Caboose Industries calls them "rigid". As Peco Streamline turnouts are already sprung, I assumed them to be the correct choice. But coming back to those switchstands. Does anybody have a picture of them next to a track or a loco? Would be helpful for me to make up my mind.
My layout plan shows about 18 turnouts, all of the are withi easy reach for me. If I add a motor to each switch, that´s is an investment of 300 to 350 $ which I rather spend on rolling stock, but only if those switch stands are not grossly oversized and an eyesore for this.
Sir Madog Caboose Hobbies also offer large switch stands, fully operationa and maybe looking more prototypical, but ceratinly oversizel - is there anybody in the forum with some experience with these? [snip] I intend to use them with Peco no. 6 turnouts - do I need the rigid or the sprung version?
Caboose Hobbies also offer large switch stands, fully operationa and maybe looking more prototypical, but ceratinly oversizel - is there anybody in the forum with some experience with these?
[snip]
I intend to use them with Peco no. 6 turnouts - do I need the rigid or the sprung version?
Ulrich--as the Peco is sprung, I would suggest the rigid version, if by "rigid" you mean " without a spring." Unless I misunderstand you, you shouldn't need the switch stand to maintain pressure on the points with a Peco.
Rick Krall
Sir Madog Caboose Hobbies also offer large switch stands, fully operationa and maybe looking more prototypical, but ceratinly oversizel - is there anybody in the forum with some experience with these?
I bought a couple of these mail order and found the size objectionable. At first I thought they had mis-packaged O scale products, but I discovered that they really meant these to be used in HO. They are still on my shelf and destined to be sold on eBay.
I have scratch built some decent looking ground throws:
Granted, they are still over-size, but the profile is lower than the Caboose Industies products and they work smoothly. I usually make them in bunches of 4 and it thakes about 4 hours to build them (materials cost is about 50 cents.).
Phil, I'm not a rocket scientist; they are my students.
I ordered a few Caboose Hobbies ground throws for my HO layout several years back, but quickly determined that, for my eye, they were too large by about half. For me, they are grossly oversized. I don't know if they make N-Scale ones, but if I thought they would work reliably in HO circumstances, I would have resorted to them. Eventually I realized that I enjoy flicking the throwbars with a skewer, it's just as fast, and I have resorted to making non-functional switch stands instead.
I also found it difficult to get the points rails on my Fast Tracks turnouts spaced just right so that a ground throw would leave each point nicely snuggled against its stock rail. A younger Crandell would have persevered, but I gave up and resorted to hand-crafted, under the bench, rod actuators.
-Crandell
If you do go with Caboose Industries ground throws, here's what they look like. They come unpainted black. For scale, the engine is an HO SD40-2. Hope that helps.
Thanks mobilman44 I'll check those out, I was hoping to use them manually.
Hi!
The only ones I know of and am familiar with are those by Caboose Hobbies. They make short and tall versions with the tall ones having extra details to more reflect the prototype of your choice. I have several of the sprung ground throws, and while they are "oversize", they look good and work great (if they are properly mounted).
My thought is that a scale HO ground throw just might be too small to throw by hand. Of course there are probably some out there that are scale size, but require the turnout to be thrown by electric controls. I suggest you get a Walther's catalog and they should show all that is available.
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
What brand of groundthrows are close to prototype?