I recently purchased several high switch stand kits. The product picture showed the lantern with jewels in them, however they weren’t included in the kit. I placed a call to Caboose Industries and had a very pleasant conversation with him. He explained that they stopped including the jewels some time ago because they became hard to get and expensive. I can understand that so I’m in no way bashing Caboose Ind. I am thinking of rhinestone jewels to install as they would catch light and make the lanterns look like they were lit. Has anyone done this and if so where did you get the jewels and how did they work out? Thanks Ken
Rather than using jewels, I’d suggest trying MVProducts lenses.
They’re available in many sizes and colours suitable for switchstands, although none are made specifically for that purpose. They are, however, made as class and marker lights for locos and cabooses, and are therefore appropriately-sized for switchstands, too.
Their advantages are consistency in size and a shallower depth than jewels, which usually have a sharply conical rear face, and they can be illuminated using bulbs, LEDs, or fibre optics. They also look less like jewels and more like lighted lenses, even when unlit.
All of the lenses on the front of this doodlebug are from MVP:
Wayne
Thanks Wayne, I’ll look into those, Ken
Or…you can go to a Michaels Crafts store and pick up a pack of adhesive red jewels for just a few dollars. They are on the right side aisles, about where stick on letters and scrapbooking supplies are located. I have used these for lantern jewels on my rebuilt cabeese, but use a tiny drop of CA glue, rather than rely on the adhesive backing. There are red and green ones in various tiny sizes at Michaels.
Cedarwoodron
Hi Ken,
Tomar sells jewels under their Utah Pacific label. I’m not sure if they are the right size for the switch stands but they should be pretty close. They are in the third and fourth lines of listed products:
https://tomarindustries.com/up.htm
Dave
Thanks all for the help, Ken