Heya all! I’ve got a few questions for all you experienced modelers out there. My grandpa brought over a big box full of track and switches from my father’s and uncle’s childhood layout. I went through the box and took stock of what I was given and was happy to find a large number of various Atlas code 100 switches, some of which had the original motors attached. Some newspaper wrappings on the bottom of the box said 1975 on them, suggesting that these tracks have not seen the light of day for at least 30 years. Anyways, a few were damaged beyond salvage and I put them aside. However, most were in fine to fair condition. They all have an slight orangish tint, and are covered in a healthy layer of grime. I have not tested them with any trains, but scrubbed some with a bright boy I intend on replacing the remaining swtich machines with ground throws to minimize wiring hassles, and to save money, (which, to say is nearly non-existent for a high schooler such as myself).
My question to you is:
Are these switches worth saving for use on my layout?
Oh, and one other question, does anybody know how do get carpet glue off of concrete floor? I wanted to start putting carpet squares down in my rec room, but there’s a very thin, grimy layer of carpet adhesive on the floor. It came off in some spots, leaving clean concrete, but I’ve been attacking other sections with a metal scraper.
I’d use them around the Christmas tree, but thats as far as I’d go. They are made of brass and tend to get dirty quickly so you’ll need to clean them often. If you’re building a NICE layout and are planning on running trains quite a while on it then I would NOT use them. You’ll be much happier with the newer style turnouts that are made of nickel silver and look more prototypical. The new Atlas code 83 turnouts look and operate great for less than 10 dollars a piece. Walthers code 83 is my favorite, but they’re typically about $15 dollars a piece. But man they look sweet.
Keep using the scraper on the floor. That’s the best way to do it. Lots and lots of elbow grease[:D]
I’m going to suggest Goo Gone as a first step on both the carpet glue and the track.
You should also get a rail cleaning block – for the age of your track, even a cheap one would do, or a flat piece of cork. Maybe paper towel or something to rub the tops of the rails.
You may want to use something else to clean the rails after the Goo Gone.
I think one really has to look at your question from your viewpoint;
Your in school
limited budget.
$15 or more bucks a pop for turnouts.
If you toss them them…no yard…
With the above in mind I would try using the brass track in a yard that can be accessable to replace the old turnouts later. As far as cleaning them, borrow a bit of Brasso from your mother and polish the top of the rails. You could paint or weather the rails. They will work.
I did that three years ago to get my yard going, now have about 300 feet of track and still wonder why i havent changed out 14 turnouts in my yard yet, Perhaps its that they work OK. and other prioritys for the $$$$. All Im saying is …give them a try, if you dont like them, then toss them.
Yes, being young and in school. Lots of time and no money. You have plennty of time to work on the switches. There’s a chance that the switch machines will work (if you can get the dust out) and even work manually.
I only took a picture of switches, but I also have curved and strait track. I would use the turnouts. You might not want to use the regular track, but the turnouts are great. Go to the store, and get a brass boy track cleaner and fine steel wool, with or without soap in it. If you have a corrosive cleaning element, put it in a bucket and fill it with hot water. Take the motor unit off by unscrewing the screws, and put the turnout in the water. Allow it to sit, and then use the steel wool to get all of your grease and grime off, and then polish it clean with the eraser. You can go even farther by using very fine sandpaper to polish the tops of the rails.
I cant tell you what to do with the old switches. But there is a product on the market for removing old hard adhesive,
its called old hard adhesive remover and is available in most hardware stores, I’ve used and it works well.
Good luck
slohmoh
That’s what I did when I started my current layout. Most of my track was salvaged from the previous one. I didn’t, however, save the few pieces of steel track. That was cut up into 39-foot lengths and dumped in a MoW gondola, or used to make rail fences. Eventually though, I got tired of messing with the brass track, and replaced it with nickel-silver.
They don’t look too bad to me. I think if I was in your situation I would find some way to make them work. I would be more worried about them being bent or disfigured rather than dirty. As others have said dirt can be cleaned. While cleaning, remember that the only place the train needs to make contact with (for electricity flow) is the very top, and the top of the inside.
Also no one mentioned an ultrasonic cleaner if you have access to one.
By all means, use the old turnouts. You may have to clean them up (if that is fiber tie material, don’t soak them in any kind of liquid!) and you may have to clean the rails before every operating session, but they will give you a mighty big boost in construction tempo.
