WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY NEW 2010!

WELCOME TO THE PROTO:87 STORES NEWS AND LATEST PRODUCTS PAGE -

We are pleased to announce that the next production run of the NEW "MIGHTY MOLE" SWITCH MACHINE will be here in late February. If you wish, you may order and reserve parts from the next batch using the order boxes on the MOLE pages.

CLICK HERE FOR A DIRECT LINK TO THE "SUPER DETAILS" PRODUCTS SHOWN IN THE "MODEL RAILROADER" "REALISTIC, RELIABLE TRACK" SPECIAL ISSUE.

January 1st 2009




THE NEW "MIGHTY MOLE"! ENJOY THE BEST FEATURES OF A BOTH A STALL MOTOR AND A SERVO MOTOR WITHOUT THE EXTRA COST OF EITHER!!!



THIS IS A MUCH MORE COMPACT AND LESS EXPENSIVE SWITCH MACHINE, WHICH NOT ONLY CAN BE MOUNTED UNDER TRACK IN THE TRADITIONAL MANNER, BUT ALSO COMES WITH A FREE OPTIONAL "SIDEARM" PRECISION LINEAR DRIVE. SO YOU CAN ALSO USE IT SURFACE MOUNTED, EITHER CLOSE TO THE TURNOUT, OR REMOTELY BY "WIRE IN TUBE"

See the SWITCH MOTORS AND TURNOUT CONTROLS page in the CATALOG INDEX

Introducing the POWERFUL AND COST-SAVING, HAND-LAID-TRACK "SIMPLICITY TURNOUT TIE BASE MAKER" in all Three Major Small Scales. HO, N and Z.



(With the base edge flipped over, insert as many bulk ties as you can easily handle at once)



(Easily mark and score the exact length of the tie)



(With the base edge back in the laying position, insert and glue down all the perfectly sized ties)

NOW EVERYONE HAS THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE TO USE INEXPENSIVE BULK TIE PACKS TO CREATE SUPERBLY ACCURATE WOOD AND PCB TIES BASES FOR THEIR HAND LAID TURNOUTS!

SEE THE "SIMPLICITY" PAGES IN THE CATALOG INDEX FOR MORE PICTURES AND ORDERING.



WITH OUR CURRENT HIGH GROWTH, IT'S TIME TO EXTEND OUR FAIRER PRICING TO THE REALM OF TRADITIONAL HAND-LAID TRACK and TURNOUTS. SO WE HAVE JUST INTRODUCED OUR FIRST KITS IN THE "SIMPLICITY" RANGE. THIS RANGE OF BASIC MATERIALS, PARTS, KITS, AND JIGS FOR SCRATCH OR JIG BUILT HAND-LAID TURNOUTS, START AS LOW AS $6.00 per TURNOUT!

BUT THEY CAN ALSO BE UPGRADED TO MANY DIFFERENT LEVELS OF DETAILING AND PRE-FORMED PARTS!


That's it for early October. We'll keep trying to have even more stuff for month end, so keep coming back and checking what's new. If you haven't visited us recently, please read on and find out what else we have done in the past few months . . . . .


WE NOW HAVE TWO EXCEPTIONAL NEW "ADD-ON" SUPER-DETAIL SETS FOR TURNOUTS, THAT WILL TAKE ALL OUR TURNOUTS TO A NEW, EVEN HIGHER, LEVEL OF REALISM:



ACCURATE ETCHED BOLT HEAD SIDE STRIPS FOR THE ENTIRE RANGE OF 88-SAFE UNIVERSAL FROGS WILL TURN THEM INTO FULLY "SUPER-DETAILED" VERSIONS



THE TPSW3 COMPONENT FEATURED IN THE MODEL RAILROADER HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO A "POINTS AND THROWBAR COMBO DETAIL SET", THAT FITS ALL RAIL SIZES AND NOW SUPER-DETAILS BOTH THE POINTS AND THROWBAR OF ALMOST ANY TURNOUT, NEW OR OLD, COMMERCIAL OR HAND-LAID.



NEW BULK PACKS OF FINELY ETCHED, LOW PROFILE, NICKEL SILVER, COSMETIC, JOINT BARS FOR HO ARE HERE! WHEN FITTED, THESE WILL NOT INTERFERE WITH THE WHEEL FLANGES OF ANY CAR. THESE ARE AVAILABLE IN SEPARATE SIZES TO FIT CODES 83, 70 and 55 RAIL.

WE ARE NOW TESTING A WHOLE NEW SIMPLER AND MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE TURNOUT BUILDING SYSTEM AND TOOLS FOR MAKING VERY ACCURATE, VERY INEXPENSIVE, BUT LESS DETAILED TURNOUTS, IN HO, N and Z!.



