New AMS switch arrived today. All I have had time to do is unpack it for a quick look and a couple pictures. Here is some picts for your enjoyment. It was very well packed.
The stand, the target seems a little low to me but I’m use to Sunset Valleys height. As Jonathan pointed out, the switch and throw bar may have some issues out in the dirt, remains to be seen
Isolated frog
Route selective wireing underneath.
Thanks all. Rick Marty
Thanks for the post and pictures.
Rick,
What is that brown cover just in front of the switch stand?
That stand does look short, I wonder if it could be easily modified? It’s curious that they paint the target, but not the rest. One thing that I didn’t like about the Sunset Valley stands is that the target was not always in line with the track. I hope this one is; it’s nice to have it already in place.
That wide throw bar may help keep ballast out; it will be interesting to see how well these work outdoors.
It’s just a shame that they didn’t come out when they were promised, which was well before my track was down. Oh well, I guess I saved money in the long run. 
Well there you go, five years later and they do show up… well four years…
Thanks for the pictures Rick,let us know how they work out…
Can I ask how much it set you back?
Back again with a few more pictures and comments. First let me say that I am in no way to be considered a qualified or even very knowdledgable reviewer of products. These are just my observations and opinions. Underneath the brown box that Bruce asked about is the micro switch that controls the power routing. That box is 3 inches from centerline of rails. The frog is cast metal and is insulated from the rails by tabs built into the ties. The frog is dead on the straight route but live on the diverging route this is controlled by the micro switch that is tripped by the switch stand. The main route stays hot beyond the frog by built in jumper wires.
(http://www.lscdata.com/users/rick_marty/_forumfiles/AMS6.jpg)
Some shots of gauge check. I think you can read the mic for yourself. This is a looser gauge than the Sunset Valleys I have on hand but that may be considered an unfair comparision as the SV switches have all been disassembled and remounted and regauged on wooden ties. Sierra Valley semi scale wheel sets all roll through the switch smoothly.
(http://www.lscdata.com/users/rick_marty/_forumfiles/AMS7.jpg)
(http://www.lscdata.com/users/rick_marty/_forumfiles/AMS8.jpg)
(http://www.lscdata.com/users/rick_marty/_forumfiles/AMS9.jpg)
Here is a comparision shot with a SV switch, as you can see the AMS is considerably longer, 30 1/2 iinches. Compare the distances between the frog and the points on each of them
(http://www.lscdata.com/users/rick_marty/_forumfiles/AMS10.jpg)
The only down sides that have come to mind is the short target staff which should be easy enough to raise. By the way the target lines up very well with the rails unlike the SV stand targets. My main concern is still with the grit problem. The throw bar is large enough to keep the bigger pieces of ballast out but that tightness also makes it very difficult to remove the finer grit that will surly find it’s way in there. My overall impression is that the quality and workmanship is good and the price is more than competitive with the other major players of custom switches. Thanks Rick Marty
