Walthers Z, N, HO, S, O, G Scale Layout Control System - Switch Machine (Horizontal Mount) (942-102)

Arrived very timely. Exactly as needed

Easy to install. The whole Walthers Layout Control System works well, including push button the kust plug in.

The current tortoise contacts have a small amount of plastic on each side. These connectors do not accommodate that plastic.

Works Great !

I too was excited to find the Walthers Layout Control system, but it's been nothing but aggravating. I bought three power distribution blocks and one is defective - it won't power anything. I've had trouble with switch machines, one stopped working completely after a few days, the micro switches on a couple others will work most of the time but then suddenly a frog isn't powered because the microswitch gets stuck in one position. I've spent a lot of time testing continuity on circuits and switches. And then the system is soooo sensitive to voltage changes or signals, picking up feedback from other cables or something, that the switches will just randomly cycle unexpectedly. I've spent hours separating and re-routing cables. The only time I was able to ever to avoid these gremlins was when all the cables were just hanging down loosely below the layout, but for portable layout modules that get moved around, that's never going to work - they'll get hung up or caught on something during a move and get yanked out. The Walthers tech support has been responsive, but no amount of tech support will resolve fundamental product design and quality issues. I finally gave up on it.

I was incredibly excited when I saw the release of this product and watched the video for the easy of mounting. I jumped ahead and purchased a 5-pack to test before purchasing the other 40 machines I'll need. I like the simplicity of the small servo motors and the fact they don't need constant small power draw to hold in position. The Walthers system also looked incredibly simple with it's plug and play layout control system accessories. I had also read that these machines were able to switch Peco snap switches without the need to remove the spring in the Pecos. However, my experience ended in disappointment and now I must determine what to do with these as they are unusable for me.1. They are listed as Z, N, HO, S, O, G scale compatible. And I suppose they are, however, all instructions, videos produced by Walthers and even the switch centering yoke are all HO scale. It is imperative that you install the machines with the switches centered, as that is how the machines arrive, so centering yokes for different scales would have been a considerate addition by Walthers for us non-HO modelers. Second, the piano wire is much larger radius than I've seen on Tortoise/Cobalt machines. Drilling the appropriate size hole in N scale switches is tight, I'm not sure how folks will manage with Z scale.2. Speaking of the piano wire, it is not sufficiently long enough to get through 3/8" plywood, 1" extruded foam base, cork/foam trackbed, and then clear into the switch throw bar. It stops just shy of long enough. Looking at the design of the machine there does not appear to be an easy way to replace the wire with a longer one like you could with some of the other brands of machines. This is a serious flaw in design IMO. I could not find any instructions on Walthers site to address this.3. Mounting screws are a nightmare to screw. They have incredibly small screw heads, I ended up using a jewelers screwdriver. Even with pilot holes in the plywood, screwing anything into plywood with a jewelers screwdriver is a pain, especially when trying to do this above your head while under a table.If you are building a basic HO layout on plywood with a base layer total thickness less than 1-1/2" and have enough space for the footprint of the horizontal switches (2"x almost 4") these could be great. The plug and play capability with Walthers entire layout control system and the easy to incorporate into DCC make them very appealing. Unfortunately some very basic drawbacks will make them unusable for many modelers.

I saw Walthers switch machine system, which was also compatible with tortoise machines, and was very excited. I hate soldering, and keep trying over the years and still hate it. So when I saw the easy plug and play of this system I was excited. I can now redo all my manual ground throws and layout expansion with this great piece of kit. No issues installing the motors or the wiring. Tested all the controls and was excited to finally get a switch board up. I used 1/8 inch fascia, drew out the configuration, followed Walther's videos to the letter. Everything was set and in place and then POP! every time someone pushed to switch the track, the push button controllers would pop out. My sons excited to use a fascia controller for the new lower level switch year, PoP! Another one pops out and the disappointment sinks onto their faces. The video said a little bit of glue... Yeah right. Had to glue those suckers in tight, twice. Then take the spacer and use model cement to attach from the front. This could have been a homerun but instead it turned into a royal pain, almost worse than soldering. It still have four more switch machines to wire this way. I think i'll try gorilla glue or construction cement.

I bought some of these hoping to simplify my turnouts but it hasn't worked out. Each time power is applied the machine resets and refuses to function. You have to play with it to get it working again. When you have numerous turnouts on your layout, this isn't an option. Sometimes it quits working altogether. The concept of plug and play is great but Walthers has too many bugs in it'd machine. The fascia controls are nice, and the power distribution nodes are good too. But the machines themselves are lacking. My next try is with Digitrax DS78V and 9g servos. I found a good way to utilize those so hopefully Digitrax will pan out. Tortoises, Smails and Cobalts are all too cost prohibitive for my tastes. Smails are limited in fascia control. I was looking for something as simple as walthers but it just didn't work out.