Mystery animated switch tower? | O Gauge Forum (2024)

In preparing for the Cambridge Rescue Fire Company's annual holiday train garden, I was tasked to evaluate and repair an animated switch tower that had been taken off the layout several years ago after being damaged. Even without documentation, I was at least able to repair the obvious damage and figure out power and control wiring, and restore some functionality:

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However, I'm at a loss as to who created it. It seems too complicated and buttoned down to be a typical scratch build or kit bash, but I have never seen one before or been able to find any on-line trace, and in some ways the animation is *more* complex than the typical Lionel or MTH offering. Anyone ever owned or seen one of these, or had an opportunity to work on one? Thanks for any suggestions or leads!

The basic tower looks to be an Atlas model (see the link below) but per that description the Atlas version shown is not animated.

www.jcstudiosinc.com/AtlasOSwitchTower

I did some searching on the Atlas tower but none of the sites I found said anything about animation - it could be that part of the station is a scratch build.

Thanks! Yeah, the consensus on other forums is that this is indeed the Atlas switch tower, which has been kit-bashed to add the elaborate animation (three separate figures, three sets of lights!). Although the animation is a bit glitchy, I think I'm going to honor my very limited animation skill set by deferring digging into it any further until it's absolutely necessary (discretion being the better part of valor!) . . .

I agree! Most of the multi-figure animations I've seen before all tend to move the figures together -- sort of like the old-time cartoon animations! AFAICS, each of the animations is distinct: the watcher on the roof moves back and forth on a curved track, the switchman inside moves through an arc to simulate throwing the switch, and the ground level figure swings out with the door. Somehow, all this is powered by what appears to be a single, pretty hefty motor embedded under the elevated platform, and I'd love to know how it all works. Only my suspicion that I'd never get it back together and working has kept me from digging deeper!

Yes, Atlas. We have a dead ringer down at the club, but definitely no animation - nice touch 👍👍

Dave

What, the club can't afford to pay all the Little People at scale?