Now that looks interesting. I really like the looks of that and it has the contacts I’m looking for. It also looks very heavy duty. Are you using these and if so how well do they operate? I couldn’t find the exact weight of each one so I guessed that it’s maybe about 2kg for 20 which would be approximately $52 postage to the US in addition to the $152 for 20 PM4s. So that’s still a better price even with the extra shipping or postage fees.
Hi JohnnyB, Yes, I use them. I haven't had any problem with them. I am using them with Peco turnouts which are harder to throw due to the spring in the turnout itself. Like all Solenoid switch machines I would highly recommend the use of a Capacitor Discharge Unit. If you are going to run them on DCC I have used a Digitrax DS64 to throw them. Oh, I just weighed one for you. It is 21grams or .8oz including the packaging but without the instruction sheet which would be negligible anyway as it isn't very big. Note that the prices I quoted are from an etailer. I'm pretty sure the direct from manufacturer they are dearer. Cheers, Alan.
Oh, forgot to mention. I would buy one and see what it's like before ordering 20 of them. It'd be a real pain to try and return it. Cheers, Alan.
BTW- before you bust a gasket- If you are going to mix Codes 80 and 55, remember that they have different rail heights. To attach, just turn both over with the rail side down and solder from the bottom. Let cool and flip back. The rail joint will be seamless. A tip I got here at Trainboard.
Thanks for the info, but I’m going with C55 all the way just as soon as I pickup more #7 turnouts. I will be converting the C55 to Unitrack at the top of this drawing for the spur over to my Unitrack layout. I have a couple of Unitrack turnouts left over from that layout and since I have a 3’ section of ¾” plywood spanning the space between the two layouts, I will not have space under the track for a switch motor, so I will probably use the Unitrack turnout for that one. I will have two track connections from C55 to Unitrack. I have a couple of transition pieces, but I don’t know yet if they will work with the C55. I bought them for the C80. I don’t know what I’m going to do yet with the C80 flex track, but I’m thinking of selling them. I’m not in a hurry to get rid of them.
I was just placing my order for Code 55 turnouts and I realized they don't have code 55 rerailers. I don't know what to do about that. I thought Atlas was suposed to come out with them. Did they end up with the curved turnouts?
The rerailers are available - since about February. I got tired of waiting for my pusher, and learning they were in Atlas' warehouse, ordered direct. Curved switches, OTOH, are another story. Originally it was thought they'd be available in late January, but are still among the missing. They, along with the C55 flex, are giving Atlas a huge black eye among the faithful...
Thanks I went ahead and placed my order for the turnouts last night with out the rerailers, but still would like to have them. I check the price at the atlas site and if they are not too bad I'll order them there.
Random observations.... 1) Any way to make all or part of those staging yards one-directional? When I did that to mine it was possible to set up automatic stop tracks with release pushbuttons, and only the entrance, not the exit, yard ladder had to have switch machines, the exit points float. 50% savings right there. 2) The spring in Peco switches comes out when you want to put a switch machine on it. 3) I have both Tortise and Lambert, which is the design predecessor to Rix and the identical size. I must have 50 of the Lambert installed with home-made brass tube and steel spring wire linkages. Most of them are now 25 years old and on a capacitor-discharge system. They are big, loud, powerful. Throwing eight of them on the CD system with a single button (diode matrix routing with DC) sounds like an explosion under the yard, but they always throw and really do a good job. What I don't like about them is the additional contacts held by screws - which I use to control indicator lights on the panel and the interlocking for the signal system. Given that much force, the screws loosen up over time, and that is the regular maintenance PITA to relatively inacessible switches under the layout. 4) I'm using Tortise on my new portable modules, mostly because of the reliability, quietness, etc. but man, they are a pain to mount unless you can 'hang' them as intended. 5) If you get some 1/16" K&S brass tube, and some steel piano wire, you can have some of the most creative linkages imaginable from any distance and any angle. I also put the machines DOWN to the bottom of the layout where I can get at them easily, rather than secured to the underside of the roadbed up inside the layout. On some installations there's 5" between the track and the switch machine vertically.
That’s an excellent idea and yes I can make them all on direction.Thanks :thumbs_up: I was over at HomeDepot buying plumbing stuff for my daughter’s new house and saw this plastic tubing that I thought might work great for the tubing. I don’t know the name of it but it was an opaque white color and stiff. It felt almost slippery without any lubricant. I think it was maybe ¼” but it looked like it might work pretty good for what your talking about and it was cheep.
