After nearly a year of work, we've finally released our Blue Point manual turnout controllers!

We will have a number of articles on installation coming up on this web site. We've been installing Blue Points on a friend's layout--we'll be taking pictures and writing up our experience soon. In the mean time, here is a little information.

The R/C pushrod shown in the photograph is a 2-56 threaded rod with a nylon clevis screwed onto the end. Both of these are made by Dubro and are available at most hobby shops that sell R/C airplane parts. The clevis is Dubro part number 228, and the threaded rod is part number 378 for 12" rod. For a knob we drilled a hole through a plastic knob and held it to the rod with locking 2-56 nuts. Using a stiff threaded rod works well for short runs.

For longer runs, we recommend using a flexible push-pull tube, such as the Gold-N-Rod made by Sullivan Products. These come in 3' and 4' lengths, but can be cut shorter very easily. If you use a flexible push-pull tube, you will need to anchor the outer tube to the bench work at both ends so it can't move.

We've also had a number of questions about using the Blue Points under 2" thick foam. The simple answer is yes, they work great. The tension and throw adjustment slider provides more than enough range to handle long runs of spring wire. We include .032" diameter spring steel wire with the product, which is quite rigid. You can also slip a brass tube over wire that extends through the foam to provide more power at the throw bar, if needed.

Specs

We've designed the Blue Point Turnout Control to operate turnouts in scales from N through O. The electrical contacts are double pole, double throw (DPDT) rated at 5 amps, so they have plenty of capacity to power a frog or just about anything else you'll want to drive.

The picture on the right has two diagrams. The left diagram shows the numbering of the contacts, while the right diagram shows how these contacts are arranged electrically. When the switch is in one position, contact 5 is connected to contact 4, and contact 2 is connected to contact 1. Move the switch to the other position and now 5 is connected to 6 and 2 is connected to 3.

And finally, here is a typical wiring diagram for a powered frog found on DCC-friendly turnouts:

Comparison With Tortoise

We've had a number of people ask about the price of a Tortoise compared with our Blue Points, so here is a quick comparison:

Description	Blue Point	Tortoise
Retail Single Packs	$12.95	$18.95
Retail bulk pack (per unit)	$9.99	$17.50
Street price* for bulk (per unit)	$7.50	$13.12

*"Street price" is the price you'll find at hobby shops that discount heavily.

We also thought you might be interested in a size comparison, because sometimes size does matter. If you look closely, you'll notice the Blue Point has deeper mounting slots, allowing more side-to-side adjustment. Also, the sliding fulcrum has detents to hold the fulcrum in position once you've set it.

Finally, a word about the pros and cons of each. There are times when a Tortoise is your best choice, and times when a Blue Point is best. If you have a main-line railroad with CTC and need dispatchers to control turnouts, obviously an electrically-operated turnout like a Tortoise would be your best choice. However, for sidings and yards, or a small layout, we think the Blue Point would be your best choice. Once you've experienced the feel of throwing a turnout by hand with our Blue Points, you'll see what we mean.

Made in the USA

All of the manufacturing of this product is being done here in the state of Washington. We had the molds made about an hour's drive from us and the actual injection molding was done about 45 minutes from here.