SCALE SHOPS 1012 HO TURNOUT MOTOR MACHINE SWITCH
Anyone heard of and tries these?
They are the same as several other similar type machines - screw drive, they need their contacts to cut powwer at the end of the move, they are not stall motors. A bit bulky and not as robust as Tortoises. Friend had a few on his layout, maybe not Scale Shops branded but they were identical to those, cheap little motor, plastic gear and contasts that slid into channels int he palstic base. He replaced some with servos and some with Tortoises.
There's a reason they are appearing cheap on eBay....
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Thanks to another Member here, I have several Fulgurex motor-powered switch machines. I first bought one of them back in the '70s, to power a scratchbuilt #12 curved turnout, equipped with a moveable frog, and located in a place where it would have been difficult to install anything else that would have been available at that time.
They're equipped with extra contacts for powering the frog if necessary, and for signals, too, and self-disconnect the power when they reach their limit-of-travel. Very well-engineered, in my opinion, and originally offered in North America by PFM.
Wayne
Had a box of them, bought them aqt $1 each, soild them for about the same. I found them difficult vs what is available today.
Yes! I have two of them and was looking for someone to help me understand how they work? Do you have any idea?
Pretty simple, a motor with a screw that moves back and forth.Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
I used these in the industrial section of the portable N scale layout I built for Scale Rails of Southwest Florida in 1992.
They worked reliably, and at the time were much less expensive than other options. The big feature that made me select them was that you could control them with a standard DPDT toggle. That way you could look at the panel and see how the turnout was thrown. This was different than the usual way twin-coil machines were wired, which were still popular at the time.
I found running them at voltages higher than 6 volts was problematic for adjusting the linkage and cut-off contacts. At higher voltages the mechanism would coast variable amounts after the circuit was opened and current was stopped.
It is also a good idea to add a machanical stop at both ends of the I-beam that the jackscrew rides on. In case of accidental too high voltage the whole thing can coast off of the end and need to be reassembled under the layout... a real pain.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190 It is also a good idea to add a machanical stop at both ends of the I-beam that the jackscrew rides on. In case of accidental too high voltage the whole thing can coast off of the end and need to be reassembled under the layout... a real pain. -Kevin
Very good Kevin! It only took one time for me to put a couple of double nuts on the jackscrew. I only use them for animation but after double nutting the jackscrew they have worked flawlessly for over fifteen years. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Like Mel, I use a few I have buy many years ago for some automation or some visual efect on the layout.
For turnouts I used Tortoises, but new construction will use Hankscraft display motor for turnouts, they are a bit cheaper and are reliable like Tortoises.