KEEP CHECKING BACK HERE FOR MORE NEWS ON THE "SWITCH-WORKS" "SIMPLICITY" RANGE COMING SOON!

AT THE SAME TIME WE ARE FOLLOWING UP OUR "TEN DOLLAR TURNOUTS" AND TESTING A NEW "TEN DOLLAR SWITCH MOTOR" DESIGN. AGAIN CHECK BACK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS AND PICTURES SOON!

WE HAVE ALSO JUST INTRODUCED A BRAND NEW SECTION FOR UK and AUSTRALIA/NZ 4mm Scale "00" MODELLERS. Our first product specifically for 4mm is a line of more economical, properly sized, actually solid wood sleepers and turnout timbers, that are not normally available in those parts of the World



OUR NEW "RAIL ALIGNERS" ALTERNATIVE TO REGULAR RAIL JOINERS ARE HERE! - Tough, Precision Stainless Steel - Almost invisible - Finally, no need to cut away ties underneath.
See the ULTIMATE TRACK PAGE

NEXT - READY NOW!
SEE THE NEW "OPERATIONS AIDS" PAGES IN THE CATALOG INDEX



THE FIRST MODEL REMOTE UNCOUPLER OF A NEW AND GROWING REMOTE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR SERGEANT COUPLERS
AND. . . .



THE NEW "EASY RAILERS" WILL TRANSFORM THE WAY YOU LOAD CARS AND LOCOS ONTO YOUR HIDDEN STORAGE YARDS AND PROGRAMMING TRACKS. WORKS IN ALL SCALES, FROM, "O" down to "N", and including On30, On3 and HOn3.

We also received the latest scaled down throwbar and point hinge sytems for HOn3", "N", Nn3" and "Z" Scale. These complete the sets of parts needed to supply COMPLETE EASY AND PROTOTYPICALLY REALISTIC TURNOUT KITS FOR N and Z scales.

A BRAND NEW "EASY STREET" "MUSEUM" LAYOUT DEBUTED IN GERMANY AT THE SAME TIME AS the "BRONX TERMINAL" LAYOUT IN HARTFORD
See the "2009 CONVENTION . . . DEBUT" link on this page to COMPARE THE TWO!!!
YOU'LL BE SURPRISED!

IN FACT, SO MUCH NEW STUFF IS HERE, AND MORE ON THE WAY, THAT WE ARE ONLY JUST NOW STARTING TO TAKE THE PICTURES OF IT ALL!

A SECOND MAJOR EXPANSION OF EASY STREET IS NOW SHIPPING!

THE NEW 6.25", 12" 14" 16" and 18" RADII PLUS MANY NEW TURNOUT OPTIONS WERE INTRODUCED IN JULY,

Now we also have "EASY LINK" TRACKS to allow you to freely mix "EASY STREET" WITH REGULAR TRACK WITH TIES.

AND FINALLY for this phase - BRAND NEW "EASY RAILERS" to make putting cars on "Easy Street", and/or PROTO:87 Trackwork as easy as just putting them down.

AS well as photograph all the new items, we are trying to build some samples to photograph of our NEW ULTRA REALISTIC INDUSTRIAL STREET TURNOUTS IN #4, #5 and #6.



BTW, Did you all realize all the new "88-SAFE" FROGS have an NMRA "WARRANT" AS FULLY NMRA COMPLIANT !!!



THE LATEST TEN DOLLAR TURNOUTS FOR SUMMER MODELING ARE STILL MOVING OUT OF THE DOOR AS FAST AS WE CAN PACK THEM - DON'T MISS THIS "SHORT" OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF LOWEST PRICED AND BEST LOOKING TURNOUTS EVER SOLD IN THE US! - We can't guarantee these prices will stay this low for very long

It's thanks to the growth in manufacturing volume, and a new solderable version of our throwbars, that works with any type of points, we are now able to offer these lowest cost,

FAST AND EASY CRAFTSMAN COMPLETE AND DETAILED TURNOUT KITS COST LESS THAN $10.00 for ALL the parts!!!.

Not only do these NOT NEED ALL THOSE EXPENSIVE TURNOUT FIXTURES , frog making tools, stock rail filing tools, or costly PCB ties, we believe that even just the final parts cost is actually lower than those of the so-called "cost saving" fixtures' built, un-detailed turnouts.

The 88-SAFE frog kits are now listed for sale on their own page linked from the HO Pick and Choose Turnout Parts section.





BUT . . . NOT ONLY A FULL RANGE OF TWENTY-EIGHT NEW "88 SAFE" HO FROGS . . .
IN CODES 40, 55, 70 and 83. . .

