I finally have my dream room in my new house for my train layout. I have the first level of lionel tubular track down with my old and dear lionel o22 switches in place. I am please with the fact that I got power consistently to all tracks on the layout (approximately 27 x 20’). I have a fixed voltage line in place ready to go for all my switches and low and behold, when I tested a few switches with the fixed voltage plug inserted, the light on the switch came on; however, when I used the throttle to run the trains, the light on the switch was affected. In other words, the fixed voltage for the switch is not separate from the main voltage. I am stymied.
I have parallel connections for all my lockons connected to one throttle of a ZW - U AND D and a fixed connection for the switches to C.
There has been a lot of discussion of this very recently on the forum. Rather than having everyone repeat himself in this topic, a search for “switch” will probably turn up most if not all of it.
I was thinking the same thing when I read the question, he must not have used the fixed voltage plugs. It took me a while to understand them, but they do make all the difference.
The best turnouts that I have used were Ross and Curtis. In years past I used Lionel 022 switches but they went along with my tublar track when I changed over to GarGraves during the 1980s.
Of the 6 O22’s I own (2 post war, 4 from MPC/LTI era) , only 1 (I believe it was a modern one) ever gave any trouble. That one would not throw completely in one direction. I took it apart and tweaked it several times, but never did get it working right. I always use the auxiliary power plug, but sometimes had to tweak the contact/plug to get the power through.
The O22s, particularly the post war ones, liked their voltage high for snappy action. Modern engines running in conventional mode run too fast on O22-compatible voltages. I typically try to run my modern engines on the variable 0-11 volt setting on a 1033, or try to find a similar voltage on other transformers. But I have to wire my O22s to a fixed 14-16 volt (minimum - they can handle 18 volts just fine, 20 volts shortens the life of the bulb in the lantern unacceptably) source for reliable performance.
There is a recent thread on O27 height switches. To summarize, most thought the Marx (comes in O27 and O34 sizes), once fitted with a guard rail, or the new K Line - only comes in O42 - were the best answer due to their low switch machines.
Atlas and Ross apparently match up well to O27 track in height, and the switches are highly thought of. Very early production Atlas may have had a few glitches.
I have never heard any complaints about Gargraves switches either - their height seems to match up better with O tubular track than most of the others.
One thing I found out, with the 022’s, was that even with the power plug,
I had to run a ground wire from the center nut terminal, to a common ground.
This was the case on 2 of my older ones.
Chuck
I use the fixed voltage plug on my 0-22s and run them at 12 volts. They work just fine and have had no problems with them. I have found them to be nearly faultless. One is just a little rough, but everything passes through it.
Lionel 022 switches from the post-war era work well but need some regular maintenance, keep away from 6-23011 or similar Lionel switches as they are tra***o me! GarGraves & Ross Custom Switches are very good choices but will require adapter pins made by GarGraves to work with Lionel or K-Line tubelar track. gargraves.com or rosscustomswitches.com should help you if you choose that route!
Also if you need insulating pins for Ross or GarGraves use K-Line S-guage insulating pins, you will need to wittle them down with an exacto knife or other sharp knife.
I’ve had Ross switches for maybe 4 yrs. now and have not had any problems with them. As for insulating pins I haven’t bothered, I installed the switches and track and after fastening them down cut a gap with a Dremel, on the track side of the joint. If I decide I want the gap filled I use a bit of epoxy. I’ve used the same method for insulated rail sections.
I still have the DZ2000 switch machines, I’m too lazy to change them out for the DZ2500’s.