When I built Melbridge Parva, I thought that as an industrial yard, the points would be operated with levers rather than from a signal box or even ground frame. This wasn't a problem I thought, just make up a little plastic base with the lever stuck to it. Fit this to the side of the points and all will be fine.
And it was, right up until I tried running a locomotive.
The loco stalled on the tiebar. Another attempt with the controller wound up higher saw the model leap off the rails. Closer inspection showed that the connecting rods were clipping the point levers as it passed. Bending the lever to the side cured the problem - sort of.
At the show I thought I'd get away with this, right up until I ran a loco with side skirts. These not only clipped the bent lever but actually managed to break it away from the base and deport the top end a few inches up the line.
The solution as any fule know, is to do the job properly. The sleepers either side of the tiebar should be extended and the lever fitted to this. In real life that's what happened, presumably railway companies worked out that the rod/lever collision wasn't healthy for either.
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