I tried mounting Atlas switch machines under the table and gave up on the idea. Too hard to do. For now, I'm just leaving them exposed beside the turnout. It doesn't really bother me. Eventually I'll replace them with stall motor switch machines but I'm in no hurry. However any new turnouts that go in get a stall motor control right off the bat. The Tortoise is the most popular stall motor and it has the advantages of very low current draw when stalled, it has two sets of auxiliary contacts for frog powering, signals, or whatever, and you can connect LEDs in series with the motor to show turnout direction. Another stall motor control is the Switch Tender sold by Micro Mark. I find them easier to install than the Tortoise and they're much smaller, but they draw more current (although they will hold the points closed with the power off), they don't have any auxiliary contacts and I don't think you can put LEDs in series with them.
..... Bob
Beam me up, Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here. (Captain Kirk)
I reject your reality and substitute my own. (Adam Savage)
Resistance is not futile--it is voltage divided by current.
Phoebe Vet One by one, I have replaced almost all of my Atlas machines with Tortoise. I tried Atlas under table machines, but the plastic rod is way too flexible for my taste.
One by one, I have replaced almost all of my Atlas machines with Tortoise. I tried Atlas under table machines, but the plastic rod is way too flexible for my taste.
Same here with one difference. I got rid of all my Atlas machines at once and replaced them with Tortoises.
The Atlas machines were impossible to position correctly. If it weren't for Tortoises, I would be out of the hobby by now.
Rich
Alton Junction
LION uses Tortoise machines only. Throw away the instructions and just glue them into place with silicone caulk. They are very forgiving, are reliable, AND, given the LION's wiring method require only ONE conductor from the console to control the Tortoise, all interlocking signals and any relays that I might want to add for signalling or track power logic.
LION has even mounted them ABOVE the table for a particular application, and is also mounting them along a table edge in another. Here is LION'S above table installation. The machines will be covered by store fronts.
And just to show off a little more than would be necessary, here is the LION's interlocking machine:
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
On the older part of my layout, I used Code 100 track and mostly Atlas turnouts. On the newer part, I'm using Code 83. For some reason, Atlas switch machines in Code 100 are much larger. Simply changing to code 83 track will make the switch machines far less of an eyesore.
I have hidden most of my Code 100 machines beneath scenery. For this one, I built a "switch cave" inside an embankment, and linked the machine under the hill to the throwbar with an old piece of brass track.
I hid most other machines by making a shell of plaster cloth over them. First I used plastic wrap to protect the machine, and then I formed wet plaster cloth over it it. When it dried, I removed both and painted the plaster cloth shell. Then I put it in place and added scenery.
Here, both techniques are shown, with a scenic cover over the switch machine in the foreground and another one hidden inside the building off to the right.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Hey TechGuy
I put all of my Atlas switch machines under the table and they work very well. I use a capacitor discharge system so that I don't burn up a motor. Typing is not my long suit so search for the threads on Atlas under table machines.Good luck
Lee
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Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Hi,
On my latest HO layout I chose - for various reasons - to continue using Atlas above table switch machines. There are folks that would argue this choice, but for my purposes - and from my experience - it was the way to go.
As you will find, some of these - depending on placement in the overall layout's scheme of things - will be easy to disguise. Others will not be easy at all.
In any case, the first thing I do is paint them with a "dirty" flat mix of black/brown, being careful not to paint the open sliding part of the machine. And when the machine is in place and wired, I paint over the wires and tops of the terminal screws. This process goes a long way in putting them in the "shadows".
On others, I take a mix of white glue & water and brush on the machine (lightly) and sprinkle on whatever ground cover you prefer. Again, keep the mix and particles away from the open area. I like to cover it with a small piece of scotch tape, and remove the tape when the covering is dry.
To "kick it up a notch", you can always cover with plaster or similar product. However, I would put a piece of saran wrap on the machine first so the plaster doesn't touch or mess up the works. And of course, you really don't want to cover the entire machine as you may need to access it in the future.
One final note....... whatever you put on top or alongside the machine needs to be away from the trains path. It doesn't take much height added to the top of the inside of the machine to hit a loco's cow catcher, etc.
The above are my choices, but I am sure there are a lot more and I look forward to learning of them.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
You can hide your Atlas switch machines under embankments or high platforms, or inside buildings. I believe Atlas has an extension piece that will move the machine farther away from the switch, thereby making the trick easier.
The usual mounting position for a Tortoise is under the switch. Atlas also has an under-the-table type machine.
Other machines and mountings require some inventiveness to get the movement from the machine to the throwbar. Once you start to Rube Goldberg it, the table edge is the limit. That's where I've mounted most of my turnout actuators, powered and manual.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Hey there guys, it's me again. Just wondering how I would go about hiding my atlas switch machines, that I have all over my layout. OR,...is there a way I could replace them with a type that fits under the switch???
And, could any one tell me if the Bachmann block signals, item #42101 and the Atlas HO signal system Item # 235 and 239 are "common-cathode" or "common-anode"? I need to know for the wiring.
T
Just when you thought your layout was done, it's time to expand!