I built a couple of side tracks on the upper level of my Tombstone Southwest RR so that some conventional locomotives could rest and be ready if needed, but I needed to isolate the track with toggle switches, which I wanted to post near the siding. I was going to make a couple of boxes for the switches out of wood, but as I passed by a can of spray paint I got an idea. I have tons of spray paint tops lying around (always wondering what I could do with them), so I decided to make this the case for my toggle switch. It was a bit deep so I sliced it in half with my ban saw and clipped out the inner portion of the cap, so that I had a nice flat surface. I then drilled a couple of holes -- two for the screws to mount it on my layout and one for the mini toggle switch I was going to use to open and close the track. Hooked it all up, mounted it and I'm ready to go. My motto -- don't throw anything out, you might be able to use it. Maybe you can use this idea for toggle switch boxes on your railroad.
Tombstone Southwest RR
Good Idea. I used to buy project boxes at Radio Shack back when they were going strong. They have fallen on hard times in recent years and now it is harder to get parts to build projects for the railroad with.
Too bad RS is a good place to quickly electronic parts.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month