Modify a Lionel Fastrack Manual Switch To Remote?

[Toy Trains FTW]

do you have a link BobhWalker?

[bobhwalker]

There is a simple and very economical way to do this. I described this on p.17 of the TTOS magazine The Bulletin March/April 2008.

[McNameePhD]

I know this is a really old post but it was actually one of the first ones that showed me what the underside of these remote switches look like so I wanted to contribute (also people continue to come across these old threads so updated information is not just relvant to the OP).

Manual swithces (or broken remote switches for that matter) simply need something to move them back and forth a certain distance.

There is actually a great deal written about this now and lots of mechanical options that use cables in sleeves. For example: http://www.humpyard.com/ and people have even experimented with using lawnmower choke control cables to achieve something similar on a really tight budget.

There are also a number of options that mount under the layout. For example: http://www.ppw-aline.com/Blue_Point_Manual_Turnout_Control.htm

[Jack Derby]

Open her up and put a servo attached with wire to the tie bar.

[gck49er]

Leave it to Linalda make something simple very difficult and confusing

[chuck]

One thing that surprises me in the picture of the remote switch is how fragile the motor/rack mechanism looks. It makes me wonder how Fastrack will hold up over time.

The only abuse that might damage it is someone trying to throw the switch manually while blocking the points physically.  The dual pivot design requires very little force to throw, particularly on the manual units.  The manual switch will flip when a train approaches from the "wrong way".

[Anonymous]

Thanks for posting the pictures.

I agree...there is no economical way of converting one to the other type using Lionel parts.

One might be able to attach a actuator on to the manual Fastrack switch to activate it mechanically but again time is money.

One thing that surprises me in the picture of the remote switch is how fragile the motor/rack mechanism looks. It makes me wonder how Fastrack will hold up over time.

Your thoughts as to the robustness of Fastrack?

TMT

[chuck]

O-36 remote's guts. A lot of stuff in there:

[dadurling]

I'd always wondered the same thing because the price difference between manual and remote Fastrack switches is significant for us folks on tight train budgets. Is the non-derail functionality the main issue? The Bluepoint switch machines always catch my eye: 

 

Was curious if anyone had ever tried to use them with Fastrack switches...

[chuck]

I think there are way too many parts involved and the cost would not make sense.  I've got photo's of the guts of a manual switch somewhere on line.  I'll try to find them.  The remote switch is pretty tightly packed and I believe the parts that are molded into the underside of the switch to allow the manual auto derail to work were "missing" (this is actually a very ingenious pendulum/spring arrangement that allows a small nudge of the points to trigger the switch to flip).  The tooling used to make the bases is either multi part and die changed for manual/remote or there are two seperate dies.

[Anonymous]

Chuck, never messed with them so not sure.  Could you do the "old choke cable" thing?  Too complicated?

This is along the lines of what I was thinking but it is probably more trouble than it's worth.  The choke cable's aren't exactly cheap and then there are issues of routing and secure mounting so it won't shift/sproing at an inopportune moment

You could probably rig up a standard twin coil device to a cam/lever on one of the manual switches and then adjust the pivot point to get the throw travel correct but it becomes an issue of how much time you want to spend and how much you value that time. 

I've taken apart both the manual and remote FastTrack switches and they are both nicely done and they work very well in their respective rolls but from the underside, they have very little in common which makes a retrofit kit problematic. 

Thanks...that is the info I needed....an assessment of the inner workings of both switches.

I would agree that one would have to deal with the conversion with an external attachment...which would take more time than it is worth.

 A thought...could a person remove the internal mechanism of the MANUAL switch and completely replace it with Lionel parts from the REMOTE switch (assuming Lionel sells the replacement parts for the REMOTE switch cheaply)?

TMT 

 

[chuck]

Chuck, never messed with them so not sure.  Could you do the "old choke cable" thing?  Too complicated?

This is along the lines of what I was thinking but it is probably more trouble than it's worth.  The choke cable's aren't exactly cheap and then there are issues of routing and secure mounting so it won't shift/sproing at an inopportune moment

You could probably rig up a standard twin coil device to a cam/lever on one of the manual switches and then adjust the pivot point to get the throw travel correct but it becomes an issue of how much time you want to spend and how much you value that time. 

I've taken apart both the manual and remote FastTrack switches and they are both nicely done and they work very well in their respective rolls but from the underside, they have very little in common which makes a retrofit kit problematic. 

[Dr. John]

I think that in the end, it would be cheaper, easier and take less time to simply replace the manual switch with a remote version. I don't know that the manual switch lends itself to after-market switch machines. Impossible? No. A good idea? Ehhhh.

[ChiefEagles]

Chuck, never messed with them so not sure.  Could you do the "old choke cable" thing?  Too complicated?

[chuck]

Nothing that would be easy or cheap.  The manual switches use a rack and pinion arrangment to throw the switch and the manual non derail function is achieved by a clever pivot/ballance spring assembly located at the hinge point under the switch.  You could rig something up using a standard switch motor but you would have to adapt the throw distance to accomodate the rack and pinion assembly.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone come up with a way to convert a Lionel Fastrack MANUAL switch to be operated remotely via an electrical switch?

 

Thanks

TMT