Timely video. Many of these switches I obtained needed a little TLC. Biggest problem I had was a voltage drop over the frog that put the reverse unit into neutral on my old Flyer engines.
Hi Dave i also use resistor to step down voltage on just the bulbs and not the voltage to the switch. It works great,and i can still use the regular green and red.
Dave once again thank you for the detailed video. We'll I got my frontiersman a few weeks ago and now by total chance I found an 0-8-0 switcher #342 at a yard sale along with four switches, some uncoupler sections, a 944 crane car and a few intersections as well. All in a sad state but I'm going see how far I get. The switcher is running now so that's a step in the right direction at least 👍
That sounds good, congratulations on your acquisition, many variations of 342 were produced, most are pricey and rare, this is a good find especially if you restore/rebuilt it, 944 is also a good find.
This switch is a superior design that is affected by time and corrosion as compared to that famous early model 720 with defined roadbed that warps and never works right . The 720A is the same switch , same as above, but made with the better bakelite not styrene plastic. This switch when reworked properly will give you thousands of throws with autothrow systems and continue working reliabley. Some of these iterations are better than others, the difference being in the shutter filter material. The answer to the bulb problem is 2447 24 volt, cheap and effective, buy them by the boxfull (chinese) CASG
I need advice on how to remove the moving rail on a 722 switch. Is the center rivet just a press fit into the plastic base? Underneath is all grimy and dirty, so needs to be cleaned. Also, same question for the older AF XA-9926 switch. Any help is appreciated.
If you’re needing only to clean I do not think I would preform demolition to remove the frog, if you cannot remove it then it’s unlikely you’ll have parts, resources, tools and skills to replace it. 722 is a simple manual switch. An option is to spray contact cleaner like solvent under the frog however be very careful and cautious as contact cleaners might not be compatible with plastic. Other options are alcohol dampened pipe cleaners (as many as necessary) to insert underneath in both directions on both sides, shop strength paper towels might also work. Have compressed air available to blow out debris. Remove bottom plates to clean underneath, most of these I service, clean, and rebuild are in need of thoroughly cleaning underneath especially the contact points, be careful, while contacts probably need cleaning don’t lubricant as you might cause frog to move too freely when a train passes, and as always you can consult Mr Barkers book, 4th edition, hope this helps.
@@davesaftrains4368 The issue I have is that one of the contacts that touch the frog does not make contact in the curve position, because at one time it seems the plastic around the contact stud melted, and the plastic is now higher than the stud. So I will "dive deep" (since it is unusable anyway) and see what I find. No big expense - bought this for only $5 at a flea market. I did clean the mechanism and now it snaps clean and fast like new. Thanks for replying.
@@zdrummer72 Contact that directs either right or left position operation is provided by spring, slide contacts on the bottom of the switch base or platform. If you concerned about contacts examine the bottom by removing all plates. The slide contact on the bottom direct current to the rails above via brass bands that hold the rails in place. What you might be seeing are the tops of the rivets that hold these directional slide plates in place. The wide end of the frog has the screw that attaches to the slide mechanism and might have two pins or studs on that end that help balance and maintain proper height when the screw is tightened. I’ve rebuilt many of these and I just examined a 722, 722A, and 26770 manual switches on my layout, if you’re concerned about current look to the bottom of the switch. If you wish send your email to davesaftrains (gmail) and I’ll return photos, thanks! Dave
@@davesaftrains4368 It turns out that this is a XA-9926 AF switch, not a 722. which is the predecessor to the 722. Sorry about that. I will try to email a few photos.
I have them switches and I try what you said about light bulb and the only other thing the track come form switch then go to cross are off be 1/2" or less but the switch light cove that other thing I have to have help to fix
Hi Gray, Thank you for watching, that is a good point. I too like the results using LEDs. I replaced several standard bulbs with LED in illuminated cars that I operate with the FlyerChief GP7 that run under full transformer power, something that would burn out standard bulbs and really cause them to heat up the interior of a plastic shell. Best! Dave
Timely video. Many of these switches I obtained needed a little TLC. Biggest problem I had was a voltage drop over the frog that put the reverse unit into neutral on my old Flyer engines.
