to work on air motors. The newer one being a smaller radius is less use to me having R1 curves.
As with many things Model Railways manufacturers make compromises to give us what we want. The double slip at DIDCOT operates much as if there were 4 sets of points with a hand lever for each of 4 sets of point blades. It must be a tricky thing to get right and users must I guess be very careful to ensure the blades are in the correct location for a relative move through the slip. A H and S nightmare with volunteers running the show. Though the older LGB slip has 4 sets of actuator I suspect the operation is somewhat different to the DIDCOT one. The newer 12260 is much simpler and in fact the same having only 2 actuators as does the 00 one on my coal railway. This is a much simpler thing to set up with 2 motors and get your head around the routes available. The original LGB one was a very clever bit of LGB ingenuity the likes of which were sadly lost with the Richters and the EPL company Early this century.
LGB (trains) - Wikipedia
Getting my head around the routes available is what's troubling me!As with many things Model Railways manufacturers make compromises to give us what we want. The double slip at DIDCOT operates much as if there were 4 sets of points with a hand lever for each of 4 sets of point blades. It must be a tricky thing to get right and users must I guess be very careful to ensure the blades are in the correct location for a relative move through the slip. A H and S nightmare with volunteers running the show. Though the older LGB slip has 4 sets of actuator I suspect the operation is somewhat different to the DIDCOT one. The newer 12260 is much simpler and in fact the same having only 2 actuators as does the 00 one on my coal railway. This is a much simpler thing to set up with 2 motors and get your head around the routes available. The original LGB one was a very clever bit of LGB ingenuity the likes of which were sadly lost with the Richters and the EPL company Early this century.
LGB (trains) - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
The routes are quite straightforward Gordon. Whichever track you approach the slip from you can either go straight on or diverge. Just for clarity the earlier item is marked No.1225 and 'Made in Switzerland '.
I appear to have come into some overt criticism with my photo post of the double slip at Didcot Railway Centre. It was intended to show a double slip in a real world environment, as an aside to the thread topic. It was not intended to be a comparison or instruction of how a toy/model/hobbyist double slip should operate. I accept that there are differences.
David
David
I shall knock up a track plan on AnyRail using a double slip in it and do some paper and pencil work.
I have a nickel-silver one, picked up for a sweet price when LGB's UK importer went bust several years ago. Set at ground level amid ballast, I have to be careful that stray bits of granite don't get stuck in the moving parts, but I have to say it is very good at what it does, giving very flexible access to a yard from both running lines, plus a crossover for running around, all in a very small space. It is quite literally central to many train movements and was a bit of a leap of faith when I planned to use it. Routes are selected by using the two point drives in different combinations and I use an EPL boost to ensure a good clunk. Operation is reliable and the 'dead spot' performance under track power is slightly better than an R1 point, for short wheelbase locos; battery ones of all types use it with no problem at all and slow propelling across it seems fine too. Pictured here during the 2021 relaying.
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I don't think it is meant as criticism of you, just a comment on the operation of the device as pictured in a 'heritage' environment.
PhilP
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I'll be honest with you - for most of the railway I've played trains long enough that I can glance at the points and see the direction. With the double slip, I always have to double (triple) check because it feels less intuitive - that's a lot of rail in a small area
In terms of routes - below is how I "explode" the double slip in my head (ignore the specific geometries/product codes). As
ebay mike
said, you can go straight or diverse but the thing to highlight is the straight also includes an X crossing.
A side note in terms of operation. On my original track plan a few members of this forum warned me they could be a little finicky. I noted the advice but wanted to include them because they looked cool I (stand by this - they do) The first few months of operation I certainly felt the pain the forumers warned of and found regular derailments on the divergent routes which were run at higher speed. A bit of investigation and I realised the slip wasn't level so wheels were riding up out of the flange ways. I releveled and reballsted which helped a lot but I still avoid running through the station on the middle track as it hits the divergent route and is more likely to detail off. I believe
Greg Elmassian
pointed out that running the divergent route is geometrically not an R3 but actually slightly tighter.Here is a video (from 12:58) of the slip being used to bring a loco from the siding to the back of a train.
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