About 6 or 7 years ago, after nearly tearing my hair out, I replaced ALL my Gargraves switches with Ross and have had no problems since. Some will remember there were two different types of Gargraves; an old, old model with stamped metal points and a newer type with movable rails. The older ones were a disaster. The newer, not so much, but I replaced them all anyway, tossed the stamped metal types in the garbage and saved a few of the newer ones.
I now have a need for one industrial siding which will also serve a dual purpose as a storage track. Thinking about all the problems I had years ago, is there a way to closely examine a switch (the newer type Gargraves) to determine if it will cause problems before it gets installed rather than putting it in on a hope and a prayer? This siding will be close to the edge of the layout and so will be activated with a manual ground throw therefore one possible problem area will be eliminated. Bottom line…I’m thinking I can save 75 bucks and reuse one of the newer old Gargraves. Dumb idea?
I’ve taken a close, close look…with a magnifying glass even. I’ve noticed that on some the there’s a lot of slop in the moving rails (sorry…I don’t know all the switch nomenclature). They wiggle and often aren’t perpendicular to the ties, so have been eliminated from consideration. Are there other things I should be looking for?
