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Often I see sellers on auction sites listing vintage O-72 Gargraves switches and calling them O-100. here is a photo of the three switches which get confused.  A vintage GarGraves O-72  at the bottom an original O-100 middle with center rail between the points formed from rail bent into a sort of elongated diamond and a current O-100 top, with a stamped sheet metal center rail between the points much like that on the O-72. Other small details distinguish the three.  The current O-100 has extended ties at the throw lever and the molded tie base is two ties longer than the other two. The original O-100 and the O-72 share the same molded tie base but the points and throw lever are in different locations. The O-72 has 5 ties between the throw lever and the end of the base where the original O-100 has only 2 ties between the throw lever and the end of the base. I would love to know the beginning and end of production runs for the original O-72 and the original O-100 should anyone know as well as anything else I may have missed.  I have also marked the span of the arc on all three with a blue.   Another small detail about the GarGraves O-100 switches is GarGraves site states these are 100" radius switches not 100" diameter.  One last point the new GarGraves O-72 switches have an arc on the turnout that extends from one end of the switch to the other.        

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ADCX Rob posted:

All in your pic appear to be the O-100.  You are missing several "generations" of O-100 / high speed switches as well. here are a pair I have.

Rob I have 4 pair, four are like these with wood ties and four have the plastic base. They are NOT O-100 switches regardless of what you have been told. I bought them in 1961-62 when a hobby shop in Biloxi MS. closed. Neat thing about them is there is no conventional frog and they can accommodate scale and tinplate wheels. Over the short curved arc the bottom switch is close to O-72 and only the top two switches in my photo are O-100.  If you try and lay them on top of the O-72 switches they are clearly a much wider arc in the curved area.  I tried to make a photo but could not make the curved area between the two stand out enough to see in a photo. I had an around the wall layout in my bedroom when I was a kid. When we moved back to Birmingham I rebuilt it with Gargraves track and used these switches because they would accommodate 3 rail and scale two rail trains.  If you run a two rail diesel through them it will pass through easily however a two rail 4-8-2 mountain rated for 40" radius does not stand a chance. Don't take my word call GarGraves and talk to Mike or Tom.         j

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