Found some Tomar HO scale upper quadrant semaphore signals at my LHS about two months ago. Couldn’t stay away from them, bought them out. Installed them on the MR, which meant tearing out all of my old searchlight signals (too modern for the era I’m modeling). They are gorgeous. Powered the little teeny bulbs in them with Tomar 1.5 volt battery switch holders.
Needed some more. Ordered them from Tomar, directly, for reasons of speed. Found out when they arrived that Tomar had gone to LED’s instead of little DC bulbs. LED’s require electonic thingies I don’t have. E-mailed Tomar, explaining the situation (and the fact that when it comes to electronics and resistors that I’m a total, helpless Doofus. I’m strictly DC, as most of you know).
Got an E-mail back from Duane Henry at Tomar. Send the LED’s back, he’ll be happy to convert them to the 1.8 DC bulbs that were in the older signals I bought at my LHS. No problem.
I’ve used Tomar accessories for quite a while–their track sliders have turned my older brass locomotives into Swiss Watches when it comes to running. Oh,. and BTW, those of you who want lighted drumheads for that passenger train of yours, they’ve got them.
Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know that if you ever need anything from Tomar, as far as signals, electric goodies, whatever–their product is not only of superb quality, they’ll bend over backward to help you with any problems that might arise.
They’re Good Guys. Nice to know we’ve still got heroes like Duane and manufacturers like Tomar supplying this hobby.
Ya’ know – It’s threads like this that shed a bad light on our beloved forum. Tom, if you want people to post, you GOTTA complain, man!!! [;)]
Seriously, thanks for sharing your good experience with Tomar. It is nice to know that there are good company’s out there. Sylvan Scale Models is another company that is right up at the top for me.
I have a couple of Tomar’s lower-quadrant-semaphore train order boards (signals). They’re nicely done. That’s all I have planned as I intend to build a “blind” railroad and have only two train order stations. Good thing too, as each will need two Tortoise switch machines, and even though only a simple electrical switch (no electronics and detection system) is required to operate, it gets downright expensive.
Yup, operating those signals can get expensive. But I did find a cheap substitute that seems to work really well. It’s called my index finger, LOL! [:P]
Tom, why didn’t I think of that?[D)] Due to the nature of train order boards (they were manually operated by the railroad) and the fact they will be readily accessible, this technique doesn’t compromise much in my situation.
You’re correct. The good guys deserve mention as well. Let me add a couple:
Gary Wright of WrightTRAK. Excellent models. Promptly answers any/all questions in detail with clear suggestions.
Dan Bush of Yardbirds. I inquired about a Helix Humper motor. They didn’t have one and couldn’t get one. But he kept my email on line for over two months. When one showed up, he sent me an message asking if I still wanted it. I bought it.
Tom, I looked at your layout photo albums again[bow], and it struck me. Your stations look naked for the absence of train order boards.[:O] Send an order for them! You’re not finished with the layout yet! [:-,]
Mark
PS – It was reassuring to know you’re as ugly as I. [swg]
I have come to the conclusion after reading threads like this one that companies that specializes in a particular market (i.e. this hobby) that they tend to have the best customer service. In a day of globalization and other business factors, customer service is something to be desired.
There are a few companies that market to a wide variety of people and have good customer service. But of the large companies are absolutely horrible at customer service. I don’t like calling a call center that located half way around the world to help fix my American product. This just my [2c]
I hope no one takes this personal. I tend to rant sometimes.
Yes, it’s 2" foam on 1x4" open grid. Lightweight but sturdy. It’s been up for 7 years with no problems at all.
Only one drawback, under the table turnout machines don’t work very well attached to the foam. Luckily, all of my turnouts are within easy reach, so they’re manual.
Ooops. I mistakenly edited a previous post rather than to send another. So, I’ll create the new one here even if it appears to duplicate an earlier post.