AND NOT ONLY A FULL RANGE OF FOURTEEN "N SCALE" FROGS. . .
IN CODES 40 and 55

BUT ALSO A FULL RANGE OF FOURTEEN "Z SCALE" FROGS
IN CODES 40 and 55!!!!!!


KEEP WATCHING THIS PAGE for more photos, details and ordering links as I add them as fast as I can over the next few days.

Remember, we already have CODE 40 AND CODE 55 CNC MACHINED POINTS. . .

, . . . SO OF COURSE "N" and "Z" SCALE TURNOUT KITS WILL NOT BE FAR BEHIND . . .

Also look out for our upcoming Ad in the Railroad Model Craftsman magazine MAY edition

We also participated in "RAILS 2009" in the Netherlands earlier in March, along with many other European Manufacturers.

THE HO SUPERFINE TURNOUTS ARE NOW ALSO AVAILABLE IN CRAFTSMAN BUILT AND TESTED RTR FORM

See the TURNOUT pages and select the RTR option when ordering!



We are still busy shipping orders, so have yet to update many of the WEB pages and products, even though we have added a lot more stuff to the lines. (Including passing on Barge Cement for those of you who can't obtain it locally!). In particular I am now working on street track templates, and Crossovers. The New #6 88-SAFE Frogs are already here and all the other sizes are in the production cycle. After those are here, the "Inch Worm" production will be next.

WE HAVE ALSO BEGUN TO INCLUDE PRE-MACHINED GUARD RAILS IN ALL OUR SUPERFINE TURNOUTS. SEE THE HO TURNOUTS PAGE FOR MORE DETAILS AND ORDERING. More pictures and construction info will be coming shortly. And of course we have Proto:87 versions as well.



It's beginning to become old news, but WE ARE STILL PROUD TO HAVE RECEIVED THE NMRA WARRANT FOR THE "SWITCH-WORKS PRO", ALL-IN-ONE, TURNOUT BUILDING FIXTURE

"Scale Rails" has TWO articles on us in the current December Issue. But in the meantime we have not rested on our Laurels!

. The New Prototypical Turnout Construction Reference Manual is almost complete and is now up On-Line. Use the Left Hand Link to view what we have so far.



We have just introduced and are shipping the extremely versatile, new "PLAIN TRACK OPTION" for the "SWITCH-WORKS PRO"



AND ALSO THE "TURNOUT TO CROSSOVER CONVERTERS" for "SWITCH-WORKS PRO". NOTE HOW SIMPLE AND INEXPENSIVE IT IS TO UPGRADE THE TURNOUT JIG OPTION TO ALSO LAY A CROSSOVER.

And now we have just received product parts to allow us to shortly ship the New "SUPER-FINE" PLASTIC BASED TURNOUTS RANGE.

BUT THERE'S MORE. . . .



OVER THE PAST YEAR, WE HAVE BEEN EVALUATING A NEW INEXPENSIVE, SOUND DEADENING AND CURVABLE ROADBED MATERIAL. SO WE ARE NOW PREPARING TO HAVE IT PRODUCED IN HANDY PLAIN TRACK AND TURNOUT SIZE STRIPS.



OF COURSE THE SWITCH-WORKS PRO TOOLS HAVE ALWAYS HAD BUILT-IN FEATURES FOR DRAWING AND CUTTING ROADBED



PLEASE WATCH THIS PAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON



IN ADDITION, WE WILL SHORTLY PUT UP SOME PAGES FULLY EXPLAINING OUR ALREADY "FREE" TRACK AND TRACK BED PLANNING TOOLS.



THE TURNOUT TOOL PLATE TOOL HAS GUIDE SLOTS AND HOLES TO POSITION AND DRAW BOTH RAIL AND CENTER LINES



AND THEN CAN ACCURATELY MARK THE ROADBED OUTLINE AS WELL.

AS YOU CAN SEE ABOVE, THESE EXTRA CAPABILITIES ARE ACTUALLY INCLUDED IN THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE "SWITCH-WORKS PRO" OPTIONS AND REPEATED IN OUR FREE, DOWN-LOADABLE, PROTOTYPICAL TURNOUT DIAGRAMS.

So please excuse ALL THESE MANY INTERMITTENT ADDITIONS to the WEBSITE PAGES. We are now very busy continuously producing new stuff, and we take extra time especially to design it so as to keep the prices to you as low as possible.

We hope you share our thinking that we have our priorities right in that respect. We aways want to give you the most "Bang for your Buck" possible.

WE EXPECT EVEN MORE OF THE REST OF THE NEW STUFF THAT WAS SHOWN AT THE NMRA NATIONAL TRAIN SHOW IN ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA to be also coming over the next few months. . . .We are working hard to fit everything into the schedule