Spring switches, where are they?

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GP30M4216
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Spring switches, where are they?

Unread post by GP30M4216 »

There was some good discussion today about the use of Spring Switches in times past, particularly in passing siding applications. This has prompted me to think about where around the state spring switches are still in use. I can only think of one, and I'm not sure it's even there anymore. At Delray, the Old Main just north of the tower used to have a spring switch where it splits into the Old Main and the Livernois Industrial. It was actually just out of the limits of the tower interlocking. The tower had control of the switch off the Boat Yard Line and a signal for southbounds at the spring switch, but the switch itself was independent. As I remember, there was a little side by side green and red dwarf signal to indicate spring function. I wish I had a photo depicting this part of the Delray plant. This was replaced about 10 years ago with a different indication setup. I'm not sure if any work was done to this track arrangement as part of the recent Delray improvements.

Are there other spring switches still in use in Michigan?

The Shore Line Trolley Museum, where I used to work (and still volunteer) in Connecticut uses spring switches at each end of its double track segment. There's a whole section in the rulebook that discusses their operation, and motorman training spends extra time emphasizing all the details of their operation. You gotta listen for the "slap-slap" of two sets of trucks clearing the points and them snapping back into position. And don't change directions without clearing the points fully, too! They were a bear to deal with in the winter time. Most public trolley operations were suspended during the winter months, so we could line and lock the switches for a single track operation, but occasionally there would be a reason to run double track. A track broom is one's best friend, but there's still a lot to do to clean out the spring, the points, and sprung frogs, too. Plowing snow over a spring switch is just as bad....you have to go back and do the work all over again!

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SD80MAC
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Re: Spring switches, where are they?

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The east end of the siding in Grand Ledge was a spring switch until 2015. The spring was starting to wear out and after a train would “spring out” the east end, it often times wouldn’t throw itself quite all the way back over. This would result in bad signals approaching the east end of Grand Ledge from either direction which could only be fixed by stopping and manually flopping the switch back and forth. After a few months of bad signals, the track department replaced it with a regular switch.

The west end of Sunfield was also a spring switch, but since that siding has been OOS for close to 10 years now, I have no idea if the spring is still there.
Last edited by SD80MAC on Fri Jan 15, 2021 9:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Spring switches, where are they?

Unread post by ns8401 »

The south end of the Samaria siding on the Ann Arbor is a spring switch.
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DaveO
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Re: Spring switches, where are they?

Unread post by DaveO »

There is a picture in linked thread of the Delray spring switch and the signals that were to replace it
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=37351

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Re: Spring switches, where are they?

Unread post by Jetlink »

SD80MAC wrote:
Thu Jan 14, 2021 11:06 pm
The east end of the siding in Grand Ledge was a spring switch until 2015. The spring was starting to wear out and after a train would “spring out” the east end, it often times wouldn’t throw itself quite all the way back over. This would result in bad signals approach the east end of Grand Ledge from either direction which could only be fixed by stopped and manually flopping the switch back and forth. After a few months of bad signals, the track department replaced it with a regular switch.

The west end of Sunfield was also a spring switch, but since that siding has been OOS for close to 10 years now, I have no idea if the spring is still there.
The spring in Sunfield has been removed. They changed it out to a manual switch a few years ago.
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