Signal Bridge with Ross SG Switch

Arno,

Really cool.

Joe

Now that's one of the neatest things I've seen.  That came out really well.  I use a lot of block signals as indicator lights for switches, but never thought of using a signal bridge.  I love the way that looks and works, slick as can be.  

d

Looking good, Professor Arno!

Very nice Arno. Good to see you playing.

Steve

Well-done, Arno!! Glad to see you have trains rolling in your new home. 

John

Thanks guys for all the positive comments. ARNO

Can we see a better picture of those brown cars, please? They look like they were made from Marx M 10,005 cars.

RoyBoy posted:

Can we see a better picture of those brown cars, please? They look like they were made from Marx M 10,005 cars.

I'm sorry for the delay RoyBoy, it took me a couple days to get down to the train room.

I am pretty certain the brown cars were not made from the Marx cars. First off, they are Standard Gauge and that pretty much says enough for me.

The cars are neatly done homemade cars. Whoever made them did a nice job with them. They made two different versions, one with a conventional roof and the other with a sleek rounded roof. 

They all share the same basic construction and materials with small changes on the details; different brake wheels and ladders, etc. On one of the cars bottom, there is a date of "1943" painted on it (with a brush), but no other markings on any of the cars. They are all painted the same basic shade of brown and are decorated with what appears to be O-gauge decals from the day. They run on Lionel 500-series trucks and have latch couplers. I put a combination coupler (hook & latch) on the front car so I had more locomotive options.

When I got these cars (10 altogether), there were a few that needed trucks and couplers. I was able to easily add the parts to those cars since they had the holes in place. Since the roof is soldered, I was able to access what I needed thru the side doors. Interestingly, there is one car that does not have the holes pre-drilled and I am not sure if I will be able to add the needed parts. We'll see.

I really like these cars, partly because they are homemade but also because they are a neat set of freights. Sure there are some pieces missing and a few doors that need to be reattached, but they still have loads of character to me.

Enjoy.

ARNO

Arno,

Very neat.  I am constantly amazed at how you continually find ems like these.

Joe

Those are great.  Love that they are a "matching" set but that whoever made them was happy varying the details so that they are not identical.  From a handmade perspective, that rolled roof is a tough detail.  10 of them... wow... I'll bet that if he was making them all identical he would have lost interest around #4. 

1943... wartime, and there were no toy trains for sale anywhere.  This guy found some used sheet metal and did a great job.  

Thanks Arno!

 

Arno,

I really like the operating signal bridge.  As you know I own a homemade signal bridge for which I purchased four sets of the circular light fixture parts from MTH to make it operational.  I now need to add those parts and wiring to the signal bridge below.  Any recommendations?

For those without neat signal bridges like yours, I should note that LGB does make the operational lighted turnout lantern below that can be attached directly to the LGB switch motor on a Ross Standard Gauge switch to indicate the direction of the turnout. 

Bob Nelson