I am building a diorama for an NMRA Division contest, and having kitbashed a small station, I wanted a semaphore-type train order signal on the station platform. I was prepared to scratchbuild the signal mast and ladder but was willing to spend a little money on the actual semaphore arms and "spectacles" themselves. I quickly learned there are none to be had for just "a little money" so I was stymied. I went so far as to use a small punch on some green and red translucent plastic to see if I could build my own semaphore heads. I even dug out the original translucent plastic sprues from a Plasticville signal bridge I built in, perhaps, 1966 or so. In short, I was a desperate man.
An article by the late Andy Sperandeo in MR's "How To Build Realistic Layouts 4" (2008) on creating a passenger station scene mentioned that the Walthers station kit he used came with a train order signal mast and semaphore, but the semaphore parts were very poor. He replaced them with parts from the train order kit from JL Innovative Design, which has upper quadrant semaphore arms and spectacles printed on thin cardstock. All he used from the kit was the paper semaphore arm/spectacles: the "head" and arm with the red, yellow and green lenses.
Off to Walthers I went and was happy to see that the complete JL Innovative Design kit (1/16" wood dowel for the semaphore mast, a ladder of laser cut wood, small 1/32" x 3/64" strip wood to be cut into 1/8" pieces that hold the ladder to the mast, a bit of wire for the actuating mechanism coming out of the operator's bay [to be improvised by the modeler], a small white metal casting for the lantern at the top of the mast, plus the printed color paper semaphore arms and spectacles) can be had for a very reasoanble $4.98. Item 361-252. By the way the instructions note that this has a Northern Pacific prototype.
https://www.walthers.com/products/manufacturer-name/jl-innovative-design/show/20?item_number=252&match=AND
You build up the mast and ladder structure using the wood (and ACC) and that was easy enough although kind of persnickety work. Some cutting and nipping is needed, but the work is easy enough with ACC. An Optivisor helps not only in cutting the parts and building the kit, but reading the tiny print of the instructions!
The instructions say to glue the color paper semaphore sheet to a small piece of supplied cardstock, then carefully trim out each semaphore, and paint the back black.
In a flash in insight I realized "Dave you are almost certain to botch this the first time. And maybe the second time. And maybe even a third time." So I first took the color paper semaphore sheet to a commercial copy place and for not much money had them make a couple of color copies - on really good quality paper, maybe better than the original.
Instead of gluing or cementing the semaphore sheet to the supplied cardstock, I used transfer tape and thin black styrene. And sure enough I botched it. The styrene and paper cut in such different ways perhaps due to the transfer tape, and the semaphore ended up getting stretched and slightly damaged. So then I tried trimming the semaphore first, then using transfer tape on black paper to hold the two trimmed semaphores, pinning the black paper to a piece of wood so it would not move, and trimming it again. Bingo!
Not exactly according to the instructions, but it worked and a really sharp #11 blade made fairly fast work of trimming out two decent looking semaphores, although I was feeling a bit cross-eyed by the time I was done essentially cutting out each one twice.
A bit of touch up with black and red Sharpies helped hide the "white edge" of the original paper. Not mentioned in the instructions, but a wee amount of gloss medium on a small microbrush was applied to the printed color paper "lenses" and helped them look more like glass.
So yes: the signals are not operating, the detail is perhaps simplified, and the plain black backs of the semaphores lack the lenses showing through but I can live with all that.
For what I needed and wanted this was the perfect solution; everything else on the diorama ("Magic Water," track, dirt road, station, bridge, coal bin, outhouse) was scratchbuilt or used parts and leftovers from "the box" so given my odd way of thinking, the $4.98 plus cost of a color copy is the only money I am "spending" on the diorama.
It is an example of a kit I hoped existed but had no idea existed.
Should you be interested enough to try one, I really do suggest the "insurance" of making, or having made, a color copy or two of the paper semaphores before jumping right in.
This exercise made me realize that I really did not know much about the JL Innovative Design line of products. There are a number of interesting things in their line, reasonably priced. I also was not aware that they are now the source for the old Durango Press line of kits and parts. I had thought Durango Press had just entirely disappeared and am glad to see I was wrong.
There is no ulterior motive for this post other than to mention that this kit exists and that the firm exists and sells some interesting detail items and structures.
http://www.jlinnovative.com/
Dave Nelson
I've checked them out a few times, really nice stuff! Makes me want to change periods on a future layout!
Mike.
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