HOn3 and Old Shinohara Lambert Turnouts

[Mastiffdog]

For the HOn3 gurus,

Are the old Lambert/Shinohara turnouts the same/worse/better than the new Walther's Shinohara turnouts?

DOG

 

[Graham Hoffman]

I have several Lambert/Shinohara HO no. 4 brass turnouts on my layout that I purchased in the late 50's. When I converted to NS track I kept them because they looked good (aside from the brass color) and worked flawlessly. I just purchased a new Shinohara no. 4 today and of course, with today's technology, the detail is better than it was 40 years ago. My old ones work fine on my layout, using NCE DCC control. As a point of interest, the turnout today cost $17.95 and the price tag on the old one was $2.50!!

 

[Vic]

I Dunno

Dog, I've been in HON3 since 1983 and have always used Shinahora turnouts. I've got 26 of them in operation right now and all have worked flawlessly for 20 years.

I doubt that the design of them has changed any at all. It was my understanding that Walthers simply took over the the US distribution of them.

The big drawback is (In hon3) that they only come in code 70 rail but I figured out a way to transition them to code 55 for sidings. Once they are ballasted and weathered they look just right for NG mainline.

IMHO twin coil or slow-mo switch machines are a must with them as they are rather "stiff" in their operation. Also using the aux contacts on such machines assures that you always have positive contact between the points and frogs.

However, If I were going to do it over again I think that I would seriously consider using a turnouts with actual working point rails and slow-mo machines rather than the riveted pivot that Shinahora uses for no other reason than I think they look better. But I continue with the Shinohora's because I have a "goodly" supply of them.