The pictures below show the impact of merely substituting the New Proto:87 stores frogs and checkrails into two popular types of regular HO RTR switches
Shinohara code 70 #6 unmodified
BEFORE above
and AFTER below
Shinohara code 70 #6 upgraded
Note how much more massive and in realistic proportion the upgraded switch looks, when the frog is actually the correct size
A similar effect is obtained
when the ME switch below is converted. The unfortunate toy-like appearance
of switches to regular HO standards is clearly apparent in these high magnification
images
Micro Engineering (ME) code 70
#6 unmodified
BEFORE above
and AFTER below
Micro Engineering (ME) code
70 #6 upgraded
Using a Dremel with a thin cut-off disk (and proper eye protection!!!), both these upgrades were performed in a matter of minutes, INCLUDING the time to build the frog kit. The ME switch was more awkward in that the original check rails are actually castings which seat far UNDER their adjacent stock rails. Removing those was by far the most difficult aspect of modifying the ME switch.
While the examples above used new uninstalled switches, there appears to be no fundamental reason why such upgrades could not easily be performed on switches that are already laid on an existing layout.
While for new construction, we would obviously suggest you consider the advantages of our own switch kits, it is now clear that it is almost as quick, practical, inexpensive and straightforward to build Proto:87 trackwork, from existing components, as it is to build regular HO trackwork. Furthermore, there is now a way in which existing layouts might be converted as simply and rapidly also.
