Model Railroading > Who made these HO scale US&S Type T-2 upper quadrant semaphores?

Does anyone know who made these US&S type T-2 upper quadrant semaphore signals? I have had them unused for over a decade. I vaguely recall they are modeled on what the Santa Fe used. I fully expect that they are no longer available. I have six of them and could use two more. Also was wondering about the attachment hardware needed to operate these. What is included in the box doesn't seem to be a complete set. 

Thanks for any information. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/16 23:07 by 4thDistrict.

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N&G Railroad Signals. The owner passed away several years ago and the line was somewhat  passed off to a partner who did not relaunch the production to a measurable level.

Too bad, that really is a nice miniature reproduction, best I have seen, all the proportions and details look just right. === === = === JLH

They still appear on eBay very occasionally, but go for a small fortune.

Both NJ International and Tomar produce US&S LQ semaphores that might work, but neither is as accurate or good lookingas the N&G, IMHO.

A few years back, American Limited produced some nice dummy plastic (SP) US&S upper quadrant signals that were convertible into operating ones with some effort. Cheap @ 2 for $14.95. I was hoping that they would go on to produce LQ signals, since the UQ signals sold very well. American Limited, instead, jacked up the price to $24.95 and killed off the market, resulting in their discontinuance.

Oh well.

EO

If Americans were 24.95 that wasn't too bad really. As for the N&G, they are exquisite. Notice the motor housing behind the blade is very well done too. They are awesome.

hogheaded Wrote:
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> They still appear on eBay very occasionally, but
> go for a small fortune.
>
> Both NJ International and Tomar produce US&S LQ
> semaphores that might work, but neither is as
> accurate or good lookingas the N&G, IMHO.
>
> A few years back, American Limited produced some
> nice dummy plastic (SP) US&S upper quadrant
> signals that were convertible into operating ones
> with some effort. Cheap @ 2 for $14.95. I was
> hoping that they would go on to produce LQ
> signals, since the UQ signals sold very well.
> American Limited, instead, jacked up the price to
> $24.95 and killed off the market, resulting in
> their discontinuance.
>
> Oh well.
>
> EO

wabash2800 Wrote:
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> If Americans were 24.95 that wasn't too bad
> really. As for the N&G, they are exquisite. Notice
> the motor housing behind the blade is very well
> done too. They are awesome.

Whomever that it was who bought N&G was offering a few built-up versions of the signals a couple of years back on eBay. I think the single heads were seelling in the $90-100 range. Compared to that, even at $24.95, the AL signals look pretty good (better details than Tomar and NJ). Apparently the market did not agree. The same seems to have happened when they kicked-up the price of their operating wig-wag. Too bad that Grandt Line doesn't expand into signals. Their motto ought to be "Precise at a Reasonable Price".

Ah, if we only had unlimited budgets, eh Victor?

EO
 

EO, as we are discussing this I am building a mechanism for an HO cantilever signal bridge with three operating interlocking semaphores:  a two headed mast for one track and a one headed shorter signal for the wrong direction track all on the same gantry with everthing reasonably to scale. I am using Tomar parts. I think I have come up with something that will work that will blow people's minds. However, having said that, even if I were to build and sell semaphores of my own design and parts, I don't think the market or price point is out there for semaphores to make it worth my while. The best I could probably do is show how I built mine and get paid for an article in MR or RMC (it might take three years to publish in a printed mag) or the online mag that Jeff Fugate publishes. I think Jeff would be more receptive to my article.

​The Tomar parts for the signal blades, etc., are a bit clunky but durable. We can only dream of some nice scale signals and parts like N&G made and even then they probably have to go at a much higher price than most modelers would want to pay even if we had the Chinese build them. And kits are proabably not what the average modeler want's to deal with.

​As you know, when one studies semaphores you get into a lot of variations by signal manufacture, time period, railroad, application and types of motor and mechanical drives. Mechanical and motor driven semaphores operate quite differerntly. That is something that many model railroaders don't understand or appreciate. I am using swtich motors as my prototypes are motor driven, so the blades move smoothly through their motions without any hesitation or "bounce". However, a mechcnial would have a different motion that is either modeled mechanically or with a servo motor that can imitate the bounce.

​You can model the mechanical ones to scale like Exact Scale Signals (ala Wally Mattes, Garrett, Indiana) did with the the acutating rods on the outside of the mast. Wally made his availabe as kits and they were beautiful, but I think he realized the  market wasn't there for them and he piggybacked his toolling on someone elses who later dropped him. I stand to be corrected, but I think Dick Yager of Oregon Railway Supply was looking at offering semaphores perhaps building on Wally's tooling. (They were friends.) However,  Dick recently passed away and I don't think he could come up with something that would operate semaphores on signal bridges or cantilevers. I have overcome the intial problems and am confident I will have something that will work but more than likely I'll be building them for my many interlockings on my personal layout.

​When I get the operating cantilever built, I'll get a video posted here but will not reveal the technology as to save it for a magazine article!

​Victor A. Baird
​http://www.erstwhilepublications.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/16 16:13 by wabash2800.

4thDistrict Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does anyone know who made these US&S type T-2
> upper quadrant semaphore signals? I have had them
> unused for over a decade. I vaguely recall they
> are modeled on what the Santa Fe used. I fully
> expect that they are no longer available. I have
> six of them and could use two more. Also was
> wondering about the attachment hardware needed to
> operate these. What is included in the box doesn't
> seem to be a complete set. 
>
> Thanks for any information. 

Gosh guys, as much as I'd love to see someone produce this one again, I guess at my age of 75 I'll just have to live with my 1:1 scale T-2 in my backyard, even if it's in a prone position, yet to be erected.  In 1998 here on the BNSF La Junta Sub, I was able to obtain this one when they were all replaced with the 3-light "vader" style.  Now most of those "vaders" have been replaced with the new bi-directional, cabinet mounted, PTC "vaders".  Just this past Friday all the H-5 searchlight signals were removed and these new PTC signals were cut-in in the Kinsley, KS area, making the Hutchinson to Dodge City trek of the AMTRAK Southwest Limited with the latest.  I'll throw in a prayer for the N&G Railroad HO version from here!

Victor, I'm looking forward to you unwrapping your semaphore technology, to the extent that I'll hold-off doing a signal bridge that I was planning to build with standard color lights.

As for that semaphore "bounce" that you speak of, for some strange reason I recall a Model Railroader April Fools article from the late 60's, I think, which showed how one could hook up a full-size mechanism to a scale signal to recreate the bounce. I didn't get it at first, thinking the whole idea was pretty stupid. Later, after realizing that *I* was the stupid one, I laughed myself silly.

It's wonderful that Oregon Rail Supply is continuing on in Dick Yager's absence, but I suppose that the days of new offerings are over.

EO