Rob Johnston posted:

After doing the prerequisite search on both Google and this forum, I still have some questions.

Has anyone done anything with manually operated ground throws or switch stands lately.  I am leaning towards the Ross lighted ground throws or maybe the Caboose Industries 204S Sprung Hi-level for HO and S (.190" travel)  and the Caboose Industries 208S Sprung (.280" travel) travel for O. So the questions:

Can I actually throw the turn-out by hand with the Ross 50 Lighted Operating Switch Stand?

No, those switch stands do not operate the switch.  They have a wire that connects to the throw bar to turn the lights when the throw bar moves.

Will the Caboose Industries 204S Sprung Hi-level for HO and S (.190" travel) reliably throw a Gargraves or Ross 3 rail turn-out?

No, you will need the 208s (.280" travel) for Gargraves or Ross switches.  I have dozens of them and they work great.

Does anyone have any experience with the Tomar Industries O-851 lighted switch stand?

No.

Can anyone share how well any of these options have withstood the test of time and usage?

I've had Caboose Industries 208s ground throws in operation for over 15 years without failures.

TIA

 

I had a layout with Gargraves  switches many years ago and I used "HO" Caboose industries ground throws.    I Still have most of those in service on the third layout since which is now 2 rail.    However, Gargraves may require a longer throw today.

So to have ground throws and lighted switch stands I am looking at Ross 50s and Caboose Industries 208s for each turnout?

Rob Johnston posted:

So to have ground throws and lighted switch stands I am looking at Ross 50s and Caboose Industries 208s for each turnout?

Correct.  Given the cost of the Ross 50s, I would buy a couple to try before purchasing enough for the whole layout.  I have not used them.

Actually, there is an o scale co, All-aboard-trains.com has a  lighted ground throw that looks exactly like the ross/ right of way in brass ground throws that actually work! I believe the manually lighted ground throws cost $30.00? Ea (maybe more as it could have been an introductory  offer)

Is it pssible to use glow in the dark paint to paint the flat area on ground throws red on one side and green on the other. While I was at a tain show there was a HO club running trains and I noticed the ground throws were painted on the top flat service of the throw. They used finger nail polish. It look good . So that got me thinking if there was a glow in the dark paint that could be seen in a semi dark room that is a very small drop.

The Ross website shows the 50 at $19.95.

Would anyone with experience please weigh in?

I bought one of the above mentioned lighted ground throws. I had a lift out bridge and was looking for a lighted switchstand. This is just to switch a small siding. So it won’t see a lot of use.

The stand is very well made. True to scale. I deviated from the instructions a bit. My track was already down. You need to notch one of the ties for clearance for the eccentric crank. Easily done with a Dremel. Should have been done from the underside. But I wasn’t going to start pulling up track. The attaching wire to the throwbar was a little bit of trial and error. You needed small track spikes to hold it in place. I had already removed some of the tie and even then. It wasn’t going to grab by a lot. I decided seeing it’s brass. To solder a little more robust mounting tabs and used a couple of cutoff ties and secured it with no. 2 screws. I really wanted the stand on the other side. Probably adhering to how the prototype works. It had to be on the straight through track to work properly.

The bushes kind of hide my work. The light was sort of the importance of installing this. Still it’s a seldom used single car siding and I can’t imagine in what scenario you would forget to return it back to the main. Seeing the switcher has to get back to the yard. The design of the stand is truly prototypical. You lift up the small handle and rotate. No guests could accidentally do this. Still the lighted green LED offers piece of mind looking down the main.

I had the #50 switch stand on my last layout. I had them work with the tortoise motor and they looked great. I changed my layout and all my turnouts are manual or Z1000. I never got around to hooking up the stands or researching how to power them.

I used Caboose sprung 0s on atlas turnouts.  worked great.