I need the benefit of your experiences to help me decide between the turnout motors from Switchmaster and the Switch Tender motor sold through Micro Mark.
I’ve heard and read good things about the Switchmaster, and except for space considerations would probably go with them. I’ll need to mount turnout controls in some fairly tight spaces, and the Switch Tender seems a bit smaller and more manageable. Does anybody have experiences with the Switch Tender, especially in terms of ease of use and reliability?
I’ve also considered the Tortoise machines, but I’m thinking that I may need a rotating linkage, and I’m using foam construction methods which seem (at least to me) to make mounting and using Tortoise units more difficult.
Mounting either on foam will not be easy. The Tortoise will likely be easier. I too use foama nd you cna see how I top mount my ortoises on my web site. However, going forward, I have no plans to keep doing it that way. The Tortoise will have no problems operating through 2" of foam, excepting possibly repalcing the included wire with a slight thicker piece. I discovered that the Tortoises can be ‘glued’ to the botom of the foam using latex caulk, the same caulk I used for my roadbed and track. Underneath mounting this way is easy - there is plenty of ‘working time’ to align the machine, but once the caulk dries it will NOT slideor fall off. It took a lot of force to pop off the one I did as a test.
Given the price of the Switch Tender and Switchmaster - add some microswitches to get contacts - vs the Tortoise, the Tortoise is a better deal. Plenty of reputable dealers have the Tortoises for less than the $18.95 MSRP.
Thanks, Randy! I’ve got my foam base on a plywood sub-base, and am thinking that I might use wire armatures through tubing to connect a below-layout machine with the turnout above. I guess I’m concerned about mounting a Tortoise in an area where a mining spur will be above several hidden tracks. My layout is small (3’ x 4’ in N-scale) and I’m wondering whether I can get enough elevation to mount the Tortoise above the tunnel.
I have some Peco machines left over from a previous layout, and although I’d like to stay away from twin-coil if I can, they may be the best option for the location I’ve mentioned.
Thanks, again! Anybody else have ideas - I know there’s lots of experience among the readers of this forum, and I need to tap into it before I get myself in a pickle!
If you looked at my web site you saw I didn’t use any plywood under my foam, which makes it a bit different. But if you are goign to use the wire through a brass tube method, you can lay a Tortoise on its side, either directly or using a wooden or other bracket. There is also a methos described in MR by Lionel Strang a number of years ago that shows another way of operating that type of linkage with a Tortoise, although I belive that requires even MORE clearance to fit it all in.
If you are dealing with a hidden area, don’t discount the option of mounting the Tortoise ABOVE the table. And if you aren’t in much of a DIY linkage mood, there’s the Tortoise Remote Mount option that gives you a cable and mounting parts to place the Tortoise well away fromt he turnout it is controlling, perfect when a throwbar ends up over an immoveable piece of benchwork.
Great advice, Randy. Haven’t had a chance to check your web site yet (I’m still at work), but will do that tonight. Also really appreciate the heads up on possibilities for the Tortoise - I’ll check on those tonight as well.
You don’t say what space limitations you are working with, but I’ve had some success with sw motors mounted away from the track area and coupled to the drawbar by a piece of piano wire running through a length of brass tubing. (you can push on a rope!) This way the motors are in a servicable locale like under the mountain, and the tube is buried in the ballast. To be really cheap, in some places I’ve used some old Atlas 2-coil motors with the peg filed off and the arm drilled to accept the wire. I may have to put a metal tube into the arm to reduce wear from the wire, but will wait until I must. George
Thanks, Wolfgang! Your linkage looks interesting - I’m going to save the image and enlarge it to see the details.
Also visited your web site. You’ve done some REALLY nice work. You clearly have a sharp eye for details, and the craftsmanship to make them look completely natural. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks George! I’m thinking that some type of piano wire in tubing linkage will probably work the best, whether I end up with Tortoise or other switch motors.
Any chance you could post some photos of the linkage you described. I admit it - I’m really a visual person, so photographs tell me a whole lot more than words.
There’s a posting in the General section that includes directions for including photos. That said, I’m not sure after reading it that I would actually be able to do it. Maybe if you email the person who posted it?
Hope you get it figured out, 'cause I would really like to see your photos!
If you have a choice, go with Tortoise switch machines. I have over 75 installed on my layout and they all work flawlessly. I use the contacts on the machine to send a signal to my computer indicating whether they are in the normal or diverge position. Yes, they cost more than some other alternatives but are inexpensive when you consider the reliability. As the saying goes “pay me now or pay me later”. If you buy in units of 12 there are vendors out there who can give you good prices bringing the cost down to $12-13/machine.
Thanks, Steve! It’s getting clear that Tortoise has a major following because of its quality and reliability. My layout is too small to take advantage of discounts for a dozen, but they don’t seem that much more than other options.
I finally got these pictures to upload. Hope they show the detail you wanted.
Ignore the poor benchwork, it is recycled from a badly designed staging area that won’t be seen after the scenery is done. As I mentioned, the Atlas sw motors are of the OLD design: they were redesigned lately to include a snap-relay in the unit -a good idea, but unfortunately the lever-arm is now very flimsy and would rather twist or flex instead of flipping the turnouts from this other company. These older units still can be found in flea markets or shows. Not all the push-wire needs to be in a tube; you can experiment to see how much flexing you can tolerate and still get good action. Have fun!