Hi Dave i also use resistor to step down voltage on just the bulbs and not the voltage to the switch. It works great,and i can still use the regular green and red.
Dave once again thank you for the detailed video. We'll I got my frontiersman a few weeks ago and now by total chance I found an 0-8-0 switcher #342 at a yard sale along with four switches, some uncoupler sections, a 944 crane car and a few intersections as well. All in a sad state but I'm going see how far I get. The switcher is running now so that's a step in the right direction at least 👍
That sounds good, congratulations on your acquisition, many variations of 342 were produced, most are pricey and rare, this is a good find especially if you restore/rebuilt it, 944 is also a good find.
This switch is a superior design that is affected by time and corrosion as compared to that famous early model 720 with defined roadbed that warps and never works right . The 720A is the same switch , same as above, but made with the better bakelite not styrene plastic. This switch when reworked properly will give you thousands of throws with autothrow systems and continue working reliabley. Some of these iterations are better than others, the difference being in the shutter filter material. The answer to the bulb problem is 2447 24 volt, cheap and effective, buy them by the boxfull (chinese) CASG
I need advice on how to remove the moving rail on a 722 switch. Is the center rivet just a press fit into the plastic base? Underneath is all grimy and dirty, so needs to be cleaned. Also, same question for the older AF XA-9926 switch. Any help is appreciated.
If you’re needing only to clean I do not think I would preform demolition to remove the frog, if you cannot remove it then it’s unlikely you’ll have parts, resources, tools and skills to replace it. 722 is a simple manual switch. An option is to spray contact cleaner like solvent under the frog however be very careful and cautious as contact cleaners might not be compatible with plastic. Other options are alcohol dampened pipe cleaners (as many as necessary) to insert underneath in both directions on both sides, shop strength paper towels might also work. Have compressed air available to blow out debris. Remove bottom plates to clean underneath, most of these I service, clean, and rebuild are in need of thoroughly cleaning underneath especially the contact points, be careful, while contacts probably need cleaning don’t lubricant as you might cause frog to move too freely when a train passes, and as always you can consult Mr Barkers book, 4th edition, hope this helps.
@@davesaftrains4368 The issue I have is that one of the contacts that touch the frog does not make contact in the curve position, because at one time it seems the plastic around the contact stud melted, and the plastic is now higher than the stud. So I will "dive deep" (since it is unusable anyway) and see what I find. No big expense - bought this for only $5 at a flea market. I did clean the mechanism and now it snaps clean and fast like new. Thanks for replying.
@@zdrummer72 Contact that directs either right or left position operation is provided by spring, slide contacts on the bottom of the switch base or platform. If you concerned about contacts examine the bottom by removing all plates. The slide contact on the bottom direct current to the rails above via brass bands that hold the rails in place. What you might be seeing are the tops of the rivets that hold these directional slide plates in place. The wide end of the frog has the screw that attaches to the slide mechanism and might have two pins or studs on that end that help balance and maintain proper height when the screw is tightened. I’ve rebuilt many of these and I just examined a 722, 722A, and 26770 manual switches on my layout, if you’re concerned about current look to the bottom of the switch. If you wish send your email to davesaftrains (gmail) and I’ll return photos, thanks! Dave
@@davesaftrains4368 It turns out that this is a XA-9926 AF switch, not a 722. which is the predecessor to the 722. Sorry about that. I will try to email a few photos.
I have them switches and I try what you said about light bulb and the only other thing the track come form switch then go to cross are off be 1/2" or less but the switch light cove that other thing I have to have help to fix
Hi Dave i use LED bulbs 18 volts and run really cool.
Hi Gray, Thank you for watching, that is a good point. I too like the results using LEDs. I replaced several standard bulbs with LED in illuminated cars that I operate with the FlyerChief GP7 that run under full transformer power, something that would burn out standard bulbs and really cause them to heat up the interior of a plastic shell. Best! Dave
Marx are simple to repair.