Plan on replacing them when financial pressures ease, which means don’t solder every rail joint (never a good idea with turnouts of any kind.) As problems arise (they will!) and finances allow, you can replace troublemakers one or a few at a time. In the meantime, you will have a railroad you can switch, not just run.
You and I can certenly afford to replace them, however I was not looking at his problem from my standpoint, but his limited budget, to get further into model railroading as his desires take him, and most importent they will work if in decent repair and in gauge. Contrary to popular belief Brass does not have to be cleaned for each use and is durable.
And Yes I am going to change out my brass, however Im on a limited income too…retired…take care have a great day…John
cf7…have you ever heard of something called time, patients, and elbow grease?
Anyhow, I really don’t see what the big fuss is about brass. If you have the money to replace it, do so, but if you don’t, it’s not like it’s the first turnout ever built. It has a few decades of experiance under it’s belt, so with a little cleaning, it will work just as good as the nickle silver, even if you don’t do a thourough cleaning, like I mentioned in the above thread.
Well, thanks for the help everyone. As I am on a tight budget, and I need what little cash I have to replace my main line switches, I will be keeping the brass switches for use in my yard. Cleaning shouldn’t be too much of an issue because all of it is within a foot of the table edge. When I get the cash, I will put replacing the switches near the top of my list of priorities.
I have brass turnouts in my collection far older than yours, approaching a half-century. While they still work, they are brass and will tarnish easily. I had some brass Shinohara 3-ways that I ended up replacing after trying to make them work properly, but the Atlas ones will probably still work. Eventually, though, you’ll want to replace them. First, the brass doesn’t work well and will tarnish, and second, the Atlas above-table switch motors look terrible. However, for a first layout they might be OK.
The pleasant surprise is that those ancient switch motors probably still work, and, believe it or not, they will fit the current generation of Atlas snap-switches. So, you can save a few bucks by buying manual turnouts and then replacing the plastic controls with your old ones.
Having used brass turnouts and track in the past - assuming they are mechanically sound, the only issue is the extra cleaning for brass rail oxidation. The amount of cleaning depends on your room environment and how often you run your trains. The more you run trains over brass rail, the less it oxidizes. Run the trains several times a week with 10+ passes of trains with metal wheels and you will have no brass oxidation (you still may have other dirt problems but rail material doesn’t matter for dirt). For this reason, I recommend you put the brass turnouts in the most frequently used track.
And NEVER use steel wool for cleaning model railroad equipment. The tiny steel strands left behind will cause no end of problems. Don’t ask me how I know this - it damaged a fine Lionel loco when I was young. Use a non-metallic abrasive pad like Scotchbrite instead.
Mister Beasley: Perhaps older Atlas HO switch motors fit current turnouts, but Atlas changed the length of N scale switch motors a while back. The older ones I have in metal cases are too short for current turnouts. Too bad, because they work far better than the current switch motors. They close with a decisive “snap” that assures you the turnout is thrown. But I wouldn’t worry about the age of the switch motors if the turnouts are in good shape. It wouldn’t be the brass trach that concerns me; it would be the condition of the plastic frogs. The channels have worn on some of my older turnouts, and that was the reason for their replacement.
Indeed, my old turnout machines are HO. Sorry, I should have mentioned that. Although the new Atlas machines work on both the snap switches and custom lines, the old ones will only fit the snap switches. They still come with nut-and-bolt mounts, along with the snap-in fittings, but the custom lines only have snap-ins and won’t take the older machines.
For those who are interested, here are some pictures of what I’m laying out for this railroad. All of this is just in the “loose” stage, nothing’s been fixed down yet. This layout has a 10x8’ “L” shape.
The trackwork in the foreground is 10 year old, all steel snap switches (these will definitely be replaced because many of the rails and bent and damaged). This section is designed like the left half of the"Great Eastern Trunk" trackplan from Atlas.
Basically, the third track allows me to pull cuts of cars out of the yard and hook up locomotives without blocking the main line. It gives me a lot more tail track space, and gives the look of a heavy yard/mainline area.
The track curving off the table will be a branchline. Cuts of cars will be made up and pushed onto it, representing some unseen branch run.
The same area, facing the opposite direction (east).
The fourth track curving off near the top (before the three track main) leads to an elevated coal mine with wye. Some of the brass switches are wye, but I probably won’t use them because the wye will be elevated, and hard to reach in some spots.
