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Ross makes a good Standard Gauge switch. The MTH 42" ones are copies of the old Lionel switches. They have a nice, old-time tinplate look about them and they come in green or black, but they are cheaply made in spots. I'm told they work OK; I have no personal experience with them. I do have personal experience with the MTH 72" Standard Gauge switches; they are JUNK!!! Avoid at all costs. The Ross product is much superior to MTH, but they do look more like a real switch with tinplate rail on it than like a tinplate item. 

 

I absolutely agree with Steve on the subject of track. I just got done installing a loop of Standard Gauge track, which I bought from USA Track, on my new layout. It is a superbly made product, superior in every way to the chintzy, Chinese-made MTH product. It's made of heavier metal, the crimps are tighter, and it fits better. Kirk is a great guy to deal with and he custom cuts straight sections up to 100" for very little extra. Buy USA track and Ross switches; they are made in USA and much better quality than the alternative. 

There have been several extensive posts on this topic. I tried to search for them but the search function on this forum is next to useless. If you can figure out how to use it...Or contact those who can make it work, there was a lot of info posted.

In a nutshell...It all depends upon what equipment you are running.

Original Lionel 42" turnouts are better than the MTH repros. Both 42" turnouts need modification to run early Lionel equipment. Somebody makes an add on frog ramp to make Lionel 42" turnouts work better.

The MTH 72" turnouts are not the best for sure, but they do work.

So far the best new Standard Gauge turnouts are the Ross units. They have double moving points to allow running of most anything.

Other turnouts by Right of Way Industries work with a double point system like the Ross units but are manual and hard to find.

Rydin turnouts are OK but the points are made from cheap castings and wear out and the check rail alignment is too narrow for older Lionel equipment.

Prewar Flyer turnouts are said to work well since they have moving rails with no frog. Older Lionel prewar turnouts also have moving rails with no points or frog.
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