Switch Stands

Before ballasting the track I needed to finish a few things related to my turnout controls. This post will describe how I:

• Added TP&W-style targets on 2 Caboose Industries #204S high-level switch stands
• Installed a Proto:87 Stores operating switch stand target on a remote-controlled turnout.

Targets

The TP&W's switch stands had high-level targets consisting of a green circle and a red arrow. When the switch was lined for the main, the crew of the approaching train would see the green circle. When the switch was thrown, the target would rotate 90 degrees so that the crew would see the red arrow pointing in the direction of the diverging route. Many of these switch stands are still in use on today's TP&W. 

Switch stand on the TP&W at Weston, Illinois, lined for the main. 2019 image from Google Street View.

I'm not aware of any commercially-available parts for this target style, so I had to make my own. I ended up making arrows from 0.010" styrene and splicing them together with circular targets from Central Valley's #1604 switch stand kit. 

With the circular target still on the sprue, I used a razor saw to cut a radial slot in the target. The raised lines on one side of the target worked well as a guide for the saw blade.

The diameter of the circle (7/32") defined the height of the arrow. I eyeballed the rest of the arrow dimensions from prototype photos.

I used a knife to cut a slot in the arrow.

I carefully slid the arrow into the circle and used a bit of liquid plastic cement (Micro Weld) to bond them together.

Mounting on Caboose Industries Switch Stands

Two of my manually-controlled turnouts are equipped with Caboose Industries #204S sprung switch stands. I installed these back in 2019 when I laid the track and they've worked great so far. Now I'm finally getting around to finishing them with targets.

I used cyanoacrylate (Loctite gel) to attach the target to the vertical wire on the switch stand. Again eyeballing off of prototype photos, I left a gap approximately equal to the target height between the top of the stand and the target. I used wire cutters to trim the excess wire above the target.

I removed the target/wire/gear assembly, painted it at the workbench, and then reinstalled it. The red is Vallejo Model Air 71.003 Red and the green is Vallejo Game Air 72.732 Escorpena Green.

Here's the other Caboose Industries switch stand. Lined for the main...

...and lined for the diverging route.

Proto:87 Stores Operating Target

There is a turnout in the center of the layout that is remotely controlled with a Tortoise switch machine. At the time I laid the track, I figured I would just mount a non-operating Central Valley switch stand next to it. Thinking ahead to how I might operate the layout in the future, I like the idea of installing a second toggle switch for the Tortoise so I can throw it from either side of the layout. In this configuration, the toggle switch position doesn't necessarily indicate the turnout position, so an operating switch stand would be useful.

After doing a little research, I decided to try the working switch stand indicator made by Proto:87 stores because it seemed like the best option for an already-installed turnout. Central Valley and Rix also make operating switch stands. I couldn't find instructions for the Central Valley product, but from looking at pictures of the parts it seemed like it is designed to be used with Central Valley's turnout kits and wouldn't be easy to retrofit onto an already-laid Atlas turnout. The Rix switch stand is a low-level design that doesn't match the TP&W prototype. 

Installing this switch stand mechanism just might be the most frustrating thing I've done so far this year. There were several moments when I almost gave up on it, but after changing my approach multiple times I ultimately saw it through to completion. The Proto:87 kit consists of a fret of etched stainless steel parts, a Central Valley switch stand, a stiff piece of wire with a sharpened end for the vertical post, and a springy piece of wire to connect to the turnout throwbar.

The heart of the Proto:87 kit is this gearbox. (The picture shows the parts for two kits.) The gearbox gets mounted underneath the switch stand. The disc gets sandwiched inside the folded flat plate and rotates a wire mounted vertically through its center. A second wire connects the turnout throwbar to one of the outer holes on the disc, and one of the crescent-shaped slots on the gearbox limits the rotation to 90 degrees. 

The kit does not come with instructions but they are available on the Proto:87 website. The instructions tell you to install the gearbox between the base of the headblock ties and the roadbed with its long axis parallel to the headblock ties. The actuating wire then connects the throwbar to one of the disc holes within the smaller of the two crescent-shaped slots in the gearbox. I simply could not get the installation to work in this configuration. The smaller crescent-shaped slot did not allow the Tortoise to move the switch points all the way to the diverging route, even with a Z-bend in the actuating wire as recommended in the instructions. With the gearbox in contact with the cork roadbed, I also worried that it would be too easy to get ballast adhesive in the gearbox and gum up the works.

The instructions don't say anything about the larger of the two crescent-shaped slots, but I figured that it must be intended for turnouts with longer throw distances, like my Atlas Snap-Switch. In order to use the larger slot, the gearbox must be rotated 90 degrees from the configuration shown in the instructions. I ended up building a gearbox mount out of styrene that would securely hold the gearbox in this configuration and raise it above the roadbed to keep it away from ballast glue.

The gearbox mount under construction. The bottom and middle layers are in place.

The mount was made from 3 layers of styrene and has a total thickness of 0.080" to match the Atlas ties. The middle layer is 0.020" thick to match the gearbox thickness, and the gearbox gets sandwiched between the top and middle layers.

• Bottom layer - 0.030" styrene sheet
• Middle layer - 0.020" x 0.100" and 0.020" x 0.040" styrene strip
• Top layer - 0.030" x 0.100" styrene strip

Once the second layer was in place to define the total size of the mount, I trimmed away the bottom layer around the perimeter, between the headblock ties, and under the center of the gearbox. I drilled four #61 holes (one at each end of the headblock ties) so I could use Atlas track nails to secure the mount to the layout. I painted the ties with Vallejo Game Air #72-745 Charred Brown and used a black Sharpie to color the white styrene where it would show through the holes in the gearbox.

My homemade gearbox mount, gearbox, switch stand, and wire for vertical post. I left the location of the switch stand unpainted for now. 

At this stage, I slid the gearbox into its slot and temporarily mounted the assembly on the layout so I could configure the actuating wire. Much of my frustration with this project resulted from making adjustments to the actuating wire. I found this wire very difficult to manipulate with tweezers and needle-nose pliers because of its small diameter, and I also broke a couple pieces from too much bending. Once I thought I had the actuating wire cut to the proper length and bent into the correct shape, I installed the vertical post (a friction-fit into the center of the disc) with a temporary paper target cut from an adhesive label to test the operation.

Once the unit was operational, I shortened the actuating wire where it sticks up through the disc, removed the temporary target, and glued the switch stand to the mount. To provide enough clearance for the top of the actuating wire to clear the bottom of the switch stand, I used two bits of 0.040" x 0.080" styrene strip to shim up the switch stand.

Next, I made a target using the same method described earlier in this post and glued it to the vertical wire.

I moved the assembly back to the workbench for final assembly and painting. The vertical wire protrudes below the base of the gearbox, hence the 0.25" x 0.25" styrene blocks.

After all that, here's the final installation. The Proto:87 gearbox is a well-made product but it takes a lot of patience to configure it with a working switch stand.