Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winnah! I called PBL, the Sn3 manufacturer to get an idea of what their 'operating' switch stands were like and I was told that they do, in fact, operate. At 9.95 a pair as a brass kit, I was somewhat skeptical because two other attempts had failed. :erm: This first shot is the kit...the whole, entire kit from which two switch stands will be produced. Okaaaay. I followed the instructions to the letter and the construction was small and fussy with some easily lost and very bendable parts. After getting it together, I then followed the instructions for mounting and monkeyed around with it. It works! [:-bigmouth] The trick is to have a freely rotating crank lever with the throw wire almost aside the vertical stand shaft. This allows the shaft and targets to rotate almost 90 degrees. PBL accomplished this with extremely precise brass castings as can be seen on the sprues below:



This is the final install waiting for the appropriate 'landscaping'. It is in the 'main clear' position.

Russ,

Sorry to hear that the NJI switch stand didn't work out for you. It really would have looked great on your layout. Any other progress on the layout, or are you concentrating on getting the switch stand nailed down first? Keep us posted on version #3 when you tackle it!

Thanks, Tyson, but...

This one went down in flames, too. :erm: I did get an understanding of why this thing doesn't work, though. First, this stand is S scale...as in S scale standard gauge. I'm trying to use it on S scale narrow gauge. The distance between the point rails and the stock rails on my turnouts isn't long enough to completely rotate the switch stand...regardless of how close to centerline I drill the hole for connecting the throw rod. And, of course, this means that the target and lantern won't rotate the full 90 degrees needed. [!] OK, so candidate #3 is now being considered. I called the famous Sn3 manufacturer PBL and spoke to the owner, think his name is Peter. He told me the same thing. He said they make the 'Star' type switch stands in brass that are designed for Sn3. Soooo.....stay tuned!

:up:

I began installation work on the NJ Int'l Ramapo switch stand by figuring out where the shortest throw distance would be. Typically, this is the point on a lever closest to an end. After marking this point on the throw lever, I drilled out a new throw rod hole in the steel lever. Mounting the stand and getting the working mechanism to clear the ground is one thing. Getting the lever to clear whatever it's mounted on is another. The solution was to epoxy the stand to large pieces of styrene stock. One length was notched out using a cutting bit in my roto-tool prior to adhering it onto the styrene 'beams'. Now the lever has full swing. Next comes the installation of the throw rod mechanism.

And here we are with Switch Stand Test #2! This is an S scale NJ International Low Ramapo switch stand. The mast really seems too high for a low stand, but I think it looks OK. For those wondering where the name 'Ramapo' came from, aside from the Ramapo River and Ramapo Mountains in Southern New York State, the prototype was made by the Ramapo Iron Works in that same area. The mechanism is a real jewel and the throw handle moves with the position. It also has working red and green 12v lantern lights, too! The key to getting switch stands to operate with turnouts is to drill another hole in the throw bar of the stand as close to the stand as possible to shorten the throw distance. I'll get this one installed and see how it works out. Stay tuned!

They look very nice, Russ.

Thanks for the kind words, Guys. The Railway Engineering switch stand didn't work out...I misread the description. [:-dunce] This stand is for use with manually thrown arrangements, either from the stand itself or with an under-table rod. The problem is that the distance of travel of the point rails is not enough to rotate the target a full 45 degrees. I spent a good while tinkering with it, but couldn't get it to work. After doing some photo research, I found that the East Broad Top narrow gauge used Ramapo syle high and low switch stands on the main and were probably installed after removing the stub switches and harp stands. The harp stands were kept in a few locations, notably at the yard across the road from the Orbisonia station. Sooooo.....Next up is an S scale NJ International Ramapo low switch stand. Actually, this is a 'mid', especially when compared to the O and HO scale low stands. Don't know why this one has a taller mast. These are fully operational and complete with lantern lights:

http://www.njinternational.com/s_scale_accessories.htm

I'll be ordering it soon and when it comes in I'll get right to it!

Congratulations on a successful Tortoise installation, Russ. I'm looking forward to your post(s) on installing the operating switch stand.

Vagel

Well Russ, unlike me, you've been making some progress. The control panel looks great, as does that switch stand.

This is really a very nice looking stand, Russ, and apparently a sturdy thing!

Thanks, Guys! Here's a close-up of this little gem. It's fully operational and can be used to manually throw a turnout by using the attached handle, by connecting it to a manual rod system like Blue Point or Bullfrog, or attached to a moving connector tie. I'm going to connect it to the tie, get it painted, ballast the turnout, and take another photo. [:-bigmouth]

Russ, I'm just catching up on your thread. Don't know how I missed it! Your layout looks great!

Neat looking stand Russ!

This is the operating switch stand that I will be using on the layout. It's modeled after the high rigid Star stand and will look great after it's painted and installed.